Camping at Paradise Lost

  

Date Posted: 11/26/2012 10:09:03 AM

Posted By: markmaugz  Membership Level: Bronze  Total Points: 26

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My classmates and I had an amazing experience at Paradise Lost. Situated in cold Kiambu adjacent to a vast coffee farm, the camping site offers a quaint place to hang out. If you are looking for a serene place to unwind or an apt place for a birthday party or an outdoor experience, that is the place to be.
True to the Paradise Lost website, it is located 20 minutes from town but depending on the traffic and driver it can be longer or shorter. A left turn dirt road dissecting the coffee farm leads you to the place 2km from the Kiambu Road. An old man at the gate welcomes you or scares you depending on your perception. The charges for adults are 300/= and children are 100/= for a picnic while for camping at night its 800/= per head.
After doing a headcount the old man lets you in and the choice of where to set up camp is left to you. The grounds overlook a good view of a river bordered by river reeds. For the fee of 800/= per person, they provide with a tent, electricity, bonfire and security at night. Also toilet and cold shower facilities are included in the ‘package’.
The tent provided has space for two. Inside, two mattresses and two blankets are included. One should carry their own bed sheet as a precaution against bedbugs or scabies. However, since this is camping and not a holiday vacation at the Stanley Hotel, the blankets provided should suffice.
A torch will also come in handy since it gets pitch black at night. To fight the frigid cold that sweeps in at night, one should carry a warm jacket or a warm sleeping bag.
The rest is left up to you to define your camping experience. One has

to bring food-precooked or raw-since they provide you with a jiko to cook on. A music system is encouraged to make use of the electricity. Not to forget drinks to brighten the mood and ensure an evening to remember.
The place also offers pleasant sight-seeing sites. One of them is a natural waterfall. It rises approximately 50 feet in the air with cold frothy water plummeting from above. We had a chance of experiencing how cold the water can be when we daringly climbed to a ridge in the waterfall and let the water pound the heck out of us. It was such an unbelievable experience that left us shivering to the core.
Adjacent to the photogenic waterfall, are natural caves that extend deep in to the earth. The history of the caves is interesting as the Mau Mau used to live in them during their resistance to British rule .For the daring few, one can explore them while crouching for a considerable amount of the distance. Despite the damp warm conditions and load on your back, it is totally worth it.
And if that’s not all, just a few metres from the cave is a path leading to a bird nature trail. For those who don’t mind walking, the trail serves up a mouth-watering buffet for nature and bird lovers. The birds in the offing include African Fish Eagles, the Palm Nut Vulture, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Fischer''s Turaco, the Southern Banded Snake Eagle, East Coast Akalat and a variety of herons, waders and Pipits. After that, one can enjoy at an expense of 100/=, boat, horse and camel rides.
All in all, it is an awesome place to spend a weekend!

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