I am unsure if i should share the fact I drove for 6 hrs over 400km, camped for 2 nights and walked for hours through the Taita Hills to find 3 of Kenya’s treasures that were each about 10 cm long. These are the reasons why you have to be a little bit mad to be a traveller. You need that one screw loose, that one blown fuse, the slight spark of insanity to justify some of the reasons that take you places. But thats just the way travel is, it cannot be separated from the quest of of knowledge; the answer the question “What is over that next hill?”
Background information
The Taita Hills are a large series of mountains located in Taita – Taveta County. They are the most northerly of what are known as the Eastern Arc Mountains that stretch all the way into Tanzania. They are unique in that due to to the fact that that they have not eroded as fast as the surrounding areas and as such jut out of the landscape creating a high-altitude isolated oasis filled with endemic species of both plants and animals.
However due to human settlement on the lower slopes only a few fragments on the hill tops remain, best exemplified by the image below.
Due to time constraints I was only able to visit the Ngangao portion of the forest so thats what I”ll be covering here.
Getting there
Pretty straightforward up to Wundanyi, the road is all tarmac so worries there. However you will notice I did not take the more obvious C 104 (long story) but i am told it is in good condition as well. Public transport also easily available from Voi.
Stunning drive through farmland going into the highlands. watch out for the Probox’s flying down though!
On Arrival
From Wundanyi Town a good place to stop for a cup of tea is Lavender hotel which can also be used as a base if you are not camping. This is also where we found Crispin who showed us the way to the forest, it can be slightly tricky knowing which road to follow. We also stopped at the local market where we stocked up on some supplies, incidentally a lot of the produce consumed in the Coast region is all from this area.
This is the typical landscape in the area. Reminds me quite of my visit to bit of Nandi Hills.
The Forest
The Ngaongao Forest is only 20min from town. It is the 2nd largest forest fragment in the area and covers an area of 147ha with good populations of all the Taita endemic birds, so this was the the point I chose for the bird hunt. The entire Taita hills are classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA), a nod to the rarity of the species found here.
The target was the Taita White-Eye, Taita Apalis and the Taita Thrush. Easier said than done. No one tells you how difficult it is to find a threatened bird species and how much walking it entails.
So we walked…
And walked…
And waited. How does a forest ranger find something that small in such a large area? Using his mobile phone of course! The bird calls are recorded on his phone and he plays back the sound to get the birds to answer. I learn something new everyday.
Patience here is key. Birds are not something the size of an elephant you can spot from miles away, especially in a forest. My patience hadn’t been tested this much in a long while
However eventually, success!
Taita White-Eye
In the end I did manage to spot all 3 birds among many others. 2 days roaming around the forest learning about the flora, fauna, conservation and community, its too much to put all here. So here are some more pictures instead.
Headed up to the top of Ngaongao.
At the top of Ngaongao.
Looking back toward Wundanyi.
One of the oldest trees in the forest.
The forest is also full of butterflies, so if you’re a fan this is the place to be.
More views.
Almost at the campsite after a long walk
A monster mushroom we found in the forest made a great meal. We we sure it would make a great meal but were not sure we would be alive 10min later. but high risk, high return, it was delicious.
The Campsite
We made our base of operations at the Kenya Forest Service ‘ranger post’. Jonam (a KFS officer) and Peter (guide) made us feel most welcome.
See that dark slit it the ground? Yup thats your toilet, Jonam and Peter thoughtfully put up the screening.
The campsite was right next to the one of the forest tracks with a fair bit of human traffic but we couldn’t have felt safer. Quite the norm once you get away from cities and towns. People passing through just to say hi, village dogs sniffing around for scraps just normal life happening all around you.
Oh, and this is the view from the campsite in the morning. Mount Kilimanjaro in all her glory. Kiiind of makes up for the toilet.
Snapshot
- When walking carry something warm even though its a sunny day. Due to the altitude the weather changes very quickly.
- Carry a bag with enough water and some snacks, the hiking can be a bit strenuous without it depending on how far you decide to walk.
- There are no large animals in the forest and as such it is safe with young children.
- Fees to the forest are Ksh 400/- and camping is Ksh 600/-.
- Call Jonam 0711-767242 (ranger) or Peter (guide) 0726-821226 preferably before you arrive.
Final verdict
Birds aside, this entire area is a haven for walking tourism be it hiking or backpacking. Even if using Wundanyi as a base there are miles and miles of forest trails, caves peaks and rewarding views. Even without a car all areas are accessible using boda-bodas or matatus that travel in between the villages.
Such an un-tapped tourism resource, lots of talk in offices in Nairobi about expanding Kenya’s tourism options, little to no action. Yet a place like this exists, it makes no sense. Known mostly only to researchers and locals (I was so happy to meet a church youth group hiking into the forest), Taita Hills will long remain in my memory.
