It was all colour and glamour when the Miss Tourism 2013 Nyandarua County pageant was held at the Aberdare Resort Hotel in Ol Kalau early in the month.
Despite the biting cold that defines the area at night, the models and organisers pulled out all stops to make the event a hit.
The event was organised by the county’s Tourism Department with the purpose of finding a tourism ambassador for the county, which boasts of a number of tourist attractions.
Apart from beauty and grace on the catwalk, the models were also supposed to show that they had brains, too.
It was the first ever event of its kind in the region, and it was quite a success.
More than 18 models who had been scouted from Olkalau, Wanjohi, Engineer, Ndaragua, and other locations in the county took part.
They showcased traditional, formal, casual and beach wear as music boomed at the poolside.
At the end of the event that went past 3a.m., 20-year-old Florence Nyambura emerged the winner.
The Egerton University first year student was outstanding in her stage style and dressing, and she gave a talk on tourism that impressed the judges and the audience.
The theme of the event was “Conserving Lake Ol’Bolossat”, and Ms Nyambura elaborated her blueprint for conserving the neglected lake and marketing it as a tourist destination.
The crown holder observed that although the lake is an ideal sight for fishing, rowing, bird watching and sightseeing, it has been neglected for so long while the authorities have only been marketing Aberdare National Park as a tourist destination.
The lake needs to be conserved by planting trees along its shores and preventing farming along its banks, she said.
“I will campaign to enlighten the people about the importance of conserving the lake, which is home to some 300 species of birds and more than 200 hippos,” Ms Nyambura said, whose duty for the next one year will be to represent the face of tourism in the county.
Nyambura is an alumnus of Karima Girls High School which is in the county, where she was also voted Miss Karima Girls. She is also a gifted singer and choreographer.
The Philosophy and Sociology student says she took the course so that she gets to understand people and the issues that affect them so that she can help them better.
“As a county, we must market ourselves as a tourist destination while showing the people how they can also benefit from the sector,” said Ms Nyambura.
Governor Waithaka Mwangi and his deputy, who is coincidentally named Waithaka Mwangi, graced the occasion.
The governor said that Nyandarua has a huge potential of earning from tourism, with the lake being a prime destination.
“It is the only lake in the region, yet even some people in Nyandarua itself have never visited it,” he said.
Due to deforestation in the area, the lake sometimes breaks its banks and floods nearby areas, he said, adding that hippos can be a menace at night, and the neighbour’s are not sensitised enough as to how they can benefit from fishing and tourism in the area.
The runners up in the competition were Esther Wanyua, Pauline Wangari and Jacinta Muigai.
The chief organiser of the event was Ms Judy Nyambura Muhia of the county’s tourism department. She said that owing to the success of the first event, the pageant would be held every year.
Besides Aberdare National Park and Lake Ol Bolossat , she said, Nyandarua has many sites that can earn the county money from tourism, including Mau Mau caves in Nyandarua forest and the Nyangwesso site where captured Mau Mau fighters from Aberdare forest were screened.
