Balala conquers Mt Kenya ~ Sportty

Exhausted Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala broke down into tears moments after he descended from Mt Kenya on Friday where he narrated his humbling experience during the five-day expedition.

Mr Balala said his journey to the top of Mt Kenya, Africa’s second highest, was a life-changing experience though tough and a necessary break from the hectic world.

“I had to complete it. I did this for Kenya which is very good. The most interesting thing is that climbing a mountain is very humbling,” he said.

TOURISM

At around 1pm, in a steady but wobbly gait, the CS and his team emerged from the bushes to the cheerful reception of Tourism ministry officials and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers.

For a moment, the CS was overwhelmed by emotion and broke into tears as he said how the experience at the top reminded him of his late mother.

“When I reached Lenana point, two people came to my mind. The first person is my late mother,” Mr Balala. He was unable to name the second person as he was overwhelmed by emotion.

During the five-day trek to Lenana Peak, the third highest on the mountain, the CS with a team of 11 mountaineers endured heavy rainfall, freezing temperatures and long walks before accomplishing the mission.

Besides being a mission to market Mt Kenya as a favourable tourist destination, the hike was also one of the stages in the Seven Summit Mountain Challenge being conducted by a group of adventurers under Great Migration Camps who aim to be the first to climb seven African mountains back-to-back in seven weeks.

Starting at Embori on Monday, Mr Balala and the team of mountaineers used the Timau Trek in their ascent to Lenana Peak, 4,985 metres above sea level.

WILDLIFE

The Timau Trek is on the northern side of the mountain and is a gentler route especially during the rainy season.

Besides that, the trek gives the impression of climbing a whole mountain range giving a closer interaction with wildlife in the savanna vegetation zone of the mountain.

On the first day, the team walked 9km, 16km on the second day and 5km on the third day.

On Thursday at dawn, the team made an ascent to point Lenana, in time to catch the sunrise over Nelion and Batian peaks.

The team descended Friday, but three professional mountaineers were left behind to reach Batian, the highest peak.

Mr Balala said that on several instances he almost regretted attempting the climb especially because he had not trained prior to the trip but motivation from the President and expectations from Kenyans kept him going.

Kenya Tourism Board with its CEO, Dr Betty Raddier, supported the expedition meant to market Kenya’s as a country with adventure sites.