Two colourful flags – the Union Jack and Kenya's red, black, green and white – hoisted high up in the boughs of a giant Mwinderendu tree, flapped gently in the cool air as if to salute the scores of guests seated below in an open area for the bush luncheon at K2 campsite in the heart of Ruthathia, part of the Aberdares forest.

It was approaching 2.30 pm on the afternoon of Monday, June 3, when the nearly 100 invited guests settled down for the first in a series of events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of. the royal succession at Treetops, Nyeri, where 50 years ago the young Princess Elizabeth, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, climbed up a tree, and came down next morning a queen.

The day's tight schedule included planting of five seedlings by the VIPs present in a newly fenced-off paddock a few steps from the site of the old Treetops, already planted with 200 trees as part of the Queen's Jubilee Forest. It is all part of a re-afforestation project initiated by the queen herself during her last visit to Treetops in 1983 "The target is to plant 1,000 seedlings in various fenced-off paddocks around the Treetops," said Erica Kanja, public relations manager for Block Hotels.

The re-afforestation programme is sponsored by the British High Commission. A quarter-acre paddock with an electric fence costs between $4,500 and 6,000.

The guest of honour was Kalonzo Musyoka, Kenya's Minister for Tourism, who planted a vica pejamina seedling, while UK High Commisioner Edward Clay, Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Information Ali B. Korane, chairman of Block Hotels Hannington Awori and chairman of Aberdare Safari Hotels James Waibochi, each planted a Mukinduri seedling.

There were two "special" guests at Treetops. One was Kariuki Karonjaga, one of the first "natives" employed in January 1927 when Eric Sherbrook Walker built the Outspan and Treetops in 1927. The other was R.J. Prickett, who was a warden for about 20 years and escorted the Queen around Treetops during her 1983 visit.

At twilight, a stream of game of various species came from all directions to converge at the salt water pond.

According to Amos Ndiangui, the resident hunter, a total of 73 elephants, 120 buffalos, four rhinos, three elands, 18 waterbucks, 21 warthogs, seven bush bucks, a single impala, 32 baboons and a single reed buck congregated at the watering hole below Treetops. 

Out of the many invited guests, 56 stayed the night.

After going through a long spell of a cocktail party, the guests were adddressed by the VIPs.

The Block Hotels chain Managing Director Mr George Cohen, in a brief welcoming speech said: "For us in Kenya and especially for Block Hotels, it is especially special for, as you know it was here or to be more precise is that wooded area across from us that the queeen spent her last night as a princess.

"Today, we celebrate her jubilee. We had wished that the queen could join us here to celebrate her jubilee but that of course would not have been possible. We are honoured however that in response to our request, the Queen has sent as her envoy her son the Earl of Wessex.....The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Treetops overnight in July. We will be able to boast that we have hosted three generations of the royal family, soon after the Queen's visit, the Queen mother visited Treetops," Mr Cohen said.