It’s been a long time since I went anywhere in Kenya that I felt like posting about, but finally, I managed to venture out of my little coastal town, back up to Nairobi, and visited some of my friends on Champagne Ridge.
On a whim, I reached out to my friend Debs for availability. After an overwhelmingly wet week in Nairobi, whilst also feeling quite down about the cancellation of my trip home to Australia, a trip out of the mud and muck of the construction site was exactly what my spirit needed. I had lamented to my boyfriend (oh right, you remember Ben? The guy I was doing the drive from South Africa- Watamu with? We are dating now) and my friends in town about how FAR AWAY everything felt, and what felt like a bone-chilling cold in the air – though lets be real, its been in the 20’s the entire time I’ve been up; I’ve just adjusted to the tropics and the seaside.
Champagne Ridge is about an hour out of the Karen side of Nairobi, just through Kiserian. While it didn’t rain during the drive, the week’s worth of downpour was immediately evident; with the dirt roads unfailingly converted into slippery treacherous mud slicks – with both cottony soil, compacted clay, and areas that the locals had evidently decided needed extra help; laying steel bars and concrete on the steepest of slopes. We drove up in Ben’s Defender, and while we saw a few Vitz or proboxes on the route; personally I wouldn’t back myself enough as a driver to attempt it on the roads when wet.
Ben says I am being dramatic with that. But, rather than be dramatic, than bogged in the mud on the side of the road, no?
Accomodation
I had booked us into The Nest – a small cottage overlooking a huge ravine, with views that reminded me of why I fell in love with this part of the world. After the chaos of Nairobi and the bustling tourism of Watamu, Champagne Ridge really was a breath of fresh air. With a silence so complete (aside from the occasional song bird) it is one of the few places that felt like really “getting away” from town. The simplicity of the accommodation added to the charm – we could tell that the construction was done lovingly and by hand – no quick slap-jobs here, and given the cold air in the ridge, it stayed surprisingly warm and cosy inside, even without a fireplace (or closing the curtains!)
The Nest is fully equip for self-catering; a small fridge, cooking utensils, a gas burner and a barbecue, and that suited us just fine. We brought our own food from home, and set up camp in the living room to watch the thunderstorms unfold – shattering the night sky with bolts of lightning and thunder claps big enough that the windows at home would have shook – yet these stood firm.
Being something of a gardener, I couldn’t help by admire their rainwater catchment; the entire property runs off rainwater harvesting; the taps, the showers, the toilets. This means that the tap water is safe to drink – a rare novelty in Kenya, where municipal water is king. But even more so than this; despite what must have been over 100mm of rainfall, their guttering was robust enough that not a single drop went to waste. There was no overflow, no cracks in the system, and completely neat, tidy removal of all drainage. As someone who hates mud and water wastage, this tickled me absolutely pink. As someone who was sleeping on the edge of a CLIFF – the control of slide-off calmed the tippy-taps of nerves that I always seem to have when standing on a sheer drop off.
If you don’t want to pack your own meals like we did, there is a restaurant called Bunduz just back along the way, that has a remarkable menu, and they deliver! As we all know, I can be something of a picky eater, both with dietary preferences and my recent health kerfuffles, but even I found something on their menu that was suitable! So for both Vegans and Meat-lovers alike, you won’t go wrong.
Given that it was only one night in The Nest, I regrettably don’t have much to say about the hikes surrounding – as it was extremely wet (and we were tired and lazy) we didn’t partake in an evening or dawn stroll, but I can certainly see that being something that we give a go the next time we head up. If you’re looking for a quick and easy weekend getaway out of Nairobi, I strongly, strongly recommend this. (Those with kiddlets will need to keep an eye on their little ones as the cliffs are no joke, and there is a resident troop of baboons, with bad boys large enough to make our eyes water)
You can reach out to them here;
And no, this isn’t sponsored, or gifted in any way. It’s just an absolute gem of a place, for a steal of a price, and conveniently located close enough to Nairobi (particularly Karen) that it is perfect for a quick escape from reality.
