Author: admin

Nairobi Safari Walk

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in excursions.

A refuge for the Wild

Only 7 km south of Nairobi lies the Nairobi Safari Walk, Kenya´s conservation based recreation facility. The combination of skilled and creative landscape design, unique wildlife species and detailed interpretation, renders the facility supremacy on tourism an conversation education.

With a combination of three simulated, forests, wetlands and savannahs, visitors have an opportunity to learn about these valuable resources and how they can controbute to its conservation. Some unique plants and animals that are localy extinct or threatened are also displayed. This is the place to learn how to take part in wildlife conservation quest.

The Nairobi Safari Walk is an eye opener to Kenya´s Parks and Reserves. It offers an opportunity to learn what to expect to see across the country. Eypierence a taste of Kenya´s rich animal collection including the rare bongo, white rhino, albino Zebra, a collection of cats, antelopes and primates. Nairobi Safari Walk is also home to a collection of about 150 species of tocal trees. Get to learn their varied traditional uses too.

The unique design of the Safari walk includes the interst of all visitors, families, students, tourists, and all others are caterd for.

Location: Nairobi Province

Distance from Nairobi: 7 Km

Size: 117 square Km

Climatic conditions: January-March is hot and dry, April-June is hot and wet, July-October is very warm and wet

Major Attraction: Three major ecosystems namely wetlands, savannah and forest ecosysems, variety of mammals, reptiles, insects and birds, The boardwalk, children museum

Wildlife: Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Crocodile, Pygmy hippo, Zebra and albino Zebra, Buffalo, Colobus monkey, Ostrich, Bongo, Oryx, Tortoises, Turtle, Rhino

Birds: Wide variety of birds and insects

Access
Road: located only about 7 km from the city centre, the Nairobi Safari Walk is easily accessible on tarmac roads, off lnagata Road, Kenya Wildlife Service headquaters

Accomodation: There are various Lodges and Hotels located in Nairobi City Center

Best time to visit: All year round

Activities: Walking Safari, wildlife viewing, Children´s Museum, guided walk, talks and lectures, tree identification nursery techniques

Ndere Island National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

Ndere Island, a newly gazetted Park, is an island just off the northern shore of Lake Victoria and was opened in November 1986. Ndere means `meeting Place`in the language of the local Luo tribe. According to the Luo folklore,Kit Mikayi, mother of the tribe, rested up near Ndere after her long journey south down the Nile Valley. She found lush shorelines so pleasing that she and her people stayed.

Location: Kisumu district of Nyanza

Distance from Nairobi: 432 Km

Size: 4,2 square Km

Climatic conditions: Hot and Humid

Attractions and Wildlife: Ndere Island, game viewing, African Fish eagles, hippopotamus, Nile crocodiles, impalas

Access:
Road: Access to the park can be by road or by boat from Kisumu

Air: Kisumu Airport is 60 Km away

Accomodation: Two KWS Campsites

Best time to visit: All year round

Activities: Walking, game viewing

Ruma National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

Last Retreat pf the Roan Antelope

Ruma National Park was first gazetted in 1966 as Lambwe Valley game reserve and acqired national Park status in 1983. The Park was established mainly to protect the roan antelope which does not occur anywhere else in the country. The soils are largly black cotton clay. The surrounding area is settled, with amiy of small scale cultivation and grassy pasture land.

Location: Ruma National Park is situated in Suba District, Nyanza Province

Distance from Nairobi: 425 Km

Size: 120 square km

Climatic Conditions: Hot and humid

Major Attractions: Game Viewing

Wildlife: Roan Antelope which is not found anywhere else in Kenya, oribi, mountain Reedbuck, Leopard, Buffalo,
Jackson´s Hartebeest, Rothschild´s Giraffe, Serval Cat, Hyena, Impala and Vervet monkey, savannah grassland and
woodland with extensive acacia thickets and more than 400 recorded species of birds.

Access:
Road: From Nairobi the most direct route to Ruma National Park is via Nakuru, Kericho and Kisii. From Kisii
proceed in a southerly direction on the main A1 road to Rongo, a distance or 34 Km. At Rongo turn to the right and
proceed 27 Km to Rodi Kopany. Then turn left and head for Migori, a distance of 20 km. At Migori follow signs
to the park, entering at Kamato main gate.

Accomodation: KWS Self catering Banda : Oribi Guest House

Campsites: Mabato and Nyati Campsites

Best time to visit: All year round

Activities: Game viewing, Bird watching, camping

Nasolot National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

A scenic Masterpiece

Nasolot National Reserve was gazetted in 1979 and consists 9200 hectares of beautifully rugged land.
It is located to the north of Mount Melo at over 3.000 metres.

Location: West Pokot District, Rift Valley Province

Distance from Nairobi: 528 Km north west of Nairobi

Size: 92 square Km

Climatic conditons: Hot and Arid

Major attraction: Rocky out crop at the perophery of the
reserve called Nasolot Hill, game viewing

Wildlife: Elephant, lesser kudu, bushbuck, duiker, lion, leopard, Kirk´s dik dik, spotted hyena,
jackal, impala, sykes monkey, beisa and fringe-eared Oryx, waterbuck, olive baboon, buffalo,
gazelle and hippo.