What is the way forward? It begins with you, looking for your needle in a haystack.
A big thank you to Wycliff of Lavender Garden Hotel who availed information where there was none to be had. Asante sana.
Great read and great photo’s as usual! Continue to keep us informed and entertained. I have a feeling it will pay off in a big way….for all.
Hi Julie,
Good to hear from you and thank you for reading. I just hope more Kenyans actually get some information and actually visit these places.
Great work, this is my home county but I have never visited Ngangao. Long story short, I am going there soon!
That is music to my ears, you won’t regret it. I’d love to hear about it when you go.
And we add another destination to our list. Always a great read
You’d better get started, or soon you won’t be able to keep up 🙂
I love the new layout with the pics full width.
Time to fix up the mtb think I have found my next bikepacking destination.
Thanks Arthur and thanks for the feedback, thought I’d change it up a bit. Now the defects in my photos will be clear for all to see,no worries though. You ride MTB? Cool. I never considered that angle, I’m going to include that in the article. You could ride those trails for weeks and still not cover everything.
Yeah, just did a 6 day bikepacking trip in Kwale, post coming up this weekend. A weekend riding those trials has to be planned now. Any info on chyulu hills? That’s another place on my list.
Hi, yes I can help you with info about Chyulu if my memory does not betray me. Shoot me an email.
Mark, are there camping groups one can just join?
Hi, well I really can’t vouch for any but “Canping & Hiking Kenya”, Kwea Milele” and ” Mountain Club of Kenya” groups on Facebook are a good place to start. lots of like-minded people on there.
Sharing this pronto with group!
Thanks for sharing.
Great read and nice to discover more tourist destinations. I agree with you regarding not marketing our Tourism spots better. Driving to Mombasa the other day the scenery that’s part of Shimba hills is just epic! I even spotted our very own table mountain! I’m a bit analogue so not sure how I can post some of those pics☺
Hi Leah, thank you for your comments. I’m hopeful for more more crowd-sourced information, next time you go somewhere share experience/pics with friends, thats how it begins.
Nicely done, keep it up.
Thanks Anonymous!
I will be doing my summer research in the neighbouring IBA of Kasigau with the communities. You just gave me a reason to take a tour of the Taita hills. In any case, it will be a good way to unwind from all the research. Thanks for the enlightment
My next article is on Kasigau, look out for that.
Nice and informative article! Great photos too. Happy to know that you managed to see all the endemic bird species.
Wow! I am so happy that you have found an highlighted this gem ‘the taita hills I come from the lowlands of taita and I have wondered how we can sell taita generally as a tourist destination n even as a stop over for ptourists on the way to Mombasa. Good. Work!
Reblogged this on funtravelkenya's Blog.
wow ,great photos from my neighborhood..Ngangao forest is just few meters away from home.The scenery is beautiful
Nice post. Can never get enough of this place!
thank you for decorating my home village
Late to the punch but I still get to read this. Suggestion, it would be nice to DL the blogposts as pdfs for future reference….
That is my hometown,( voi specifically),, thank you for highlighting it. Your photography skills is life itself. Everything is just epic
i did my silver and gold president award scheme expeditions in these areas. This was over 25 years ago and the place still remains one of my favorites. We went exploring around the Wesu area and came across a spectacular waterfall….definitely rekindled memories. Thanks for your blog man …. it has definitely rekindled the fire to visit Taita again.
25 years is too long inbetween visits. You should definitely visit again, might be interesting for you to see how much has changed (or remained the same since you were last there. Either way it remains a stunning part of Kenya.
Reblogged this on Zuru Kenya.
The last point of your write up made the world indeed a small village. Wyclif of Lavender Gardens, he was also the person who gave me an idea of vuria hills and Kenyatta Caves. He is such an informed person very social. Wundanyi before my visit was only in TVs but i fell in love with it. I will quote your words “Such an un-tapped tourism resource, lots of talk in offices in Nairobi about expanding Kenya’s tourism options, little to no action. Yet a place like this exists, it makes no sense. ”
There is much of untaped tourism potential in this place (not boosting) at least I have taken some friends to Kasigau and Vuria. We need more to join this expansion of new destinations
Reblogged this on my travel stories and commented:
The untapped potential tourism destinations
It is my favourite camping area since 1981 when I was in high school. I love Taita Hills and the people are polite and always ready to help. I have camped from Voi town to Sagalla, cross over to Mwatate, then at Bura or simply trek up to Wundanyi via Wesu. One could also make a stopover at Murray Girls’ High School then spend the night at Dr. Aggrey High School in Wundanyi. In 1987 we trekked from Wundanyi to Ghazi in Mbololo, one of the toughest expeditions I have ever done in the Taita Hills. I visit the place at least once in a year. Thank you for your blog and photographs.
I just came across this post. Thanks so much for sharing
No worries, hope it helped.