Michael and I spent the weekend of October 14 – 16 within the Kakamega Forest Preserve at Rondo Retreat, an “our pick” by the Lonely Planet staff. Little wonder why. I thought I was in heaven.
Now under the direction of the Trinity Fellowship (I know only that it is US based and a Christian charity), this 1948 homestead of a British logger has become a blissful retreat. There is the original house, beautifully restored and decorated, a number of guest cottages, a chapel, and a splendid botanical garden developed by the first wife of the original owner.
As well as having a comfortable room with an ensuite bathroom with hot shower and shelves (wow!) for our stuff, we enjoyed delicious meals in a lovely dining hall, the exotic scent of gardenias (my mother’s favourite) as we walked the path to and from our room, and afternoon tea on the verandah of our cottage.
The vistas of the garden from our room were simply lovely. I was ready to move in after 4 weeks of power failures, cooking on a propane stovetop, rustic hand laundry, and awkward bathrooms. I was relaxed for the first time in 4 weeks. Once again, my western self was bumping up against West African realities of life.
We met interesting people. A retired US cardiologist and his wife are living for two years in Eldoret where he works at a local medical centre under trying circumstances training Kenyan doctors. Recently, a decison was made to add more capacity to the morgue while he struggles with no sutures, aspirin or ventilators. Different values about life and health are at play. We met Rebecca from Australia who is working for an American NGO studying poverty eradication. We met a couple of keen birders from the UK on vacation. We met some charismatic Christians from the UK who fund an orphanage in Kakamega for street children. This well meaning expat community is part of the fabric of society in Kenya, and it was fascinating to share stories and experiences with them, to help us understand what WE are doing here. Were there Kenyans? Yes, including the very hip fiancee with her Australian partner who shared our cottage verandah with us.
However, the very best part of the weekend were our two nature hikes with our guide, Wycliffe, a Kakamega Forest Guide and Community Environmental Teacher. In his gentle way, he introduced us to the flora and fauna of this newest and highest part of the African rainforest that stretches across the continent from its birth in Guinea through the Congo and Uganda to the highlands of Kenya. The remaining 23,000 hectares of the original 240,000 hectares of Kenyan rain forest are gorgeous.
The bird and animal sounds that dominate one’s senses in the morning hours give way to quiet in the heat of the afternoon. We were enchanted by colourful butterflies looking for sunshine to dry their wings, monkeys swinging from treetop to treetop to escape our detection, black and white hornbills caw cawing and soaring between trees, tiny orchid-like flowers to large, white pincushion flowers on top of the volcanic Lirhanda hilltop. When we saw the enormous twisted rainforest vines, we told a disbelieving Wycliffe about the fictional Tarzan. 
But the most awesome experience for me, a lover of mighty rivers, was reaching the fast flowing rapids of the Yala River. This river flows into Lake Victoria, and becomes part of the one river that flows out of Lake Victoria above Victoria Falls to become the White Nile. We saw the red Kenyan silt in the river that historically became part of the rich Nile delta lands, rich silt that now accumulates behind the high Aswan dam. I bathed my hands in waters that will flow into the Mediterranean Ocean, part of the refreshing waters we swam in off the south coast of Crete. To be in touch with nature at this elemental level was - sublime.
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