“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” ~ Helen Keller
THE ROOM is a group of a wide variety of men and women, young and old.
From what I gathered during the Kereita Hike their main purpose is to Network.
They have other foci such as a target to connect over 20 million people to be linked to one another for the purpose of business, employment and also get together.
They hold regular get togethers for this purpose -- and the Kereita Hike - a net-walk to be more precise -- was one such activity.
Imtiaz (my bro) got invited. He is a member of THE ROOM. And he chose to rope me in for this activity.
At first I was abit hesitant but eventually decided it was worth it for I had never been to Kereita and this also presented a golden opportunity to network with some of the members and new friends.
Kereita Forest is at the foothills of the Aberdares (the Nyandaruas) - the southern most tip which then slopes down into the Great Rift Valley.
And it is conveniently located just off the main Nairobi-Nakuru Highway (A104) - just a few kilometers to the North of Kimende Township (which straddles the highway).
Since it was the first time for both Imtiaz and I - we decided to entrust ourselves to Professor Google Maps to guide us there.
There is no better guide in the world - that's what we thought!
But Prof Google did a darned lousy job out of it and took us through the longest, roughest and windiest of the tracks - totally ignoring the easy tarmacked road.
No worries about this cos we were in a high clearance 4WD.
The sharp acute angle turns were a good challenge especially the last one which links Prof Googles route to the easy tarmac road.
The drive through rural farms along narrow tracks is also something I haven't done for ages - so why not!
We were at our destination within an hour and half from South C - so another point to note for future hikes - in case one does not want to go too far from Nbi.
At the entrance, a drone was hovering over us with its distinct urban noise; a reminder that we really cannot escape technology however far we try to run from it..
We registered our biometrics and were directed to head to the restaurant building - which is supposed to be a 'nice' building. I reserve my comments!
The early 'birds' were already settled in to enjoy the worms - they were seated and chatting away like long lost friends - even though most of them had not ever met physically but been in touch over the phone. A point to note - 'like minds connect easily'
So in these COVID-19 times how does one do net-walking effectively & safely? And this is where THE ROOM did a wise move.
All those who wished to take part in this Netwalking Activity had to do 3 things namely:
- fill in an indemnity form
- secondly to enlist for a COVID test (mandatory!)
- and thirdly to pay the registration fee - which I believe catered for the teas and lunch which we eventually had - and they were good quality.
So in one corner of the restaurant the hazmat suit clad guy was busy inserting swabs into the noses of the late 'birds' like ourselves. The tests didn't last too long - we were hardly 20 in number.
We were all promptly tested and eventually informed - to our relief - that we were all negative. So the masks came off almost immediately. HURRAY!
Coffee and Teas were served - I think more as a reward for being negative than any other reason - but hey who refuses a warm cup of tea! We are all Kenyans and Kenyans love tea.
The skies are clear and the morning sun was pleasantly warm. In Kenya we have just emerged from one of our cold winters - so sunshine is a welcome treat anytime!
The hot beverages were savored by the group amidst small talk.
I shared my special recipe of TeaCoffee with a few of the brave members - who at first thought I was the one madman every group always has ..... but they were wrong and those who tried the concoction admitted to its great taste and punch of caffeine! I was redeemed!
I sat with Fred during the tea break and learnt much later that Fred had rubbed shoulders with greats such as Obama, the Emir of Qatar and Mama Graca Machel - among others.
I am now getting a better perspective that the group I am in is a well connected gathering of serious and resourceful citizens - - this became more and more evident as we net-walked through the Forest....well done!
Soon its time to start the hike.
We start at the entrance with a warm-up which includes a pep-talk mixed with introductions and also abit of self improvement talks.
The introduction was unique. Everyone was required to state his name, an adjective starting with the letter of the first name to describe himself or herself and stating what hard thing each one wants to achieve.
The introduction and pep talk lasted about 10 minutes and everyone passed with flying colours ......
This is when the motto of the net-walk became clear --- DO HARD THINGS!
And by the way, at
the end of the hike each one of us was rewarded with a badge with this motto
emblazoned upon it - which will now be a memento permanently stuck to my Timberland Backpack as a medal of honour .... for all and sundry to see & admire.
We were each accorded a partner for the first section of the walk with whom you are expected to netwalk.
I was teamed up with Judith -- and off we went!
We talked about our careers, our families and general talk. The hike through the forest was really not physically exerting - but a minimum level of fitness is a must if one has to enjoy such a walk through ups and downs.
Alex our lead guide mentioned that bird life in this forest is varied and in abundance. Honestly, I didnt see much of this even though I am an avid bird watcher - not quite an ornithologist yet but getting there.
So we walked, talked, netwalked and huffed and puffed --- till we reached the waterfalls. This is a small affair but a pleasant nook that drops about 15 ft into a shallow pool with crystal clear waters - which one can drink straight from the source.... yes its that clean!
After a short break - we head uphill again for about 30 more minutes and reach a path at a clearing - where we rest again and discuss the group guides' activities.
Alex and team form a group called Lets Drift.
They organise hikes to nearby and distant destinations including Mt Kenya, Aberdares, Kilima Mbogo, Ole Satima and others.
For a small fee one can join the group and wander this beautiful country that Kenya is!
As we head towards the end of the netwalk - many of us are tired but not too much as to be unable to move! The distance we had traversed was really not much more than 4km and the pace was leisurely - but the high altitude and the ups and downs can take a toll upon anyone.
By around 2pm we were back to where we had started and headed straight for lunch. This was a sumptuous meal with meats and vegetarian dishes and a variety of fresh juices -- talk about being health conscious - I didn't see anyone drinking a soda or bottled juice. Good! That's the spirit!
By 3pm we were back home tired but happy with the Netwalking!
Hope to join them again soon!!!!
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