ondiri swamp

Meria

Meria

Elder Lister
Ondiri-Swamp4.jpg


Gd evening fellow fossils
Schools closed today. Tumeanza kuona texts za xaxa na 208, bado najifundisha hii lugha.
Enzi zetu closing day in primary late 70s we used to go as a bunch to what we called "discovery"
As soon as we were released at 11am of we went to areas that had been discussed earlier. We were the explolers, only one pupil knows where he is taking us and we followed.
I come from Dagoretti south near Ngong forest. (Sadly it's no more, not like I knew it)
One day we went to Ondiri swamp. This swamp is unique. In English its called old lake. Rumour has it that it was a lake that silted over. The water is two feet below a layer of silt. You can walk over the lake but the silt covering it is unstable.
It's like walking on waves.
Back to story.
Sisi hao tukafika ondiri, like 6km from our school, walking on the wavy silt is not for the faint hearted but after an hour we got the hung of it.
Then Githeshe baddest boy in school had an idea.
Why dont we dig a hole here and another 2 meters away and we swim and emerge yonder. Seemed like a great idea
We all agreed and dug the holes.
Alpha male Githeche went first and emerged.
We were afraid
He went again and tokelezead tena.
So it was this easy.
Yours truly took the dip and emerged at the other end.
Haiya it's this easy.
Soon even girls were doing it.
Wueh
Machos inatoka nikikumbuka hii.
One class 5 kid aliingia hole one tunamgojea hole 2 hakutokea.
Tukagoja 3 minutes
Kijanaa hatokei.
Githeche was no where to be found.
Shaking nikaingia hole one and emerged hole 2
Didnt find the boy in the blackness.
We ran away and went home.
At 8pm is when villagers came knocking at our door.
A kid was missing niseme ako wapi.
All the kids who had gone on the "discovery" were brought home.
Tuliimba kama cassette iko na battery mpya after kichapo kaa ya mbwa ameingia mskitini.
Our friend was gone never to be seen again.
Villagers took turns disciplining us that night.
Early morning we went back to ondiri swamp and we showed them our 2 holes.
Another kichapo.
Rest in peace my friend wherever you went.
Rumour has it that ondiri which is the source of Nairobi river is connected to lake Naivasha.
Sijui kama wewe ushawai Sikia hivo.
During a past discovery we had gone deep into Ngong forest and found a body.
Story for another day
 
Meria said:
Rumour has it that ondiri which is the source of Nairobi river is connected to lake Naivasha.
Click to expand...
7-year-old post
.
.
.
I have had this post in my drafts for ages. I went back to the swamp over the Easter weekend so I decided I need to share. The last time I had been at the swamp was slightly more than one year ago.

Ondiri wetland is located within close proximity to Kikuyu town (Central Kenya). It is an important wetland since it forms the headwaters of Nairobi River within the Athi drainage basin.

Ondiri swamp



Ondiri swamp 10



The Ondiri wetland is oval in shape and local legend has it that it used to be an open lake in the early part of the last century and indeed the name itself is Gikuyu corruption of old lake (Ondiri).

Ondiri swamp 1



Ondiri swamp 2



Ondiri swamp 3



However as deforestation and subsequent erosion accelerated, the lake came to be covered with floating reeds on peat such that now it has an extensive reed mat that covers more than 95 percent of the wetland to form a quaking bog, the only one in the country.

Ondiri swamp 4



Ondiri swamp 5



Ondiri swamp 6



A quaking bog is made up of a layer of vegetation floating over water. This is wet spongy ground that is poorly drained, made up of a layer of accumulated plant material floating over water. You can walk on the vegetation, but if you jump up and down the whole bog quakes .I took a video of the movement. You can watch it on our YouTube channel here

Ondiri swamp 7



Ondiri swamp 8



Ondiri swamp 9



This time I went I was a bit confused because with the bypass almost complete everything looked really different. In order to get to the swamp before, there was only a small and steep narrow path.

Ondiri swamp old path 1Old path



There is a wider path these days but I chose to go down to the swamp by walking down the drainage channels.

Ondiri Swamp bypass 4They’re pretty steep but I was up for a bit of adventure.



The view from the top is also very different. The area is a lot less forested now.

Ondiri Swamp view from Bypass



For comparison here is the photo I had taken before the construction of the bypass had started

Ondiri Swamp old view



And this is how it looks now after the construction of the road

Ondiri Swamp bypass 3

You can actually walk across the swamp. There is a narrow path made out of logs (to the left of the picture above), it kind of feels like walking on a tightrope (or so I would imagine)



The last time I went to the swamp, construction of the bypass had only just begun. In order to allow water to flow from the swamp, a culvert was built under the road.

Ondiri Swamp culvert 1

I took this picture when the construction of the Southern Bypass had just begun. The bypass spans 28.6km from Likoni Road on Mombasa Road at Ole Sereni Hotel to Kikuyu.



Ondiri Swamp culvert 2
 
mzeiya said:
7-year-old post
.
.
.
I have had this post in my drafts for ages. I went back to the swamp over the Easter weekend so I decided I need to share. The last time I had been at the swamp was slightly more than one year ago.

Ondiri wetland is located within close proximity to Kikuyu town (Central Kenya). It is an important wetland since it forms the headwaters of Nairobi River within the Athi drainage basin.

