Juliet's Kenya Days blog

Diary entry by Juliet 13 Feb 1976 –

Today we went to the Aberdare Mountains but Daddy was sick so we camped by the road. It was hot but there was a cool wind. Some little boys came with their cows. There are some nice blackberries and also some funny sort of orange berries rather like raspberries. I tasted some and they are horrid. Helen, Fiona and I went for a walk down to a stream and played for a little while. On the way up we saw a colobus monkey which is a long-haired black and white monkey.

Diary entry by Juliet 14 Feb 1976 –

Today Daddy was better and we walked up to the top. First we walked along a path and then through a bamboo jungle on a churned up elephant path where there was lots of fresh dung. Near the top we got out of the bamboo and into a place with giant heather – some about 20 ft high – and some sort of bright red lilies. At the top was a hut where Helen, Fiona and I stayed while Mummy and Daddy went on a bit further. On the way down we passed our friends car and put a note on it saying ‘No Parking Allowed – Pay 100/- to House Number 13’ (which is our house).

Letter from Juliet to Grandma & Grandad 2 Mar 1976 –

On the weekend of 14-15 Feb we went camping on the Aberdares, a range of mountains not far from Mt Kenya. On the Sunday we walked to the top. It was a long hot walk through a dense bamboo jungle on a very churned up ELEPHANT path. It was quite scary because there was fresh dung and great big footprints but all went well and we reached the top without meeting any elephants or buffalo.

Thanks to Nina R and Kamweti Mutu for their pics on Flickr.

Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 4 Mar 1976 –

We went walking on the Aberdares, a range of hills covered with bamboo and forest which made exciting walking because the track seemed mostly frequented by elephants and we spent most of the time treading carefully over elephant footprints and heaps of very recent dung. One consolation was that the bamboo was so thick that we were quite sure an elephant or buffalo could only come at us from the front or the rear along the same path as we were on ! Also the children made so much noise I’m quite sure any self-respecting animals kept well away. In fact we saw nothing though we heard some distinctly ‘interesting’ noises ! Really the danger is not great providing one avoids these areas at dusk and at night time.