Travel blogger – Page 2 – Wangechi Gitahi Travels

Africa

Zimbabwe 101

By Wangechi Gitahi

Zimbabwe is officially referred to as the Republic of Zimbabwe and its capital city is Harere It is a landlocked country and is bordered by Mozambique to the East and Southeast, South Africa to the South, Zambia to the Northwest and Botswana to the West and Southwest. It has a population of about 16million people It has 16 official languages with the most commonly used being English, Ndebele and Shona It shares the famous Victoria Falls locally known as “Mosi-oa-Tunya” and means, “Smoke that thunder” with Zambia. Its main income earners are farming, mining and manufacturing. It gained its independence from Great Britain in 1980. It has one of the highest literacy levels in Africa. The main religion is Christianity and it is open to other religions. A Kenyan does not need a visa to visit Zimbabwe. Ensure you have all your documentation in order. For my exploits of Zimbabwe,…

Africa

Zambia 101

By Wangechi Gitahi

Zambia is officially known as Republic of Zambia and its capital city is called Lusaka It is a landlocked country that is bordered by Democratic Republic of Congo to the North, Tanzania to the Northeast, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the South , Angola to the West and Malawi to the East. Its official language is English. Its border with Zimbabwe has the popular Victoria Falls locally known as :Mosi-oa-Tunya” which means Smoke that Thunders. It has a population of about 16.5 million people The main religion is Christianity and is open to all other religions All the local languages in Zambia are Bantu Mining is the main income earner for Zambia with the main mineral being copper. It gained its independence from the British and was previously known as Northern Rhodesia Kenyans do not require a visa prior to travel. One receives an Entry Visa stamp at the…

Africa

Seychelles 101

By Wangechi Gitahi

Seychelles is officially known as the Republic of Seychelles. It is made up of 115 islands and is located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. Its capital Victoria, is the smallest capital in the world. It has the lowest population in Africa, having less than 100,00 people. It is home to the Coco De Mer plant which only grows in Seychelles and whose seed is the largest and heaviest in the world. It is home to the Giant Aldabra Tortoise, which is one of the largest tortoise specie in the world. The official languages are English, French and Seychelloise Creole. The main religion is Christianity Fishing and tourism are main the income earners in Seychelles Kenyans do not require a visa prior to travel, but receive a visa stamp upon arrival. Ensure you have all your documents in order. For my experience in Seychelles, check out:…

Africa

Fascinating Bulawayo

By Wangechi Gitahi

This is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and is located in the South West. As we arrived, we didn’t have an itinerary thus were both intrigued and excited about what we would find. Our arrival into Bulawayo was great as the train station is neat and clean and devoid of the “madness” in most train stations. It is a great town where we met some amazing people, enjoyed beautiful scenery and I seemed to lose my mind in various instances. Highlights of Bulawayo: 1) Matopos National Park Matopos National Park is indeed an interesting place especially due to the Matobo Hills Rock formation. On every turn, boulders upon boulders of rocks can be seen and they are quite a sight. At times, they seemed as if they had been neatly arranged atop each other instead of having occurred naturally. One can easily see the effects of erosion on the…

Africa

Historical Great Zimbabwe

By Wangechi Gitahi

We heard about the town of Maswingo which is credited with being home to the “Great Zimbabwe ” ruins. Great Zimbabwe is famous as it is not only the previous capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, but, it is also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its construction in the 11th century. It is believed that it was built by the Shona community and may have been the location of the royal palace for the royal monarchs. I highly highly recommend a visit as it is not only quite an adventure through their history, but is quite educational and beautiful. The main layout within reveals several small “cities” or villages that were fortified with stone walls. In some areas, these rocks seemed to be like a fort, an outer high wall protecting an inner city or homestead and stood at over five meters high. Within the forts…

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”…