A story about the origin of the Ngong Hills written by Juliet and put in the book we created for Grandma & Grandad for Christmas 1975 –
Letter from Judy to Grandma & Grandad 2 Mar 1977 –
I have just got back from our weekly walk on the Ngong Hills which the children may have told you about. They are just on the outskirts of Nairobi and form the edge of the Rift Valley, with nearly a sheer drop of 2000ft or so down into the valley. Either Graham or I go when we can manage it, one of us stays at home to welcome the children from school and cook their supper and this week it was Graham’s turn to be chef. It takes about an hour to walk over the five or six hills to the highest point – there are spectacular views in all directions of course, and we usually see buffalo and various antelope, so altogether it make a pleasant outing with just fits in nicely between the end of the working day at 4:30pm and darkness falling at about 7pm.
After returning to the UK I read Karen Blixen’s book ‘Out of Africa’ which starts with words that have always resonated with me: ‘I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills’. In 1985 a film version of ‘Out of Africa’ was released, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streeo, Robert REdford and Klaus Maria Brandauer, which I still enjoy watching.
Juliet's Kenya Days blog 