KENYA
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Kenya is one of the world's premium safari destinations, with great opportunities for wildlife viewing all year round. You can combine your Kenyan safari with a relaxing beach holiday or a city break. Kenya is notable for its' geographical variety. The low-lying, fertile coastal region, fringed with coral reefs and islands, is back by a gradually rising coastal plain, a dry region covered with savannah and thorn bush.
No other country on earth (except South Africa) can offer the visitor as much to see and do. Within the borders of a single country, you will find savannahs rich with big game, timeless cultures unchanged by the modern world, pristine beaches and coral reefs, equatorial forests, mighty snow-capped mountains, searing deserts, cool highland retreats and endless opportunities for adventure, discovery and relaxation; more than you would ever expect...
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PLACES TO VISIT
Maasai Mara
The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. The Mara comprises 200 sq miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti, the Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of zebra, giraffe, gazelle, and topi. The Acacia forests abound with Bird life and monkeys. Elephants and buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp. The Mara and Talek rivers are brimming with hippos and crocodiles.
Each year the Mara plays host to the world’s greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. From July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life-giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million wildebeest together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a surging column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon.
At the Mara River they mass together on the banks before finally plunging forward through the raging waters, creating a frenzy as they fight against swift currents and waiting crocodiles. The wildebeest bring new life to the Mara, not just through their cycle of regeneration of the grasslands, but for the predators who follow the herds. The Mara has been called the Kingdom of Lions and these regal and powerful hunters dominate these grasslands. The Mara is an awesome natural wonder, a place where Maasai warriors share the plains with hunting lions, a place of mighty herds and timeless cycles of life.
The reserve is ideal for game drives, and some lodges and camps offer walks and balloon safaris.
Kenya Beach Safari
The coastline of Kenya is a tropical idyll of soft white sands and gentle sea breezes, where the passing of a day is marked by the slow arc of the sun. The pace of life on the coast is notably slower, languid, more relaxed and at peace with the world.
The turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean brought Kenya’s exotic history to life, washing these shores with influences from all over the world. To explore the coast is to explore history itself, and uncover a fascinating tale written on the winding streets of the 14th Century town of Lamu, the bustling dhow docks of Mombasa or the ghostly ruins of Gedi, a deserted city lost deep in the jungle. Dive beneath these waters and discover an undersea paradise. The coral reefs teem with fish, a kaleidoscope of colour and life, while the big game fishing is spectacular.
Come ashore to beach resorts and hotels that let you relax and experience this paradise in style and comfort. Lay back and enjoy yourself, or get out and explore. Immerse yourself in a unique coastal culture as rich and diverse as the local Swahili cuisine. Step back from the beach and discover expanses of rainforest, game-rich river deltas and much more than you ever expected.
Mt.Kenya
Kenya is renowned as a hotspot for climbing and hiking. In the central highlands a couple of hundred kilometres north of the equator towers Mt.Kenya, the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa. One of the few places near the equator in Africa with permanent glaciers, it is here where the Kikuyu God Ngai is said to reside. The name of the country was purportedly derived from Mt.Kenya, which was formerly known as Mount Kirinyaga.
The mountain is located 180 kilometres north of Nairobi and it can often be seen from high-rise buildings in Nairobi and from Thika. It is an extinct volcano, which formed a couple of million years ago. The mountain is located in the Mount Kenya National Park, which is a designated protected area around the mountain above 3200m altitude. The Kenya Wildlife Service manages the park, which covers an area of 700 square kilometres and was established in 1949.
WHEN TO VISIT
The annual wildebeest migration in Masai Mara takes place between August and October.
High season in Kenya is from January to March when it is most comfortable for traveling during these warm and dry months. The wildlife is generally found around the seasonal water holes during this time, so game viewing is great.
The rainy seasons are from April to June and October to December, but as a plus there are lower numbers of tourists, so the traveling experience is more exclusive.
