Kona Baridi
In Kiswahili this means ‘Cold Corner’ and is a popular viewpoint near Kiserian (in Maasai, this is a girl’s name meaning ‘the peaceful one’) at a bend on the Magadi road about 30km SW (~ an hour’s drive) from Nairobi (depending on traffic of course!).
It is located situated at about 2,030m altitude, which is why it can get pretty cool here, at the south end of the Ngong Hills at the top of the rift valley escarpment and offers a wonderful vista especially across the rolling hills dotted with acacia trees and Maasai cattle and down in the distance into the baking hot plains of the rift valley.
From here the road continues as far as Lake Magadi (some 60km and another 45-60 minutes further SW), the southernmost of the rift valley lakes which is commercially exploited for its huge sodium carbonate deposits (see here for more info). En route it passes Olorgesailie, an archeological site (see here for some info on this).
See here for photos of any interesting kite project taken at Kona Baridi.
See here for a fine shot of sunset from near the cache location.
See here for a 2010 video link showing local people blocking the highway in protest after Kenya Forestry Service officers had forcibly removed people squatting on protected Forestry land, destroying property, injuring a local chief and killing livestock in the process of the apparently rather heavy-handed operation.
To reach the cache:
Take the Magadi Road which starts at Langata Road (S01 20.576 E036 46.008) and follow this passing along the edge of Nairobi National Park, then through the busy trading centres of Ongata Rongai and Kiserian to the corner where there is ample parking space @ S01 27.823 E036 39.165.
You will immediately be approached by local Maasai kids wishing to sell you various items of bead-work - the stuff is actually rather good - I usually go for the key rings. Once you have negotiated this stage - or agreed to negotiate on your return - make your excuses/shake off the kids and head off south a little down the dirt road to approx. S01 27.873 E036 39.215. As often, a camera and/or binoculars can be useful props in these circumstances . . . as you pretend to (or actually!) take shots of the view and/or spot birds.
From here head west down through the small dip towards a copse - small group of (very thorny!) acacia trees clearly visible on Google Earth.
The cache a small klik-n-lock type container, is hidden under a largish flat rock protected by some other rocks. I placed another rounded rock on top of the flat rock to make it more easy to locate.
Please be careful to ensure that you are not observed whilst retrieving and replacing the cache as it would surely be muggled if you are seen . . . this should not be too difficult as you are out of sight of the kids on the corner and also protected quite well by the trees. Take care when replacing to ensure that the cache is properly concealed, as I could imagine a young herd boy chilling out at this shady spot on a hot day . . .