Sleeping in the trees

We decided it was time to show the kids that there is more to Kenya than a busy congested city so last weekend we headed off to the Rift Valley, staying in a lodge near Lake Naivasha. Naivasha is about 90 minutes drive from Nairobi and the right side of town to head off straight from school pick up and so wake up in the calm of the forest on Saturday morning. So it's a popular weekend destination for Nairobi dwellers and holiday makers alike.

Leaving Nairobi's suburbs it starts to feel rural pretty quickly and green too, despite the fact the long rains have yet to appear - the precise timing of their arrival is subject to much debate in the press just now. The kids were almost as excited to see cows, donkeys sheep and goats as they were feeding giraffe the week before. Just as thrilling was the news that we would be staying in a tree house. And trying to spot this kept everyone going for the final short in distance but long in time stretch of our journey - a 4x4 is strongly recommended for the final 11kms and having done the journey in our Japanese saloon hire car we could see why, but where's the challenge in having the right kit for the job?

We had a lovely weekend walking through a bird filled forest and playing in streams. Like all our family walks, collecting treasure was an essential part of the experience - strange shaped sticks (that doubled as weapons in the sky landers type game the boys are currently designing), shiny black stones, feathers, flowers and some Africa specific finds - wild cotton for Katie and Matthew's prize find of a porcupine spine. There was also plenty of time for chilling at the tree house. This was an impressive two storey structure in the trees with a fully functioning kitchen (when the generator was on), a veranda with tree growing through it, two baths - Matthew was intrigued by the physics of supporting full tubs but I thought it best not to dwell on this question - and beds for 8.

We enjoyed watching the monkeys in the next door trees (although Tim and I were a little surprised when they woke us early on Sunday morning jumping across the roof), spotting the tiny local deer and looking out for hippos in the river below. We saw plenty of fresh footprints on our walks but not the real thing. There were a couple of night drives too, courtesy of an ancient Defender where we came across a herd of Buffalo going for an evening drink - our first of the "big five" and they were indeed big. I was very glad to be at a distance and high up.

I suspect that the boys were as impressed by the Defender as the Buffalo. They are fully engaged in the debate about what car/vehicle to get out here and have hours of Top Gear viewing to draw on. I have suggested that as and when we return to live in the UK we might drive back and our night drives solicited long lists of things we would need to take with us. Jamie is very seized with this idea and has had his head in the atlas planning the route. He has yet to find one that would be entirely advisable but there is plenty of time yet - I think this theme will run and run.

We headed back to Nairobi relaxed and very dusty, to Matthew's observation that the weekends seem longer here than in London. All agreed that we would return and next time we might even see the lake. And we will make plans for more exploring weekends out of town (with photos!). This weekend though has been a very mellow one in Nairobi, with birthday parties, swimming and meeting people over a very relaxed walk and lunch. A great way to recharge batteries for house hunting next week - my experiences thus far make a tree house outside Nairobi a very appealing option!

Anne