Mt Longonot-the Mountain of Smoke

Mt Longonot poses, perfect in front of the Longonot Villas at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort. At the foot of the mountain lies the fresh-water Lake Naivasha.

A flock of Egyptian geese rest on the 17th tee, obviously not afraid of the hard balls and unfazed by the approaching golfers. Gaggling among themselves, a few of them waddle to the pond for a swim.

Kilonzo finds the required shrub in the roughs among the fairways. It’s the grewia, which has delicious orange berries, and stems that are strong and flexible, ideal for the purpose.

“This is one of the activities we do at the Adventurer’s Club,” says the naturalist while stripping the outer layer of the bark. “See, you can bend it and it won’t break.

Maya tries her best to follow Daniel’s instructions and is totally absorbed in her task. “Next, we look for the colours to paint them,” says the “bushman” and we’re looking around for his paint palette when he steps back into the rough, this time heading for the cactus to take a few pieces of the white parasitic fungus and squeezes the white rubbery stuff.

A red liquid oozes from it, which Kilonzo and Maya use to paint stripes on the armoury. He then looks for another little shrub for orange paint and again, rubbing the leaves between his fingers, he gets the orange dye.

Next to the cactus is a wild sisal plant, from where Daniel fishes out a young shoot and strips the outer shell with a panga. The leaf turns into fine, whitish threads.

Taking a few strands, Daniel twines them against his leg into a thin rope for the bow. We’re totally impressed by his workmanship. “The Adventurer’s Club here is a bush school where children learn through practice.

I take them on walks to show them how to identify spoors and spats; what foods to eat and what to avoid if you’re stranded in the wild and so many other things.”

By this time, we’ve built a healthy appetite for a gourmet lunch. The salads are from the freshest of herbs and vegetables from the organic farm in the lodge, followed by a hearty buffet and desserts.

Stay at the Great Rift Valley Because:

The rooms and villas give you that fantastic panorama of the Rift Valley. It’s easy to get to the hot vents or have a morning picnic breakfast out in the plains as you go riding.
There’s so much space to walk and play golf. For conferences, the rooms are spacious, with great views outside.

By RUPI MANGAT from nation online