Joseph Kariuki

Our adventure begins in the heart of the Nyondia community, nine kilometers from the Naivasha/Nakuru-Nairobi highway junction.

There exists a private animal sanctuary consisting of a few animals that gather there in the evening after a busy day. The sanctuary hosts Thompson’s gazelles, zebras, wild rabbits, giraffes and wildebeests.

Our tour guide for the day, Mr Lawrence, who happens to be the operations manager of Dove Nest Lodge, patiently took us to each of the animals’ habitats, explaining their plans for the park, which the lodge co-owns with the government and the community.

“We want to dig a water hole so that the animals don’t have to go very far for water. The sanctuary can also handle more animals and we are in talks with KWS to bring in more,” he narrated to us.

The unnamed sanctuary, while about 35km from Hells Gate, is still considered a part of the Hells Gate animal sanctuary. At its heart is a spot that gives the view of Lake Naivasha and its scenic surroundings. After a brief photo shoot, we retired to the lodge at sunset.

The following morning started bright and early thanks to the singing from the birds that landed just outside my room’s window.

The lodge’s residents on wings indeed staged an amazing performance. After a sumptuous breakfast, we embarked on an excursion at the Maraigushu caves, which are a hidden gem in Naivasha. 

The caves are surrounded by greenery and therefore, not quite visible from a distance. This is probably why the Mau Mau thought to use the strategically located caves as one of their hiding spots.

We brave the journey to enter two of the most accessible ones. By this time, Isaac, one of the locals who narrates to us how he has lived in one of the caves, joins us. Cave Number Three, as we called it, is intertwined with Cave Number Two, and Cave Number Five is warm and dark.

The floor of the caves is wet, mainly because of a river that passes by the ridge, forming a waterfall at the top of the ridges. As we go deeper into the caves, bats reveal themselves and begin flying around once we get close. Blind and oblivious of the direction, it’s bound to get chaotic.

After a few minutes, we hunch our backs again and continue with the journey further inside, and come out to Cave Three through Cave Two.

Lawrence hands us a form of cane that is sour like lemon, but a much needed refreshment. As we have a minute to take the scenery in, he explains to us that the lodge will facilitate the branding of the caves and attract more tourists as a way of working with the community.

After that amazing adventure, we head for lunch to Dove Nest Lodge’s sister facility, Peppercorn Resort, before relaxing for the remaining part of the day and as we await check-out in the evening.

On arrival at Peppercorn, we bump into guests being transferred to Dove Nest after their conference. I find it peculiar how people manage to have serious discussions in such explorable environments.

In true Naivasha fashion, the weather changes and it starts to pour. We finish the heavy lunch and arm ourselves with hot cups of chocolate before embarking on the journey back to Nairobi.