Kenya

Kenya is renowned for its amazing landscapes, savannah rich with magnificent wildlife, diverse cultures unchanged by the modern world, pristine beaches and coral reef, equatorial forests and mighty snowcapped mountains, an exotic history and fascinating modern culture, and endless opportunities for adventure, discovery and relaxation. Scenic safaris through Kenya offer views and vistas beyond any expectations. Experience the boundless wilderness and big game of this country that have long attracted adventure seekers from around the globe. Unforgettable is the annual migration which takes place between August and September each year. This event has marked the Earth’s calendar for the past two million years when one and a half million animals journey between the dry plains of Tanzania to the lush grasslands of Kenya.

Named after Mount Kenya, the country’s highest mountain, the second highest in Africa after Kilimanjaro, the country is home to Mount Kenya National Park, a protected 276 square mile area around the center of the mountain and just one of Kenya’s a UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Alpine species unique to this region include giant lobelias, senecios and rock hyrax, and other native residents include the semi-nomadic tribe, the Maasai. Maintaining much of their ancestors’ lifestyle, their livelihood is centered around their cattle, although a welcoming visit to their villages will reveal their increasing move towards farming.

Locations

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is a fairly small national park yet so rich in both flora and fauna that it has recently been designated an International Bio-sphere Reserve. Amboseli, meaning “Salty Dust” in the Maasai language is an important rangeland for the Maasai culture whilst the ‘salty dust’ itself is volcanic ash from the eruptions of Mount Kilimanjaro a millennium ago. Amboseli features grasslands, rolling hills and swamplands whilst the presence of Mount Kilimanjaro creates a unique selection of ecosystems found nowhere else on earth.

Greater Masai Mara

When it comes to game viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the Big Five in one morning. The scenery is a classic mix of African imagery; miles of lion gold grasslands, shoals of lilac-misted hills, a meandering river, acres of thorn bush and mile upon mile of undulating wilderness.

Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru is home to a myriad of greater and lesser flamingo flocks which frequently form a stunning pink ribbon along the edges of the lake. The best place to view the birds is from Baboon Cliff, where you can look out over the dazzling fringe of pink around the lake's shores. Despite over 400 species of birdlife having been recorded here, the park also plays host to herds of buffalo, waterbuck, impala, Rothschild giraffe, and leopard and a defined area of the park has now been designated a rhinoceros sanctuary.

Samburu National Park

A place of endless skies, dust-red plains and palm-fringed rivers, this area lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District. The park’s landscape features rocky battlements, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub with the great red table mountain known as Lololokwi. Samburu provides one of the few sanctuaries in Kenya for the endangered Grevy’s zebra, the rare Beisa oryx and the blue-shanked Somali ostrich whilst large herds of elephant roam the gaunt hills during the day before returning to bathe on the banks of the river in the evening.