Ondiri swamp



Ondiri swamp 10



The Ondiri wetland is oval in shape and local legend has it that it used to be an open lake in the early part of the last century and indeed the name itself is Gikuyu corruption of old lake (Ondiri).

Ondiri swamp 1



Ondiri swamp 2



Ondiri swamp 3



However as deforestation and subsequent erosion accelerated, the lake came to be covered with floating reeds on peat such that now it has an extensive reed mat that covers more than 95 percent of the wetland to form a quaking bog, the only one in the country.

Ondiri swamp 4



Ondiri swamp 5



Ondiri swamp 6



A quaking bog is made up of a layer of vegetation floating over water. This is wet spongy ground that is poorly drained, made up of a layer of accumulated plant material floating over water. You can walk on the vegetation, but if you jump up and down the whole bog quakes .I took a video of the movement. You can watch it on our YouTube channel here

Ondiri swamp 7



Ondiri swamp 8



Ondiri swamp 9



This time I went I was a bit confused because with the bypass almost complete everything looked really different. In order to get to the swamp before, there was only a small and steep narrow path.

Ondiri swamp old path 1Old path



There is a wider path these days but I chose to go down to the swamp by walking down the drainage channels.

Ondiri Swamp bypass 4They’re pretty steep but I was up for a bit of adventure.



The view from the top is also very different. The area is a lot less forested now.

Ondiri Swamp view from Bypass



For comparison here is the photo I had taken before the construction of the bypass had started

Ondiri Swamp old view



And this is how it looks now after the construction of the road

Ondiri Swamp bypass 3

You can actually walk across the swamp. There is a narrow path made out of logs (to the left of the picture above), it kind of feels like walking on a tightrope (or so I would imagine)



The last time I went to the swamp, construction of the bypass had only just begun. In order to allow water to flow from the swamp, a culvert was built under the road.

Ondiri Swamp culvert 1

I took this picture when the construction of the Southern Bypass had just begun. The bypass spans 28.6km from Likoni Road on Mombasa Road at Ole Sereni Hotel to Kikuyu.



Ondiri Swamp culvert 2
Click to expand...

This is good stuff!
 
Meria said:
View attachment 31970

Gd evening fellow fossils
Schools closed today. Tumeanza kuona texts za xaxa na 208, bado najifundisha hii lugha.
Enzi zetu closing day in primary late 70s we used to go as a bunch to what we called "discovery"
As soon as we were released at 11am of we went to areas that had been discussed earlier. We were the explolers, only one pupil knows where he is taking us and we followed.
I come from Dagoretti south near Ngong forest. (Sadly it's no more, not like I knew it)
One day we went to Ondiri swamp. This swamp is unique. In English its called old lake. Rumour has it that it was a lake that silted over. The water is two feet below a layer of silt. You can walk over the lake but the silt covering it is unstable.
It's like walking on waves.
Back to story.
Sisi hao tukafika ondiri, like 6km from our school, walking on the wavy silt is not for the faint hearted but after an hour we got the hung of it.
Then Githeshe baddest boy in school had an idea.
Why dont we dig a hole here and another 2 meters away and we swim and emerge yonder. Seemed like a great idea
We all agreed and dug the holes.
Alpha male Githeche went first and emerged.
We were afraid
He went again and tokelezead tena.
So it was this easy.
Yours truly took the dip and emerged at the other end.
Haiya it's this easy.
Soon even girls were doing it.
Wueh
Machos inatoka nikikumbuka hii.
One class 5 kid aliingia hole one tunamgojea hole 2 hakutokea.
Tukagoja 3 minutes
Kijanaa hatokei.
Githeche was no where to be found.
Shaking nikaingia hole one and emerged hole 2
Didnt find the boy in the blackness.
We ran away and went home.
At 8pm is when villagers came knocking at our door.
A kid was missing niseme ako wapi.
All the kids who had gone on the "discovery" were brought home.
Tuliimba kama cassette iko na battery mpya after kichapo kaa ya mbwa ameingia mskitini.
Our friend was gone never to be seen again.
Villagers took turns disciplining us that night.
Early morning we went back to ondiri swamp and we showed them our 2 holes.
Another kichapo.
Rest in peace my friend wherever you went.
Rumour has it that ondiri which is the source of Nairobi river is connected to lake Naivasha.
Sijui kama wewe ushawai Sikia hivo.
During a past discovery we had gone deep into Ngong forest and found a body.
Story for another day
Click to expand...
Hii risto umepeana like 40000 and 15.5 times during different periods. From Klost,CA na sasa senate.
Only this time,mushaina amekupea another ango. Ukaturetea for the 40000 and 16nd time...
 
It's Me Scumbag said:
A body stays under water for that long and comes out still intact? Okay... I am not a scientist but you, you are the @The.Black.Templar
Click to expand...
That is a bog, you would be surprised at how long it can preserve dead bodies....read here for more infor

www.discovermagazine.com

What the Bog Bodies of Europe Tell Us About Ancient Cultures

Peat bogs naturally preserve human remains. The artifacts give archaeologists a rich source of information to understand how ancient people lived.
www.discovermagazine.com www.discovermagazine.com
 
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