Acess:
Road: The reserve is 146 Km north of Kitale to the west of the A1 Kitale Lodwar road. The reserve´s gate
lies 6,2 km off the A1 main road.

Air: There are strips at Turkwell dam and Kaputirr

Accomodation: There are no accomodation options in the reserve. However self-catering accomodation and
a campsite is avilable at the Marich Pass Field Studies Centre located 80 km south of the reserve off the
A1 Kitale Lodwar road.

Best time to Visit: All year round

Activities: Game viewing, bird watching, sport fishing and boating at Turkwell dam, nature walks, camping

Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

Ultimate Panoramic Experience

A rugged, hump-backed outcrop of ancient rock jutting high above the Athi Plains and hazily visible from Nairobi, Ol Donyo Sabuk is a densely forested mountain known to the local Kikuyu as `The Mountain of the Buffalo`, and to the Maasai as `The Big Mountain`. Just one road leads to its summit, which offers magnificent 360 pamoramas ofer the Athi River, the pineapple fields of Thika and the snow-capped peaks of thoth Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Within easy reach of Nairobim the lush vegateaition and cool air of this compact and scenic National Park make for an ideal day trip or camping weekend.

Location: Machakos District, Eastern Province

Distance from Nairobi: 85 Km north east of Nairobi

Size: 20,7 square Km

Climatic conditions: Hot and dry

Major attractions: Fourteen Falls, scenic views of Mount Kenya from the summit, McMillan grave
(of Sir William Northrup McMillan (1872-1925)and his wife Lady Lucy); camping facilities

Access:
Road: From Thika proscced 22 km along the main Garissa road to Matutano junction. At Makutano follow the KWS sign and
turn right, proceeding 3 Km on all-weather murram road to Donyo town. At Donyo turn right and
proceed a further 2 Km to the main gate.

Accomodation: KWS Self Service House Sabuk House

Best time to Visit: All year round

Activities: Game viewing, bird watching, camping and picnicking

Sibiloi National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Nationalparks.

On the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana lies the 1,570 square kilometer Sibiloi National Park, situated in one of Kenya’s most inhospitable regions. The average annual rainfall is barely 200 mm, and often the rainy season, which is limited to the month of April, fails to materialize altogether. In these freshwater-scarce deserts and semi-deserts, maximum temperatures can reach up to 48°C. The extensive black lava surfaces heat up so much during the day that the temperature doesn’t drop significantly at night. In contrast, there are significant temperature differences between the land and the water, creating strong thermals: for most of the year, an unrelenting hot wind whips across the land. Due to its extremely remote location – the park’s northern border runs 30 km from Ethiopia – the park is one of the least visited in Kenya. However, this combination of remoteness, unspoiled nature, and rugged landscape makes the protected area, designated in 1973, so appealing.

Due to the climatic conditions, the plant life in Sibiloi is relatively species-poor and largely consists of annual grasses and flowers that form green, blooming carpets after the sporadic rains, but for most of the year are withered or seemingly completely gone, surviving only as seeds or roots until the next rainfall. The most striking plant in the park is the pink-flowering desert rose, a drought-resistant spurge whose latex sap was used by various peoples as arrow poison for hunting. In the luggas, the dry riverbeds, acacias and doum palms grow, which can tap into groundwater veins with their extensive root systems.

Against this backdrop, the diversity of the park’s wildlife is all the more astonishing, including typical species of the arid zone of northern Kenya, such as the finely striped, large-eared Grevy’s zebra, the blue-legged Somali ostrich, the oryx antelope, the gerenuk, and the reticulated giraffe. A unique feature is the rare tiang, a subspecies of the topi antelope. Additionally, the common plains zebra is present, capable of consuming tough, dry grass, unlike ruminants. Other animals include kudus, hyenas, and Grant’s gazelles, while lions and cheetahs can be found near freshwater sources. The park also includes a one-kilometer-wide strip of water, home to numerous hippos and crocodiles. Along the water, there are many water and wading birds, including pelicans and flamingos.

Evidently, the climate was wetter in other geological eras. A well-preserved petrified forest, around 7 million years old, has been found in Sibiloi. Additionally, thousands of interesting animal fossils have been unearthed, including giant tortoises and a 14-meter-long extinct crocodile species. Just north of the park headquarters in Alia Bay, located at the southern border of the park, some of the most exciting finds of fossilized hominid bones have been made in Koobi Fora, shedding light on the origins of humans. In 1972, the famous skull 1470 of Homo habilis was found, believed to have lived in the Turkana Basin around 2 million years ago and widely regarded as a direct ancestor of humans. The prosaic naming of the find is explained by the excavation catalog number of the National Museum. There is a small museum where, in addition to hominid exhibits, parts of a 1.5-million-year-old elephant skeleton are displayed.

Off the coast of Sibiloi National Park lies Northern Island, the smallest of the three significant islands in Lake Turkana, known for its numerous venomous snakes, including cobras, puff adders, and other vipers. It is believed that these animals were driven to the island from the Omo River delta on papyrus islands.

