After the fruitful Ethiopian trip I took the bus to Nairobi to organize the first paragliding competition in Kenya. El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole caused deadly floods in November and prolonged the rainy season. Weather was pretty gloomy. We were even considering to move the event to Iten as Kerio part of Rift Valley was drier. Finally it went well in Kijabe, Naivasha, but we fought every day to squeeze the maximum of conditions. The result were 6 tasks out of 6 days, enjoying the scenic Longonot crater, antelopes and curious massai at goal near Suswa volcano and thousands of white butterflies – at takeoff, at cloudbase … everywhere, marking the thermals and making the sky alive.

After the comp a bunch of pilots went to Kerio valley with its classic 200 km Out and Return flights. The extra humidity this year softened the conditions and infested the Rift Valley with juicy clouds which allowed me to fly 200 km from Iten to Naivasha across the Equator. The critical moment was low over Nakuru town when strong wind was pushing me towards the big lake and the park with the lions. Ironically, my logo of Kenya Open was a lion watching pilots arriving at goal and perhaps eating those who don’t make it. One day my jokes will turn against me, but this time I managed to climb and even crossed Naivasha lake with its lovely hippos. The day was superb with classic convergences at the lee of Aberdere mountains. Perhaps, it was possible to reach Masai Mara and Tanzania, but as newly married I needed to go home to my wife.

Next days we moved east of Nairobi to the Machakos hilly labyrinth. Every day I had big flights over masai territories and every night I managed to be back to my wife, after long retrieves using public transport. Our retrieve van was busy with the pilots I was guiding, but almost everywhere in Kenya there are plenty of motorbikes and vans offering transport to here and there.

Another great flight was from Chyulu hills to Namanga at Tanzanian border across Amboseli National Park and Kilimanjaro nearby. And of course, more disappointed lions underneath. Some people make living by motivational talks. My new routes could do the same and improve my client’s thermalling and cross-country technique.

All these days, despite the variety of take offs, after the first two thermals, the downwind flatland flying was pretty easy with plenty of cumulus clouds marking the next climbs.

The trip was over but not my addiction for more. I gradually understood that adventure flying is what I’ve always dream for. Bush walking, hiking, clearing takeoffs and making big flights in new territories. Staying alive. Enjoying life fully.

The green parts of Kenya were good and not so risky if you constantly try to learn and improve. I had more plans for the mountains near lake Victoria and east parts of Uganda, but the rainy weather there gave me the answer – go to the desert. The desert is special. Harsh and beautiful. Alone with yourself.

In the last few years I travelled from Addis Abeba to Nairobi with a bus. It’s much cheaper and scenic. This is how I met my Ethiopian wife with South Sudanese descent…  These bus trips pass through north part of Kenya, which despite being close to the Equator is quite arid. In dry years you see desperate people and carcasses of death animals along the road. This year’s rains made its central park look like savanna. Unfortunately, further south it turns into a thorny carpet with almost no landings, except dry river beds. There are various isolated hills, ridges and mountains west of the road to Nairobi. Further west are the lowlands of Rift and Kerio Valley, barely feeding lake Turkana with water. It is an area of violent conflicts between West Pokot, Turkana and Samburu tribes. The fight for pastures and water evolved to cattle rustling which evolved to unscrupulous banditry. The exceptional rains and plenty of resources this year gave me hope for peaceful paragliding explorations and dreams of mega flights to Iten over no man’s land.  

So me, Yassen Savov and four other Bulgarians hit the road to the north and reached Isiolo. The next day we had a local flight from the magical Ololokwe mountain, just next to the main road to Moyale. The local camp demanded some money for visiting this conservancy area claiming that they will go for the local community. It took me a lot of efforts to accept paying almost everywhere in Kenya, especially if you come from ex socialistic Bulgaria where being in Nature and trespassing are still for free. But it’s somehow hard to accept paying for discovering a risky cliff takeoff, clearing it and jumping from it between wind gusts without a decent landing nearby. The landing is the tarmac road below, but luckily there is not much traffic.

The next day we went further north to Laisamis, where my Google Earth and meteoblue researches suggested a 400 meters high stony thorny ridge. At the base of the hill we hired two local guides but sometimes the grip of our modern shoes had clear advantage compared to their car-tire sandals. Finally we found a clear rock and after some struggle we took off into the plentiful lift. The hot vast plains were dotted with erected monolithic rocks and mountains, resembling churches and cathedrals. The blue sky was full with slim cumulus clouds from quite early – a clear sign of good cross-country conditions. The area is at the same latitude like north Brazil where they make the world records, but here it’s wilder with almost no roads.

After climbing over the ridge we flew downwind towards the mountains near Ngurunit. Again, easy flight staying close to the sandy river bed in case of landing. It was late afternoon when we reached our goal. The prevailing easterlies were stopped by the shady eastern side of the mountain, creating an enormous zone of magic lift. This allowed us to explore around this magnificent terrain with huge rounded rocky outcrops. Admiring the Creator and feeling small and humble. North Kenya is a geological paradise with palette of shapes and colors. Wild animals and tribes. Life is tough but real. Flying too…

Nikolay Yotov

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In January-March SkyNomad Kenya organizes cross-country adventure tours in Kenya.