Waterfall Jumping

On Sunday I set off from Limuru with Joe, Adrian, Phil, and Bethany in search of a place called "Fourteen Falls" that we had read about in a magazine. The first adventure was getting there - we drove to a town called Thika, about an hour away, and then started asking people on the side of the road how to get to Fourteen Falls. Finally we found a tiny dirt road and a broken-down sign pointing the way, and after paying a few bucks each at an impromptu entrance barricade, we parked in a dirt lot and looked out on the majesty of Fourteen Falls!

We parked at the top of the waterfalls, overlooking a shallow river that was about 100 yards wide, dotted with rocks throughout. Just past the parking area the river dropped off about 35 feet in a long line of waterfalls - 14 to be exact - punctuated by big rock outcroppings and falling into small pools and a hodgepodge of jagged boulders below. Upon arriving we were approached by a whole group of "friendly" Kenyan guys who offered to guide us across the river, around the falls, or anywhere else we wanted to go - for a small fee. We declined at first, and all of the guys took off down a path to swim under the falls from the bottom. We climbed out over the slippery rocks and swam against the current, making our way under, around and behind the waterfalls. The water felt fantastic in the hot sun...even though it might not have been the most pristine river and there was a good amount of trash on the banks, we looked past these details and had a blast swimming all over the place!

Next we were ready for a little more adventure, so we got one of the Kenyans to lead us over to the other side of the river, where we spent some time jumping off of a cliff about 20 feet above the water into a big, still (and deep) pool. It was a really cool place - we could do flips and big jumps off of the cliff and then climb back up the rocks, all to the amusement of the crowds of Kenyans watching. Apparently most wazungu who show up there are content to sit on the banks and pay the Kenyans to jump off of the falls! After spending a while here, we moved on - via a slippery and precarious walk through the river - to the "big jump," a tiny little outcropping back in the middle of the falls where the water was about 35 feet below the ledge. It was awesome! One of our new Kenyan friends jumped first to show us the deep part, and then we took turns screaming and throwing ourselves down the rushing waterfall. We landed in a strong current, so we helped each other onto the rocks for a break and then swam out through a narrow tunnel, climbing back up the rocks. At this point we had Kenyans, Indians, and other wazungu watching us, so I guess we made for quite the spectacle!

Overall it was a great day, and it was one of those things that you would never visit or see if you were just in Kenya for a few weeks of vacation. Sure, it's not Victoria Falls, but we were all really blessed by our beautiful day at Fourteen Falls and had an awesome time laughing, screaming, and getting wet together. I'm so thankful for a group of friends who will go out on a limb in search of adventure, and I'm especially thankful for adventures that work out even better than expected!