Hello Peaches! Are you an adrenaline junkie like me? Do you like the thrill of the adrenaline rush? Well, Zip lining is for you. For the record, zip lining is the big adrenaline adventure to do right now out of Nairobi; an out of town adventure amidst nature at The Forest where you get to zip line on a 2,200 m cable above the Kereita forest gliding above the giant forest canopies.

My zip lining experience at The Forest was off the chain! The Forest is near Limuru in the Kereita Forest in Kimende. They are closed on Mondays except for Public Holidays. For a long time, I had been wanting to jump on the zip lining bandwagon but getting a group was the toughest challenge because I came to realize not every one of my friends is as adventurous and spontaneous as I am. Luckily, one of my very dear friends Ibtisam suggested ziplining as the next adventure plan. Like, hell yea! I was born READY for the long awaited adventure. As recommended, we booked a week early, paying a deposit of kshs. 1000 each to secure our slot. Did I mention that we were the last lucky group to get the last price of kshs. 2,500? The current price for the 6 zip lines is now Kshs. 2,800 this 2018.

In total, we were a group of 5. We all met at the Wilson Airport Shell station where we bought snacks and drinking water for the mini road trip whereas I had to buy an extra energy drink because insomnia had gotten the best of me the previous night.

Nonetheless, I love road trips if the driver is a smooth driver of which he was. It took us one hour and 15 minutes to arrive as opposed to the 45 minutes communicated as the left turn from Total Petrol station to The Forest is actually a good 15-20 minutes. Although the narrow road from that turn to The Forest is tarmacked, it has lots of potholes which slows you down a little. However, the road has sufficient board sign directions which makes it easier to find your way as you enjoy the view of the tall trees covered with lush mosses.

Upon arrival, there was enough parking space since we were among the first people to get there. We walked out of the car with our water bottles following the sign board leading us to the building. We were first welcomed by a tiny horse ranch with four horses and bike trails which are among the activities list.

The Forest building itself is spectacular with stunning art wall frames and quirky colorful kikoi ceilings. The restaurant is also beautiful with amazing view of the lush green forest. Without wasting time, we went straight to the paying counter to clear off our balance. Luckily, we had arrived at 10:30 a.m. which was half an hour early as we were to zip line at 11 a.m. Therefore, we had ample time for a brief training with our assigned instructors, John & Joseph. Two gentlemen from Tanzania joined us so we could be a group of 7. As instructed, we went to fill in the wavers at the little zip lining office outside as our instructors assisted each of us to fit our harnesses and gloves tightened to our comfort.

Since we were early, we got to do a 15 minutes quick training on a short and low zip line. Basically, your dominant hand should hold the clip firmly while the other hand holds the rope. You position your body in an upright sitting position with your legs crossed as you lean back. If you get stuck, you can do the monkey business whereby you turn and hold the zip line cable by turning, that was hilarious! Conversely, if you’re going too fast, the instructor on the receiving end will alert you by signaling you to slow down, so you’ll have to remove your dominant hand from the clip and hold the zip line to slow down to your destination for a smooth landing. Our instructors showed us practically on a small zip line explaining clearly safety-focused procedures. We all took turns doing the zip line warm up and we were now ready for the real deal.

As usual, I never go first due to ‘fear of the unknown’. So I took my time to let my team mates go first and when I ensured that they landed alive and safely, I was ready to go.

My heart was pounding as if it were a train on the tracks, my pulse quickened as did my breath while my fear of heights was trying to get the best of me but I tried ignoring it so as not to succumb to it. My hands were sweaty but thank God for the gloves I was certain for a firm grip. The zip line carry a maximum of 115 kgs so I was more on the safe side which was a little reassuring. The instructor clipped my harness to the zip line as I sat in our instructed position. ‘Don’t look down.. don’t look down’ I whispered. On the count of 3, I was pushed to slide screaming at the top of my lungs, thrilled, not believing that I was whizzing over the forest canopy.

