It seems like a scene from outer space, at least another world. Undulating hills stretch into the distance; peppered with thousands, maybe millions, of boulders strewn across amazing vistas. The sun's bright rays are shaded from moment to moment by the colorful wings of birds darting across the sky. And just then, sight of the Colobus and De-Brazza, the duiker and the bush pig, remind you that you most certainly must be in a corner of that great African continent.
This is the Bonjoge National Reserve!
The land was once a fertile area of great biodiversity with numerous rivers, swathed in riverine woodland, that flowed down to the Lake Victoria Basin; but, in recent times, it has undergone exploitation and depletion by human activities.
Fortunately, it is now protected and restored through the agency of the Kenya Wildlife Service and today provides fine country for walking and camping.
A short and scenic half-hour drive away from Mogobich lies the KWS post at the recently refurbished Bonjoge Nature Reserve. Located atop the Nandi escarpment, the reserve bears the characteristic undulating vistas of Nandi, distinguished however by the millions of rocks and boulders that lie strewn across it's verdant landscape. A further thirty minute walk from the KWS post and you come across the largest of these boulders, a rock formation known as the Nandi Rock.
It is hard to capture in words just how big this rock is but this short video by Phillip B. Bauer gives one something of an idea.
Definitely one of Nandi County's top five must-see spots and a perfect location for a great photo-op.
Ogirgir is a pioneering tea producing estates in the vicinity of the Mogobich Valley and is one of the few factories in Nandi County that are still family owned and operated.
Today it is one of Kenya's most modern tea processing facilities being only the second to house a fully-automated production line.
Taste award winning teas that capture the Mogobich Valley's distinct varietal character. Processing both ctc black teas that have had a long and successful association with the region and more recently they have installed an orthodox processing line.
There is a legend that tells of the origins of the office of the Orkoiyot. It tells of a fierce battle that took place between the Nandi and the Illwasin Kishu Maasai at Mogobich near Lessos, a battle not just for land but for the precious minerals it contained, the salt licks of Ngabunat.
The battle raged on for days and weeks, blood was spilled and honor attained, sons were lost and warriors were made. Eventually the battle was won, the Nandi emerged victorious.
The tale further tells of a Maasai woman named Moki, it tells that she was unable to escape with the rest. She thus hid in a cave that a pride of lions prowled around and kept safe.
Within this space she gave birth to twin boys, Barsapotwa and Kobogoi by name, and around it they played.
Soon enough there came a day that their play was spied by Nandi herdsmen, who immediately tried to capture them.
And it was to the cave that the boys ran where the lions kept them safe.
The Nandi tried getting the woman and her children out but to no avail. So they turned to the elders who consulted then summoned the Talai, brothers of lion.
The clan members spoke to their kin and the lions gave access to the woman who when questioned told of her lineage. She was wife to a Laibon, in her children flowed the blood of prophesy.
The Talai adopted the woman and her two sons into their clan who took over Nandi leadership giving birth to names like Koitalel that stand tall to this day.
