Hiking up the solitary mountain of buffalos

By Ferdinand Mwongela

When an idea for a camping trip in Ol Donyo Sabuk — this is where we have Kilimambogo Mountain — came up two weeks ago, I was not exactly thrilled.

First it was the rainy season and https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images of sleeping in a tent with rain pounding the tarpaulin were not very pleasing. But thanks to my adventurous side I found myself teaming up with some of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) staff for the trip.

We set off from Nairobi in the late afternoon, hoping to get to Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park in the outskirts of Thika and set up camp before dusk. We arrived just before the blanket of dusk covered the land. The race to pitch tents began in earnest. This is when I realised you have no idea how dark it can be until you are out in the countryside where the nearest streetlights are miles away.

A chef at the park’s guesthouse.

After standing on the sidelines, carefully observing, I gathered enough tips to venture into tent-pitching. While everyone ended up using their metal rods and hooks, I found myself with many and wondered how the tent even stood at all.

I asked for help with my tent to make it strong enough. You cannot afford sleeping in a weak structure that can easily be blown away, not in the land of buffalos (Kilimambogo).

Camping options here are many. The public campsite is way up the mountain or for the ultimate experience the brave can camp out in the wild. The largest animals here are buffalos, though this does not make camping in the wild any easier.

Our team camped in the park’s guesthouse grounds while the lucky ones, or so they thought until they realised what they were missing, got beds in the guesthouse. We then settled down to talk and get to know each other better. The night stayed still, broken only by the loud chatter and occasional guffaw as people, some of whom until a few hours earlier were total strangers got along like bosom buddies.

Cycling uphill

The wilderness does something to you. Here we were a few hours after meeting and you would have thought we had been together forever. The talks continued at the dinner table and long into the night, oblivious of the early morning climb to the summit of the 2,145 metres, over 7, 000 feet, high mountain that lay ahead.

The next day was an early start. Most of the other campers were still asleep having talked late into the night. The day looked promising and the cool crisp morning air reminded me why am always fascinated with the wild. No hooting, sirens or smoke. Here you can hear yourself think. The park is a rich green with the first rays of the sun peeping through the tree foliage like a shy bride, a picture of a perfect morning.

The camp slowly arose and after a dragged breakfast, it was time to face the mountain. A briefing by the park warden and we were off accompanied by two rangers. Some clever chaps decided cycling to the summit was a good idea but after couple of metres, they quickly abandoned the idea. When fatigue sets in, the cycles become a burden.

In the lower part of the mountain, insects were a nuisance making me regret the decision to leave behind my insect repellent. As we went higher, however, the insects buzzing around my face reduced and eventually disappeared by the time we hit 2,000 metres above sea level. The day got hotter fast as the sun went high. This coupled with the indulges of the night began taking a toll on the hikers who soon started splitting into groups.

The campsite in the morning.

At 1985 metres above sea level mark, some had already given up and gone back to base while the rest trundled on, determined to get to the top. As the group grew sluggish, a few of us had already broken off and went ahead. I was eager to see how much my body could take after months of riding a chair.

A while ago, I hiked up Mt Longonot in slightly under an hour and gauging its steepness, I took the slow winding road up Kilimambogo to be a walk in the park. I was wrong.

The higher we went, the longer the distance grew. After walking for what seemed like an eternity and thought the end was near another road opened up. Just when I was sure we were almost there, we came across a signage saying the summit was 3.6km ahead and I felt my energy drop. However, after the 6km hike from the base, I was not about to go back. After a short rest, we trudged on. We were now only three people, with the rest dragging several metres behind.

We took time to stop at Sir William Macmillan’s grave high on the mountain where he and his faithful servant Louise Decker were buried side by side. Macmillan was the owner of all this land, including what is now Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park and adjoining lands, 33,000 acres in total. On this land, he built several houses, the Ol Donyo Sabuk Guesthouse is one and not very far from the park is the great Macmillan House. A huge, 32-room fortress built in 1918. Story has it Sir McMillan and his wife lived in one wing for the first half of the year and the other for the second half.

The summit

After the short stop, we took the rest of the hike easy and we were soon at the summit crowded by a sea of communication masts. From here you can see the Athi River, the pineapple fields of Thika and the snow-capped peaks of both Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.

After a short rest, we headed back, only to meet the rest of the team about 2km from the top soldiering on. We also met another group on their way up — evidently hiking here is quite popular.

We never got to meet any buffalo but knew they were around from the dung everywhere. Back to the camp, we whiled away the rest of the day talking and soon another day was gone.

As we packed up our gear the next day, I could not believe I had nearly missed this wonderful opportunity but thank God for the aches they were enough reminders.