In connexion with the scenic attractions of Kenya I have
received .the following from Mr. C. Kenneth _ Archer, Chairman - -of the_ Kenya Land Settlement': Advisory Committee :— . - • ..
" In your issue of April 12th you refer at some length in ' The .Eng,lish-Speaking World ' 'to the recent annual report of the. Royal' East African Automobile Association, and in particular to that section of 'it which 'deals 'with the attractions of Mount` Kenya for those in search of winter sports under novel conditions and unusual surroundings. While I freely acquit the very able and energetic honorary secretary of the Association of any desire to mislead his public, either in the Colony or elsewhere, yet to those who know the facts with regard to Mount Kenya, it is evident that the
, . .
"information On which his report is baied is not entirely accurate, and ha's led hit-dr-to give a somewhat erroneous impression of- the opportunities for winter sports in,-these latitudes. The ` Wonderful Skating Lake ' near the top of Kenya, to which referenCe is made, -ii only to be foUnd'at Certain periods of the year;- and at its 'beet is only a pond of _rather indifferent ice of some 100 yards across.
Even if the state of the snow were' to permit, which lit certain seasons of the -year it._does not, cf indulgence - in --skting and toboganning and ' all those winter sports enjoyed in Switzerland,' only those in perfect physical condition and immune to mountain sickness could hope to stand the strain of strenuous-exercise at such an altitude:- - - - - - - - - The trip to, the snow slopes of the mountain is not . the .easy journey one might gather it to be from the R.E.A.A. Association's report. It is a serious and expensive undertaking, and would entail the porterage of food and blankets and-all the impedimenta essential to a stay in a bare and unfurnished but far from civiliza- tion. As a matter of fact, this lint is not erected and is still lying in sections some thousands of feet below the lake. Further, no one except an experienced mountaineer could be sure of making his way to the skating rink '—which can only be reached after some hours' arduous and difficult climbing.
Kenya is anxious to encourage visitors, but to those who know her many genuine attractions, and all that she has to offer in the way cf climate, scenery, shooting, fishing and sport of almost every variety, it seems a needless painting of the lily to claim that she oan provide the 'rang of winter -sports to be found in Switzerland and Norway. Let the mountaineer come and he will find a climb which will test all his powers and then probably defeat him : but the Telemark expert, the patron of the toboggan run, and the votary of the skating and curling rinks will do well to keep away if he would avoid disappointment. My excuse for this letter lies in the fact that, while it is the function of the Committee, on whose behalf I write, to advertise Kenya Colony and to make public its- many undoubted attractions, both for the settler and the visitor, yet it ,is equally its- duty_to discourage or correct statements which are likely- to give a false impression of the Colony. Such we believe to be the effect of the passages in the R.E.A.A.A. report on which you have commented —however innocently they may have been made so far as the Secretary is concerned—and I have therefore been asked _by_ the Committee to supply this correction in the hope that it will deter anyone seeking new fields for winter Sports from making a fruitless and disappointing trip to Mount Kenya."
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