| A morning mist drifts silently by. We're on the roof | | | | Treetops has had its share of drama. The original |
| top of the most famous tree house in the world, the | | | | tree house, constructed in 1932,was burnt down |
| tree tops. | | | | during by the Mau Mau freedom fighters in 1954. It |
| There's always something new to read and discover | | | | was from this tree house that a princess climbed |
| in its reign of history. Like, half a century apart, | | | | down as the queen of the British Empire - Queen |
| someone must have stood on an icy cold morning | | | | Elizabeth. |
| like this one, looking over the brow of the | | | | Undeterred Sherbrooke Walker went on to built a |
| mountainous range. There was little to be seen | | | | new one in 1957. |
| because of the mist, I read in one of the books on | | | | THE Queen returned in 1983 and spent the night in |
| the history of this world famous place. | | | | the Queen Elizabeth suite, one of the two self |
| In the written hand of Sherbrooke Walker who built | | | | contained suites facing the waterhole with its private |
| he tree house in October 1952, he enters "it rained all | | | | balcony |
| night long". Visibility was poor and the party which he | | | | Things have changed over time. In the 1950s, he |
| escorted didn't see much. But another party in 1952 | | | | animal migration routes were still intact between Mt |
| spends six days in the tree house and writes "Six | | | | Kenya and the Aberdares . Elephants and other |
| days and nights in the tree makes it seem much | | | | mega- herbivores like rhinos and buffaloes have |
| closer to heaven than earth. It is with regret that we | | | | followed the grass routes for centuries, allowing the |
| have to go below ". Its writer is Almond al Millet from | | | | grasses to regenerate. Today, the Aberdare national |
| Hollywood. Could this person have been in the same | | | | park is farmed up to the fence line. In the hotel lobby |
| party as the legendary Walt Disney who also visited | | | | , a poster catches my eye. Its from the Rhino Ark in |
| Treetops in 1952? I wonder. | | | | partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, the |
| Dinner is served and interrupted by a party of | | | | custodians of the country's wildlife heritage. |
| elephants. For some, it's the excitement of having | | | | To reduce the conflict between the animals and |
| the worlds largest land mammals in residence. | | | | farmers, the wildlife partners came up with the idea |
| The night passes. God's mighty mountain is well | | | | of fence. So far 265 kilometers have been completed |
| shrouded. Daniel Musau who has worked for the | | | | with 85 to go. The reasons given for the fencing are |
| establishment for close to two decades and | | | | that it will conserve the water catchment as the |
| welcomed prince Edward and his wife at treetops | | | | aberdares are one of the five water towers of |
| tells us that when the mountain is invisible, it means | | | | Kenya; it will conserve its indigenous forest and the |
| the gods are having a closed door meeting. For the | | | | rhinos and other wildlife; it will bring humans in |
| two days that were in its shadows,Kenyas towering | | | | harmony with the habitat and wildlife. Anyone wishing |
| massif remains hidden in the mists. | | | | to support the project can donate US$20 which will |
| In the spotlight below, a baby elephant is busy trying | | | | take care of one meter of fence or US$100 which |
| to shake something off its trunks as the mother | | | | will build five meters of fence. |
| stays close bye. The silent is busy with the resident | | | | After a late breakfast in the company of the |
| animals all scrambling for a drink at the water hole, | | | | buffaloes at the Treetops, we depart for the |
| one taking a midnight muddy bath in the shallow | | | | outspan which is the base hotel for Treetops . Built in |
| waters. Their antics are well- known amongst the | | | | 1928 by Sherbrooke Walker and his wife Lady Bettie, |
| staff." If you look at the buffaloes, you'll see that | | | | it has kept its charm of the past. By the Kirinyaga |
| many are missing a tail. Its because of these hyenas," | | | | tavern , we meet with a famous patron of the |
| says Daniel | | | | tavern- the resident peacock. |
| The black rhino and her calf walk the exact path to | | | | "Now that you have your cameras out, he will come |
| the waterhole, drink ,linger for a while and then | | | | to the front and pose for you,"Paul Nguyo, the sales |
| disappear into the darkness. Meanwhile, the rhino | | | | executive of the hotel comments. For sure,it soon |
| ranger has taken his digital pictures which he shows | | | | comes to the pub and in a flurry of feathers opens it |
| me on his powerful camera. The data will be entered | | | | tail like a fan,undeterred by us. |
| into the national rhino database. The good news is | | | | Not far from the Outspan is the Agikuyu Peace |
| that the Aberdare rhino population is increasing. There | | | | Museum. It's a small museum, very nondescript from |
| is an estimated 65 in the 776 square kilometers park. | | | | the outside. |