Egypt is one of the rich holiday destinations as it has a wide variety of attractions that you can enjoy. I recently visited this country for my summer holiday, as it is always my tradition to visit a new destination. As expected, my itinerary was full of fun activities, and places to visit for the entire duration. Not only did I want to experience the beautiful East coast but also the African Savanna. Moreover, I am a lover of hiking, thus this time I was determined to hike Mt. Longonot. In fact, this was the first activity on my itinerary coming just one day after arriving.
Although Mt. Longonot is just about an hour’s drive from the city of Nairobi, which is also Kenya’s Capital, I opted to seek accommodation in Naivasha, that has quite a number of safari lodges and is even much closer to Longonot. For starters, this mountain is within the Great Rift Valley thus, it offers an opportunity to experience East Africa’s wilderness, as it peaks at 2776 ft above sea level. Unlike other mountains I know, hiking on this mountain requires just one day.
So on the big day, we set out early in the morning in the company of other visitors and domestic tourists, in order to avoid getting caught up by the effects of the hot sun later in the day. Although this hike is usually not manageable by all people, we were determined to reach the peak of this mountain. The holiday was tiring and I missed my home and needed my own bed. So we took small breaks in between the hike, especially where the terrain was somewhat demanding. The good news is that after braving the sun for about five hours, we eventually got to the rim of the crater, having covered about nine kilometers from the gate of the Mt. Longonot national park. The view of the Great Rift Valley from this point is breathtaking. This is further enhanced by the fact that you can also be able to have a view of Naivasha Town. Since the Mountain is under the custody of the Kenya Wildlife Service, we had a ranger who also looked out for wild animals as he is always armed.
We had a quick snack at this point and took lots of water to avoid dehydration, because the heat of the sun was too much. We soon embarked on descending the mountain that was much easier. It took us about two and a half hours to get at the foot of the mountain. This being within the park, the hike would not be complete without sampling what the park had to offer.
Thus although we were all tired, we enjoyed a trip around the park whose ecosystem is mainly savanna where we go to see buffaloes, gazelles, impala and the giraffe. To crown it all, we also had a view of the sunset even as we drove out of the park to our respective hotels about 20 kilometers away. After such a long day, I wanted my big pine bed. Therefore, when I got to my hotel room went for the shower and later tucked myself in my cozy bed because the evenings here are somewhat chilly.
After a long hike up the mountains you need a handmade cabin bed, that they use in Kenya see different styles of pine bed used in the Savanna.