The view was spectacular seeing cattles grazing on the lush green view of the grazing land. I felt the crispy mountain air taking over my whole body caressing me with the serenity of the lush green forest. Amazingly, I enjoyed the stunning scenic views of the Aberdares valleys and breathtaking landscapes. Overly ecstatic, I felt like Tarzan woohoo-ing all the way like I was made for this.

Still screaming, I was abruptly scared that I was speeding on landing hence slowing myself down without any instructions. My paranoia had gotten the best of me because I was so close to land so I had to do the monkey business. On landing on the wooden platform, I felt so rejuvenated. That’s when I realized that I was overreacting earlier and it was all in my head. That was actually a piece of cake. I envied the colobus monkeys for their amazing life enjoying this every day.

Psyched like never before, we hiked a few meters to the other 5 zip lines. Enjoying the tranquility nature walk, we hiked in between the walks and repelled down in others from one zip line to another. Donkeys and cows were peacefully grazing which was lovely to see.

Thankfully, I had worn my Nike sport shoes which had firm grip so I didn’t slide on the muddy land as some parts of the ground was wet and mucky. Not so fast though, I had to slow down as I started running out of breath. Clearly, I realized how unfit I was am. My heart was palpitating as I could hear it thudding with an alarming speed almost coming out of my chest. Nonetheless, I stopped to catch my breath as I drank water to stay hydrated and breathed in the fresh air while swooning into the Breathtaking view.

Finally, we got to the second zip line. I got it right the second time which made me so euphoric when my feet landed straight on the wooden platform that I almost fell backwards. I was over the moon. The rest was now a walk in the park. Tarzan had nothing on me! I would do it over and over again. The experience was Amazing!!!! Hilariously, one of our team members stepped on boggy cow dung and everyone was superstitiously like, “Oh someone’s going to be rich”. He was like ‘Shit! no man, not shit.’ ‘Well, you won’t be cursing when you start cashing in,’ I teased.

So thrilled, I felt super light and brand new. It was such a great feeling. Words are redundant to explain the thrill of the experience. We all made it to the 6th zip line safely with a bang!

You could tell by the smiles on our faces that we enjoyed the ecstatic adventure; euphoria was in the air.

The Forest Restaurant

However, we were fatigued for hunger pangs started attacking us. We thanked our instructors for the commendable job giving us the best experience and we immediately headed straight to the restaurant. They had a variety of meals and drinks menus with pocket-friendly prices. In essence, the options were: A La Carte, Indian Cuisine and Buffet. The buffet which costed kshs. 1000 looked more convenient as we wouldn’t have to wait to be served. Furthermore, there was a variety of delighting options and you could serve to your satisfaction. I served salad with season island sauce, kachumbari, coleslaw, veggies, barbecue chicken, and lamb which was made from the fresh produce of The Forest. The chicken, lamb and steak was being served by the chef straight from the grill while the naan bread was also being prepared and served freshly hot out of the oven. The food was surprisingly delicious as we enjoyed the amazing view of the super rich green Kereita forest. We finished off with fruit salad dessert. Lunching with that picturesque view was super relaxing.

By far, that was one of the best adventures I ever did. Needless to say, I was so sleepy that I couldn’t do any other activity so Ibtisam and the gang went for paint balling and archery while I was being a kill joy taking a nap in the car. Therefore, I vow to get enough sleep the next time I get to visit The Forest and go ham on all the activities and attractions it has to offer. Who’s with me?!

In a nutshell, my Zip lining experience was AMAZEBALLS!

Close enough? 😜💃🏽 Live|Love|Laugh

Bucket list checked ✔️

DO IT IF.. you love nature, and have a thrill for adventure.

DON’T DO IT IF… you have alarming medical conditions like asthma or heart problems.

CARRY.. A small backpack for storing your phones, cameras and water bottle safely while zip lining.

Until next time Peaches.💃🏽