South Turkana National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

South Turkana National Park is a rugged and very beatiful expanse of land with very few visitors. Consisting of dense thorn bushes and riverine forestes, the landscape has a great variety, especially away from the seasonal riverbeds.

Althrough it is low on plains game, it is worth a visit for the large expanses of mixed vegetation and the landscape.

Location: This reserve lies on either side of the main highway about halfway between Kitale and Lodwar

Distance from Nairobi: 348 Km
Size: 1.092 spuare Km

Major attractions: Scenic landscape and mouintain sistas. It has a number of permanent rivers with woodland fringes and salty springs, game viewing.

Wildlife: Elephant, giraffe, buffalo, eland, oryx, impala, bushbuck, greater kudu, Grant´s and Thomson´s gazelle, lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena and jackal.
There are crocodiles in the rivers and abundant birdlife, much of which gathers on the banks of Kerio River

Access:
by Road: Acess is from Isiolo
by Air: scheduled flight from Nairobi

This is a very remote reserve in the north of Kenya.

Accomodation: There are no lodges within the reserve

Best time to visit: All year round

Activities: Game viewing

South and Central Island National Parks

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

These remote and wild parks, along with Sibiloi National Park, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Park offers visitors some stunning scenery and excelent bird watching opportunities with flamingos, pelicans and water birds.
It is an important stopover for migrant waterfowl, home to large breeding colonies of hippo and Nile crocodile and also has several species of venomous snakes. South Island is also the home of the El Molo tribe, of which there are only thought to be 500 individuals.

Central Island National Park is difficult to reach and is in effect a small active volcano with three saline crate lakes known as flamingo, Crocodile and Tilapia. It is believed to support the world´s largest population of Nile crocodiles. Along the shoreline, there are plains and grevy´s zebra, topi, oryx, reticulated giraffe, greater kudu and grants gazelle.

Location: Lake Turkana, Marsabit district, Eastern Province. Most northerly of the Great Rift Valley lakes.

Distance from Nairobi: 800 Km

Size: 44 square KM

Climatic Conditions: Hot and arid (especially December-March) June and July are the coolest months.
May-September very strong winds in morning and evening. Rainfall less than 250 mm per annum. In some places it may not rain several years.

Major attraction: Thre crater lakes – Lake Crocodile – Lake Flamingo – Lake Tilapia; active volcano, venomous rptiles and pre-historic fish.

Wildlife:
Reptiles/Fish: estimated 12,000 crocodiles, saw-scaled viper, night and puff adder, cobra
Birdlife: Over 84 water-bird species and various birds of prey

Access
Roads: 800 Km from Nairobi to Lake Turkana, then take a boat from Sibiloi National Park or from Lodwar.
Acess from Nairobi is by the main Nairobi-Moyale road or from Naralal to Loyangolani through Baragoi and South Horr

Aristripes: Two Airstrips at Sibiloi

Accomodation:Oasis Lodge, Lobolo Tented Camp

Bandas: KWS Selfcatering: Allia Bay Guesthouse

Best time to Visit: All year round

Activities: Crocodile hatching, viewing, camping

Tsavo West National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Nationalparks.

The Tsavo West National Park, covering an area of 9,055 square kilometers, is much more varied and diverse in its landscape than the Tsavo East National Park. Here, you encounter signs of recent volcanism in the form of lava flows and craters. There are impressive mountains, some of which are covered with dense, forest-rich vegetation, offering splendid viewpoints with views of Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) when it’s not cloudy. Additionally, there’s a special rhino sanctuary where you can observe these rare giants. The area boasts two permanent water sources: Mzima Springs and the Tsavo River. Noteworthy are also the Roaring Rocks and the Poacher’s Lookout.

in 2004:

[Zeige als Diashow]

Watamu National Park

Written by admin on 8. October 2009. Posted in Kenya.

Watamu National Park is part of a complex of marine and tidal habitats on Kenya´s north coast stretching from Malindi town to beyond the entrance to Mida creek. It is enclosed by the Malindi Marine National Reserve which also encloses Malindi Marine National Park. Habitats include inter-tidal rock, sand and mud, fringing reefs and coral gardens, coral cliffs, platforms and islets, sandy beaches and Mida creek mangrove forest. The park was desingated as a Biosphere reserce in 1979.

Mida creek is a large, almost land locked expanse of saline water, mangrove and inter-tidal mud. Its extensive forests are gazetted as forest reserves and the extreme western tip of Mida Creek is part of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest reserve.

Location: North Coast, Malindi

Climatic conditions: Mumid with mean annual temperatures ranging from 22-34 C. Rainfall about 500mm per annum

Major Attraction: Haven of green turtle; unique coral garden; Mida creek

Wildlife: Reptiles/Fish: fish, turtles, Insects/arthopods: crabs

Acess:
Roads: Access is via tarmac road from Mombasa or Malindi
Air: Mombasa or Malindi Airports

Accomodation: There is no accomodtion within the reserve but a wide range of options exist in nearby Watamu town or Malindi town

Best time to Visit: All year round

Activities: Wind surfing, snorkeling, water skiing, sunbathing, diving