Day 12: A trip to the Mount Kenya region

We left The Ark this morning and went on a bus back to the Aberdare Country Club, where we met Nafton, our bus driver, and headed for Nanyuki. We stopped at the equator for some pictures and heard and saw a demonstration from a man wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket about the coriolis effect on water 20 meters north of the equator (water rotates in a clockwise motion when falling downward), 20 meters south of the equator (water rotates in a counter-clockwise motion when falling downward), and at the equator (water does not rotate at all).

Group photo on equator
On the equator
Demonstration of coriolis effect on water
Demonstration of coriolis effect on water
Demonstration of coriolis effect on water
Weaver bird nests
Weaver bird nests

We then went to the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and Animal Orphanage. Our guide, Benson, showed us all of the animals there, many of whom were orphaned and will be released back to the wild. There are bongo and cheetah breeding programs here, as well as different types of monkeys, several ostriches, tortoises, a baby zebra, bush bucks, a porcupine, forest pigs, pygmy hippos (a gift from West Africa), llamas (a gift from South America), and other animals that are used in educating school children and other visitors about wildlife conservancy in Kenya.

Walking into the animal orphanage
A bongo
Feeding a bongo
Feeding a bongo
Feeding a bush buck
Feeding a bush buck
Feeding a Sykes monkey
Feeding a Sykes monkey
Feeding a Sykes monkey
Feeding a Sykes monkey
Feeding a Sykes monkey
A forest pig
An ostrich
Feeding an ostrich
Feeding an ostrich
Feeding an ostrich
Feeding an ostrich
With a new friend
In the animal orphanage
With Speedy, a 100-year-old tortoise
Crowned cranes
Crowned cranes
Feeding a llama
An Egyptian goose
A leopard relaxing high in a tree
Pygmy hippos

On our way back to Embu, we stopped for lunch at the Trout Tree restaurant and had a delicious meal. This restaurant is unique in that it is built in and around a huge mugumo tree and serves fresh trout from the trout ponds that are on site. Tree hyrax, Colobus monkeys, and birds can be found on the Trout Tree grounds, along with trout.

Trout Tree restaurant
Walking into the Trout Tree
Entering the restaurant
Climbing the steps built around a mugumo tree
Getting ready to order our food
Waiting for our food
A tree hyrax at the Trout Tree
A Colobus monkey
Beautiful flowers
The chef preparing food at the Trout Tree
Group photo at the Trout Tree

Below are a few photos of some of the sights we saw as we drove from Nanyuki back to Embu this afternoon.

Banana and other plants
Shops in a market
Kioks and shops in a market

After the satisfying meal, most of us took a nap in the bus as we drove back to Embu.

Napping in the bus

Leave a Reply