Walking
on Chyulu Hills
Day
1
Depart Nairobi
around 0800, for the 3 hour drive down the Mombasa road to Kibwezi. Here we will
leave the tarmac, and take a dirt road, (probably an optimistic term for it),
for the 30 km to where we start walking to the caves. First though, lunch of cold
cuts, salads, bread and cheese, cold beer or soft drink, then an hour walk to
the entrance of the caves. Afternoon spent exploring.
Day 2
Explore
sections of one of the longest "Lava Tube" caves in the world - Leviathan.
These caves, which world-wide, are relatively rare, are thought to have been formed
when molten lava, of specific type and viscosity flowed down a slope of a specific
angle. The surface layer cooled and solidified, but the lower part, still molten,
continued to flow on down. At this point, somewhere up the hillside a collapse
of the surface crust occurred through which air enters, and so a tube evacuated
itself just below the surface. Afternoon and the evening spent down in the caves
looking at some of the fascinating formations found therein - Sink holes, lava
ropes, stalagmites and stalactites, benches and of course the secondary, water
formed features.
Day 3
Early morning departure by road for the
top of the Chyulu Hills. Superb walking country with gently undulating grasslands,
interspersed with dense patches of forest. Possibility of viewing herds of eland
and other antelope, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest with slightly lesser chance
to see elephant, lion and buffalo and the other game that live in the area. Probable
views of Kilimanjaro just 50 km away. Night somewhere along the crest. Probably
cool and windy with low cloud in the early morning.
Day 4
Full
day of walking
Day 5
Early morning game drive or short walk before
a late breakfast / early lunch . It's then along the crest road and down the western
side of the hills for the drive back to Nairobi arriving before nightfall.
Options are of course many and varied and in many cases we can be flexible about
the itinerary whilst we are actually on the safari. One may, for instance, wish
to spend an extra day caving (or cut out a day), thus spend less time (or longer)
walking the Chyulus.
Itinerary
may be varied from 3 - 7 or more days and is often combined with Athi River rafting
or a visit to Tsavo / Amboseli National Parks.
