Wild Camping in an African Volcano (7 Photos)

It was August and a beautiful summers evening on the shores of Lake Naivasha. The hippo were making their way up to feed just twenty feet away and I turned off my headlamp to watch them move beneath the moonlight.

For three weeks, I had been camping next to the lake, working on my laptop and enjoying the quiet I between. However, I was also feeling uninspired and pretty restless in spite of having these beautiful beasts for company.

The truth is, I crave outdoor adventures and resent having to stay in any one place for too long. And as a writer, I find it difficult to get work done without any inspiration. It was at this moment, I decided to climb into the tent and go asleep, for the next morning would be an early one.

At this point, I should tell you that I have a distinct enthusiasm for microadventures. In case you might be asking yourself, microadventures are short, local and inexpensive. Essentially, these outdoor adventures involve focusing on taking an overnight camping trip and making the most of the five to nine instead of feeling stressed about the opposite.

It was 6am, I got up and packed up everything I owned. After a one hour bus journey, I hiked across a farmers field and between a collection of small villages. Mount Longmont is a designated park in Kenya which required an entrance fee but other than the main gate, visitors are free to hike toward the crater.

It was a simply plan; I would hike to the crater rim, eat my lunch and then hike back down to set up camp at the bottom of the mountain. But then I met Gabriel.

Taking a guide was out of the question but when Gabriel joked that I could go down inside the volcano and camp overnight, I was interested to know more. Right there and then, I offered Gabriel $80 to accompany me down into the volcano where we could camp for the night.

It took three hours to climb to the crater rim and two more to climb down inside the crater. We found leopard tracks on several occasions but little more aside from a few rotting hyrax – burnt to a crisp from the heat of the soil below.

At the campfire that night, I remember looking up at the crater rim between the trees – it was magical. We cooked buffalo meat and make meal but when some rather large movement was approaching in the bush, we decided it was a good time to call it a night.

We were interviewed by a local newspaper when we climbed out of the volcano – turns out that we were the first people to camp down there for more than twenty years. Here are some photographs of this outdoors adventure.

At the foot of the crater and just before we entered the forest floor.

Hippos on the shores of Lake Naivasha

Hiking the the Crater Rim of Mount Longonot

Reaching the Crater Rim

Hiking Around the Crater to look for an entry point

Ready to climb down into the Crater.

Another World.

Hiking back to the Gate the next morning.

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