Kenya is, without doubt, a stunningly beautiful country. From the sands of the east coast lapped by the waters of the Indian Ocean to the little-visited Turkana - Kenya offers a wonderful variety of landscape, a people that are utterly charming and friendly, a rich and fascinating culture and, of course, outstanding wildlife opportunities.
The vast open plains, large skies, high density of animals and the romance of films like 'Out of Africa' make Kenya a perfect choice to start your safari. The word ‘safari’ means ‘journey’ in Swahili. The Masai Mara, Kenya's most popular game reserve, offers fantastic all-year-round game viewing. The Masai Mara, along with the Serengeti in Tanzania, is most famous for the ‘migration’ which takes place (in Kenya) from July to October. This is when almost two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle travel from the southern plains of the Serengeti to the Masai Mara in search of fresh new green grasses. The Migration is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth and no one who has seen it will ever forget the heart-stopping excitement of a wildebeest river crossing where the predators lay waiting for their arrival on the other side! There are lots of other game reserves in Kenya and each of them offers something different. This is particularly evident in Samburu Game Reserve where you will find many unique species of plants and animals native to this area alone. Other areas to visit whilst in Kenya are; - The lakes; Nakuru and Navaisha, which are famous for flamingoes, rhino and leopard sightings as well as excellent birdlife. The Laikipia Plateau, which is stunning, as is Mt Kenya - a snow capped mountain even though it is located on the equator. The Aberdares is home to lodges where you can sit up all night watching the animals coming to drink at a floodlite waterhole. The Amboseli National Park offers spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro and of course brilliant game viewing and cultural experiences with the Masai. The most known tribes in Kenya are the Masai & Samburu Warriors: The Masai live in the semi-arid Rift Valley region of Kenya and Tanzania. They own large herds of cattle, sheep and goats which they follow around seasonally in search of new grazing grounds and water sources. Traditionally the Maasai have always been a proud and independent tribe. They did not cultivate the land and depend on a cash economy as many of those around them did; rather they lived off the blood, milk and meat that their cattle provided them. Cattle play a central role in the life of the Maasai. Cattle represent food and power; the more cattle a Maasai has, the richer he is and therefore the more power and influence he will have within his tribe. The Samburu live just north of the equator in the Rift Valley, in the Samburu area and are closely related to Masai. They speak a similar language and the are semi-nomadic pastoralists. Cattle, as well as sheep, goats and camels, are of utmost importance to the Samburu culture and way of life. The Samburu are extremely dependent on their animals for survival. Their diet consists mostly of milk and sometimes blood from their cows. Meat is only consumed on special occasions. The Samburu diet is also supplemented with roots, vegetables and tubers dug up and made into a soup. |
Kenya Image Gallery
|