Mawe Mbili

Mawe Mbili is a peculiar rock formation on the northern edge of the Elmenteita Badlands, at the base of "scout hat hill" on the Soysambu conservancy. The rock formation is about 5 km south of Lake Elmenteita in Rift Valley Province, Kenya.

In Swahili the name means 2 stones, referring to two lava ash monoliths, about 2 metres tall which rise from the grassland of a small clearing. Nearby there is a hot water borehole and a Japanese style hot bathing facility.

The monoliths are in a natural clearing in the lleleshwa (Tarconanthus camphoratus) bushes. In the area there are occasional "Elephants toothbrush" (Cussonia spicata) and Fig (Ficus spp.) trees. One of the stones has a cavity at the base of it, large enough to sit in and used in times past as a shelter in bad weather for herdsmen looking after cattle in the area.

The clearing has been part of the route of the 2007,2008 and 2009 Safari rally as the track leading through it leads from the badlands boundary track of Delamere Estates Soysambu ranch around the back of scout hat hill, past a helicopter landing marker built by the British forces in 1955 at the time of the Mau Mau rebellion.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, August 15, 2010. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.