A few days ago, I scaled Mt. Longonot including going round the crater rim. This is the second time doing the excursion, previously having done it as part of a team building event. The 12 km trail would be easy if it wasn’t for the 750 m elevation in just half the trail distance. My leg muscles are still feeling the repercussions of skipping leg day at the gym.
My concern is on some basic safety measures lacking at the Longonot national park. The terrain is narrow and steep in some areas, with the crater base being over 50 m to the highest part of the crater rim where hikers tread. There are also some deep crevices, loose gravel, slippery rocks & thorny bushes. There have been serious injuries and even some fatalities when mishaps happened during a hike.
Despite all these risk factors, there wasn’t even a comma of a safety briefing at the park entrance. The Kenya Wildlife Service KWS officer was very keen to guide visitors on the online payment process via the e-citizen portal. There is no wi-fi by the way, but the only payment process is online only. The park entrance is well marked with an emergency meeting point and a board with some guidelines like no littering. However right after the payment, visitors are left to discover the mountain for themselves.
– No safety talk.
– No emergency numbers shared.
– No park rules emphasized.
– No risks highlighted.
– No first aid items checked.
– No search for anything.
– Twende tukienda, kesi baadaye.
There is lots of room to add value to this outdoor experience. You could literally go up the mountain with the wrong shoes, with no drinking water & carrying some dynamite, and no one will stop you. When exiting the park no one marks that you have exited. A solo hiker could fall into the crater and no one might notice their absence until days later, when your people report you missing and start retracing your activities using phone signals and payment transactions.
Since the men and women at KWS have some brains, probably all these apparent omissions are not an oversight. Probably the real bush experience being offered here is undiluted with the procedures of modern life. Go forth and discover the natural world, if you come back in one piece, congratulations! If you don’t, you will have learnt your bush lesson.
SAFETY CONCERNS AT MT. LONGONOT NATIONAL PARK
