Enchanted forest nature tours: The hidden springs from mountain of the gods.

The valley opens below. Cliffs and high valleys stand in the midst of a sky pregnant with moisture. The rains are about to come. We stop at the Kerio Tingwa Ecotourism camping site for a stretch and to admire the beautiful landscape. We are on our way to Eldoret via the Eldama Ravine road and then to Chepkiit waterfall.

A map on the sign board points to the interesting features in the view. We can see Tongwoto caves, Tingwa hills at 2,700 meters and somewhere below are the Kabilet waterfalls and Kerio River. At the next viewpoint, we can see the white rug on the terrain of the Fluorspar mines.

Its nearly midnight and we are camping just off the turning from Biribiriet near Eldoret on the Eldoret-Kapsabet road .The night air is cold but stunningly revitalizing. This is the ultimate forest camping experience. The gurgle of the stream running at the bottom of the field, is inviting. The moon, hidden in the clouds, send a little light in the terrestrial grounds but our eyes have become accustomed to the darkness and we are no longer daunted by it. Instead, warmed by the camping fire, we are suddenly animated when somebody suggests a midnight walk with Beryl to the rivers edge in search of frogs! This may be my proverbial chance to kiss the frog and end up with prince charming, so I join in.

The trouble with frogs is that you get to see them more at night and so much of Beryls field work is stalking the wilds in the dark armed with torch and plastic bags to catch the jumping jacks.

We tread the grass softly so as not to frighten the amphibians. Ringed by the glow of the torch light, a tiny reed frog tenderly perches on a thin grass. Its quite a piece of art, this delicate scene. Thats a reed frog, Beryl says as our torches beam on many more in the shallow edges of Kipkeren River which thunders over the nearby Chepkiit waterfalls and onwards to Kingwal swamp. Many of the tiny water frogs are breeding and their throat sacs are ballooned enormously to call out female mates. Its quite a busy little scene by the banks of the river. In contrast, the bigger grass frogs look quite monstrous and scary.

Frogs are a good indicator of a clean environment says Beryl. Any disturbance of the water quality effects their populations. There is no long term national data on the amphibians to compare the state of the environment or the diversity of frogs. Beryl is one of the few young Kenyans studying frogs.

Its amazing. In the light of the following morning, where the scene was busy the night before, there is not a single frog to be seen. I take a leisurely stroll to a secluded water pool surrounded by massive rocks for a morning bath. The water is cool, the early morning clean and pure and the sky is lit with diverse colurs. The RossTuraco with its bright scarlet under wing has everybody taken under its wing its a bird of the old forests and quite rare to many birders.

This place is a find for camping nature lover groups. We are camping in this beautiful place surrounded by trees and open glades sandwiched between a picturesque Nandi homestead and the river overlooking a stone buff, all thanks to Mary, who has been researching in the vicinity for six years. Everybody keeps running to coast for their holidays. They should come here for a once in a life time camping experience, she says vehemently. You wont believe the number of stunning places like these.

We lumbered early out of our camping gear and after the private bath in the rock pool and a leisurely breakfast, Mary gets us up on our feet again. This time, its a walk to the Chepkiit waterfall. There is so much to see walking through the glades of grass and forest, its like being in a wonderland.

The turacos awe us time and time again. The harrier hawk, glides to perch on a rock while the tiny leaf-loves and green doves fly about. Black and white casqued hornbills send noisy trumpets in flight while the graceful crowned cranes spread their feathers in elegant flight. There is life everywhere .Even on the rocks I wonder what these are? Mary asks as she kneels to gently touch the white straw-like threads weaving a pattern on the rocks. I have no idea either. Silk threads touch our bare faces as we walk the jungle part to the waterfall. Its sound reaches us faintly and we step over a border to see this most amazing scene of giant rocks and water and through the wide split in the gorge, a forest stretching into the horizon.

This is Chepkiit waterfall, announces Mary proudly. Everybody is bowled over and with a new lease to life; we explore the vistas, moving from rock to rock as the water crashes down. This water will flow on Yala swamp and finally into Lake Victoria.

The Nandi area is very rich in bio-diversity, says Mary. There are lots of places like these. What we need is to manage these places through researches that they are sufficiently protected.

We visit the nearby homestead; Janet is busy with the usual house hold chores. The sheep and goats have been let out, the cows have had there morning drink at the river having to walk around the tents, and the cooking is going on. Inside the kitchen, the hand-made stove is ablaze with the firewood, little escaping from the sides so as to make the most efficient use of the precious fuel. Above are the calabashes, adding a dash of deco in the earth walled kitchen. The botet or calabashes are used to store mursik the traditional sour milk of the Nandi. I buy a couple, not to store milk but as a small token of the place.

For more information on the area, you can email; Robert

To explore more of the outdoors and discover all thats wild, visit a local operator for more information on camping tours. You get to explore places that are off-the-beaten track with people who make every trip an unforgettable forest camping event.

Robert Muhoho is a tour consultant in Kenya and has planned business and vacation safaris for over 10,000 tourists in the East African region. He is a tour operation- major and involved in National tourism policy development in Kenya.Atalanta Blog93696
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