Enchanting Victoria Falls

Africa

Enchanting Victoria Falls

By Wangechi Gitahi

As we crossed over into Zimbabwe from Zambia, I was not too sure what to expect as most of what I had heard was negative. However, I chose to sidestep the stereotype and the negative narrative and decided to “explore” and define my own narrative. One of my main driving forces was that I wanted to see the majestic Victoria Falls locally known as “Mosi-oa-Tunya” that means the “The Smoke that Thunders” from the Zimbabwe side. While viewing them from the Zambia side, all the “smoke”, seemed to be in Zimbabwe and thus I opted to venture into Victoria Falls town that is home to the falls and is the border town. Sure enough, in December 2016, Victoria Falls was showing off more on the Zimbabwe side than the Zambia side and I am happy I opted to venture there. Zimbabwe thereafter chose to unravel more of its beauty to me…

Africa

Suprising Zambia

By Wangechi Gitahi

Zambia is indeed a tranquil country and I found most of its citizens to be very soft spoken. My main driving force to go to Zambia was to see the Victoria Falls but I am happy that Zambia decided to show more of itself to us, as the Victoria Falls were not showing off at all. My main highlights were: 1) Riding the Tazara Train We rode the famous Tazara train from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. The train we used was new, it was comfortable and gave us some of the best ride and scenery experience. We went through dark tunnels, listened to the train chug, made friends and observed beautiful changing landscapes enroute. This ride took us two nights and three days and it is a ride I highly recommend to everyone-You Must. If you are riding the whole Dar-es-Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi, I highly recommend you…

Africa

Maralal Camel Derby

By Wangechi Gitahi

Camel Derby is an annual event that is held in Maralal town, Samburu county in August. As the name reveals, it has lots to do with camels, but there is so much more. There are various activities that one can partake in like actually racing atop a camel, to running, bike racing, cultural integration among others. There are also parties that happen during the four day event and you can also take a tour around the place. Camel Race : This is the highlight of the festivities and includes both local and international riders. Most of those who take part in it seemed to be amateurs who then had guides to lead the camels. I however noted that most if not all the competitors were foreigners.The other locals like myself seemed content with watching and cheering them on, no way was I going to race atop a camel. We watched…

Africa

Fun Times in Machakos

By Wangechi Gitahi

Machakos is located about 63km from Nairobi and thus an easy location to get away to. The area is dominated by the Akamba community, and it is generally a semi-arid place. The below are activities I have engaged in severally whenever we visit. 1. Visit Machakos Peoples Park This is a popular public park that is indeed a joy to visit. The landscaping at the park makes it a beauty to look at and walk through, it has great scenery and a nice quiet place to picnic or relax. The paths are well demarcated to ensure people keep off the grass as well as having several activities people can engage in. From Machakos town, it is about 1.5km and thus one can either walk or use a tuktuk. I have engaged in the following while there and highly recommend them: a) Zip lining: I was excited when we stumbled upon…

Africa

Kakamega-Famous for the Crying Stone

By Wangechi Gitahi

Kakamega is a town found in Western Kenya and is 110km from Eldoret. My main enticement to visit this area was to see the famous Crying Stone. I had heart a lot about this mythical stone that cried all year round, yet, it was no where near a river. To make the story even more weird, it was said have flowing water from atop a stand alone rock, I had to investigate. Crying Stone: There is no longer a “Crying Stone” but a “Former Crying Stone”, sorry to disappoint you. It seems to have grown up, stopped crying and now all that is left is a majestic stone with streaks of former tears. I was informed that it had stopped crying and that its tears had dried up years ago. I was greatly disappointed to have travelled all this way only to discover this. I wondered why the “net sphere”…

Africa

Conservative Kitale

By Wangechi Gitahi

Kitale is known mainly as an agricultural town and the dominant tribe here is Luhya. It is a quiet and serene town, that has lots of hidden tourist attractions. 1.Kitale Museum: I try as much as possible to visit museums everywhere I go as it readily and easily introduces one to the culture, history and lifestyle of the people. Indeed, Kitale Museum did not disappoint and had various elements to showcase their culture from clothing, jewellery, instruments among others. It has an animal orphanage in the compound that has a few animals on display like snakes, crocodiles among others . The area also showcases traditional homesteads of the communities in the area. It also has a very serene nature trail that I highly recommend. This area is all forest, lots and lots of trees, yet, the path has been well hived off. We got to see some monkeys as well…

Africa

Scenic Elgeyo Marakwet

By Wangechi Gitahi

Eldoret had been playing tricks with my mind for some time and thus, it seemed like the only way to end the mental games was to visit and explore it. We thus left Nairobi and headed to Eldoret, which is the capital of Uasin Gishu county. Though we had planned to only visit Eldoret area, Elgeyo Marakwet seemed to want to show off and indeed we had lots to explore. 1: Elgeyo Marakwet Driving through this area was a beauty and we managed to traverse four of its constituencies. The general scenery composed of hills and valleys and we had to slowly drive on the winding roads. It offers various attractions and sceneries in its different constituencies. a)Kerio Valley: This area offers great aerial viewpoints of the area and thus I highly recommend you make a stop over here. Visit Fluorspar Mine I learnt about this place as a young…

Asia

Rabies, me, Nah!

By Wangechi Gitahi

When I travelled to India, I was a rookie at travel, the real rookie. It was the first time I was travelling solo to a place I knew no-one at all. The most I knew about India was the Taj Mahal. I was travelling to India to volunteer in a village called Boothgargh for two months http://wangechigitahitravels.com/hoshiapur-my-home-away-from-home/. I thus did not carry any medication incase immigration saw them and decided to return me home thinking they were drugs (I had heard stories), I didn’t get any vaccination(I didn’t even know one should do that) and no travel insurance-I didn’t know of its importance. This ignorance combined with naivety came to bite me later-literally. One day as I was walking around the village, enjoying the fresh air, listening to the chirping of birds, enjoying the sight of green foliage and excited about an event that was to happen later in the day,…

Africa

Interesting Kisumu

By Wangechi Gitahi

Kisumu City is a major city found on the banks of Lake Victoria, which is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest fresh water lake in the world, making the main economic industry fishing. Kindly note, fresh water doesn’t mean it is clean and clear, it means that it is not salty. It is located 330.6km from Nairobi and can be accessed via road, air or water. I really wanted to experience Lake Victoria and the culture of Luo, which is the dominant tribe in the area. I got to do the following, feel free to follow suit: 1. Visit Impala Sanctuary: Regardless of the name, this place isn’t only home to Impalas, but to so many other animals. As we walked in, we were impressed by the landscaping, the lawn is neatly cut and the park clean and smart. Right after we entered, we saw impalas and zebras lazily…

Africa

Angama Mara, Floating in Luxury

By Wangechi Gitahi

Angama Mara is a luxury lodge that is located in Narok county, Kenya, on the periphery of the famous Maasai Mara National Park. Angama is a Kiswahili word that means “suspended in mid air” and truly, the lodge is suspended safely atop the hills, close to the clouds. We would be staying at this lodge while also enjoying the beauty that is the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve. We arrived here via road and it was exciting to see many wildebeests as we approached it. At the gate/barrier, we were met by security, who then had to confirm that we had a reservation. As we were ushered in, I felt like I had just shed off my “common man” tag at the gate and was now been elevated to Very Important Person. The whole experience at the hotel can only best be expressed in clusters as below: 1.Common Areas: a)…

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