Decided to seek some adventure recently. Drove down to Kitengela a.k.a "dust bowl" (Kajiado County)according to my good friend wukan
. Had not been there in a month, so was pleasantly surprised to see so many changes that had happened since I last visited. The brand new Mall is in the middle of town is almost complete. More slip roads are currently under heavy construction - and I assume ready for tarmacking - in the CBD. Further afield on Namanga hwy both sides have newly murramed slip roads that are a delight to everyone.
It always amazes me how many brand new buildings are popping up like weeds all over the place in Kenya's fastest growing town. Was also very happy to see very many workers actively sweeping the roads to get rid of the legendary Kitengela dust and soil! This I had never seen before. At this rate Kitengela will be giving suburbs like Nairobi West and Westlands a run for their money in the coming 5 years.
Munching over fresh, very juicy and tasty mbuzi choma at the famous Yukos, I was already on relaxation mode. That's another thing I love about this part of the dust bowl. It's near Nairobi but very far from Nairobi in terms of pace and lifestyle. Despite Namanga highway being right outside the garden at Yukos, the flow of traffic is not noisy at all. You cannot help but feel at ease compared to the craziness we all experience in Nairobi's CBD. The only bad experience I had at Yukos was the waiter tried to over-inflate the bill by 100 bob using funny math that I caught like a hawk. But that is a story for another day. Next up was to hit Isinya.
Yukos to Isinya stretch amazed me further. More buildings and estates coming up like gale force winds all over the place. A lot of new factories and industries as well that touch the tarmac. I think this is a great way for the area to develop. Industries by the main road, residential suburbs that supply labour to the industries that radiate for many km away from the highway on both sides. And there is a scenic beauty to this whole area that is undeniable. Especially when you are hitting 100kph on that smooth highway. But who put the new bumps on the highway though?
Isinya town is nothing to write home about. I in fact prefer Kisaju shopping centre to Isinya town. I hope Kajiado county demolishes some buildings in both and restores order and sanity so that these two future cities are restored to beauty and order. If not we will end up with two unsightly Mlolongo towns that detract from Kitengela's beauty.
The entrance to Pipeline road (Isinya-Kiserian) is pure chaos. Dust, matatus, idlers and goats all milling around without rhythm like a bizarre symphony. But ah! Once you are 500m in on the somewhat acceptable tarmac, you are in another world altogether. Gentle, rolling plains, golden meadows and fenced in farms, homes as well as wide open spaces. Then comes the diversions.
Heavy construction by the Chinese going on on various stretches on Pipeline road henceforth. You have to battle dust plumes from matatus on the diversion murram roads before rejoining very smooth tarmac on other sections. You cannot help but admire the forward thinking people who bought tens of acres touching Pipeline road here decades ago. Those fellows will be sitting on billions of shillings once the road is done and dusted.
Very many posh schools that proudly boast of weird curriculums dot that stretch of highway. So do interesting resorts and the famous Orly Air Park hidden in the second row from the highway. But what truly gets to me are the nice landscapes and the natural beauty of the acacia dotted plains. I hope this is not destroyed in the coming decades. It would be a tragedy if it happens.
As you approach Kiserian, the tarmac road gets very bumpy. Attempts at patching with murram have been somewhat successful but the car tyres still take quite a beating on that road. The views of the mighty Ngong Hills with its windmills just as you approach the Kiserian junction are out of this world. They always take my breath away. It's a pity so many funny structures are coming up in that Kiserian dam area that are slummifying the area. Speaking of Kiserian dam, that is another disaster. I hope the infamous SANY's move in to declutter those buildings that are an eyesore around the dam. If it was well managed it would be a real tourist attraction. But human encroachment and pollution have turned the area into a scary looking place that you might not want to find yourself stuck in at night!
Kiserian town is ok but needs better planning and maintenance. And its getting as overpopulated as Rongai. The stretch from Kiserian to Ngong town is smooth as a baby's bottom. Nywee all through. I only wish we could do a better job of maintaining the surrounding areas, plots and properties. Thousands of unsightly signposts and boards litter the highway and to add insult to injury, some government agency has put huge red "X" signs across most of them, adding to the chaos. Instead of investing in all that paint to tell us those signs are to be removed, why not just remove them?
As I approached Ngong in the evening, some youngsters were busy playing football in the sun splashed fields next to the "proposed" Ngong stadium. Strange that a signboard is up yet nothing has happened there for 5 years. I noticed also yet another signboard for "proposed" parking bays in Ngong town that was almost falling down after being there for a minimum of ten years. I hope the money was not eaten!
Ngong town is a beautiful town yet a disaster punching well below its weight IMHO. It is unthinkable that such a reasonably well planned town has terrible feeder roads even within its CBD that are red soil with huge craters in them all over. And drainage is non existent. And those roads are not even very long. They could all be tarmacked within one year at very little cost. If that happened Ngong would give towns like Kitengela a serious run for their money. Instead nobody really ventures deep beyond the main tarmac road and hawkers prefer to sell by the roadside knowing this fact. Whoever is in charge of Ngong is really asleep at the wheel. But thankfully the private sector is doing its bit. Was happy to see Total Ngong's brand new station sparkling by the road side, and they did proper drainage and cabro-ing of the surrounding area. Ngong Hills Arcade also looks very nice. New well built apartment complexes and office buildings are also coming up. And of course Milele Mall has forever changed Ngong CBD for the better.
As I crossed the SGR pillars at Embul-bul heading back into the green city in the sun, I couldn't help but think we have a beautiful, rapidly developing country. If only we could curb corruption, enforce zoning and building laws to the letter and live up to our huge potential. Kenya would be an enviable paradise. Our destiny is in our hands and the choice is ours.