African Safari in Kenya – An African Safari in Kenya is one of the most rewarding safaris one can ever embark upon! Think of wide, open plains, filled with cheetah, elephant, lion, bat eared foxes, zebras, giraffe and a myriad of gorgeous birdlife. Days spent traversing the plains in an open 4 x 4 vehicle, with your guide bringing the entire terrain to life, teaching you everything from identifying the bones left from carnivores, to identifying plants and trees and the homeopathic properties that come from them, to the night sky and astronomy – where there is no light pollution!

Then return to your gorgeous tented camp at night, where the hurricane lamps have all been lit, and the smells of a wonderful meal prepared for you,  using the freshest ingredients waft through the air. Perhaps you might have a hot bucket shower which is so romantic as you bathe beneath the stars at night, or – if staying at one of our luxury lodges, then you can wallow in a bath, overlooking a river, the sound of hippos happily grunting. This is Africa and this is Kenya, the country that delivers dreams! Witness the wildebeest migration, one of Africa’s greatest spectacles, in the Masai Mara, spend time learning about the Nomadic tribes, walk with scientists, learning about their projects. Spend time riding on horse back or walking with camels, the smell of the plants still fresh with the morning dew. Overnight in a tree house. All of these are possible, and our specialists come from Kenya, so who better to assist you with your next safari? We look forward to it!

Kenyan safaris – probably the finest safari for a first time traveller to Africa!

Dream of travelling to Africa and you probably think of infinite savannah plains, with cheetah and lion crossing paths, and Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in Out of Africa. And you wouldn’t be far wrong. Except of course, that this is your holiday that we are talking about! Kenya still does deliver the most awe inspiring safaris that are hard to beat. No other country in Africa can offer the diversity of wildlife, culture and general interest – from horse riding amongst the wildebeest migration, to walking with the Samburu tribe with camels, learning about their culture and reading the signs of the wild left by creatures before you, to fly fishing on a lake, to walking around Mount Kenya, with the mountain covered in heather. This country is simply staggering and still offers the very best safaris imaginable – all away from the crowds!  The beaches are heavenly too – explore them on foot, staying at beautiful boutique hotels or chic Robinson Crusoesque retreats, or even by Arab Dhow, the traditional boats which ply their trade on the Indian Ocean. And, we have not even spoken about Lake Turkana, where three day visits can be arranged by light aircraft, discovering the Turkana tribe who visit the Jade sea with their camels – one of the most amazing sights to witness! Spend time amongst the wildlife with researchers, learning all about these species in depth, how to identify them, the troubles facing them on a daily basis, and conservation as a whole. Become enriched with greater knowledge and fascination of the world we live in!

The wildlife is second to none, whether one is there at the time of the wildebeest migration in the masai mara or not. The people are wonderful and friendly, the places to stay are sublime, whether in a design inspired lodge with endless views over the plains or a tented camp erected just for you – whatever your desire, this country can certainly offer it!

Kenya safaris – for those seeking more than just a wildlife safari!

This country offers a wealth of experiences – from a traditional African safari, to a week’s walking around Mount Kenya when the heather is all in flower, to a walking safari with a top guide through the Kakamega forest, to a cultural safari, staying at community managed lodges where the funds go directly to the community and one learns all about the Samburu or Masai tribes.  Then you can stay at a farmhouse with a Kenyan family, stay in a tented camp with views across the savannah plains in the Masai Mara, or visit an elephant research centre in Samburu. Marvel at the snow capped peaks of Kilimanjaro from the Chuylu Hills or take a riding safari there or alongside the wildebeest migration in the Mara, which occurs from July through to October.

Have a privact camp set up for you or stay at a gorgeous, Bohemian tented camp or lodge with Aran daybeds and hammocks scattered outside. Take over a private house or villa. Fly up to Lake Turkana for a few days and see the great Jade Sea as it is also referred to. Take  a helicopter and go fishing around Mount Kenya, staying in a log cabin. Then fly to the coast and hire an Arab Dhow and sail between the islands or take a villa in Lamu or stay at a Robinson Crusoe lodge, where you never wear shoes, but just your kikoy and  a bikini and let your hair down!

Whatever is right for you, we have the knowledge and expertise to tailor your safari perfectly – expertly – by Kenyans!

Safari to Kenya -  these safaris are renowned throughout the world and certainly throughout Africa, as being some of the finest safaris imaginable!

The country offers such great diversity and history. Alongside Tanzania, it offers the wildebeest migration, when  1.5 million wildebeest and 500 000 zebra all migrate in search of water and grazing. This is one of Africa’s greatest spectactles and takes place in the Masai Mara. North of the equator, we have Samburu and Meru, which are magnificent parks and offer unique species indigenous to a drier, more desert like landscape. Meru, apart from being very beautiful, was also made famous by Joy Adamson’s  film biography of her and George Adamson’s life in Born Free. Then Samburu is renowned for its elephant population and Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton has his reasearch station, Save The Elephants where for a donation, one can visit.  Laikipia is another amazing region which used to be a number of farms before they stripped the fences, allowing the wildlife to roam freely.

Here one can track wild dog and lion, go camping (flycamping as we call it), ride horses and camels and stay in wonderful farmhouses and homesteads, spending time with Kenyans and learning about their day to day life.

Wildlife is only part of one’s experience. The culture most definitely is the other half and Kenya offers so many wonderful tribes, from the Samburu, to the Maasai, the Pokot, the Turkana amongst its most colourful. Learn about their ways, how they become warriors and live alongside wildlife. Lake Turkana is a must for those who have been on safari so many times before. Known as the Jade Sea, different tribes and their way of life can be observed in this stark and uniquely beautiful region.Then you can also climb Mount Kenya which is gorgeous and can be done slowly over a week.  The coast is fabulous too and offers so many varieties from beautiful lodges, to sumptuous villas, to cutting edge spas and Robinson Crusoe retreats.

Stay in a tented camp, a lodge, a tree house, a private villa, a mobile camp erected just for you and your party with your own private guide or just a bedroll with mosquito netting covering you.  The choices are endless and with our team of experts we can certainly guide you to making the right ones!

Anyone who has an interest in conservation or luxury safaris to Africa (or India) in general as well as walking safaris, elephant safaris or special interest safaris will welcome the CITES decision late last month to uphold the ongoing ban on ivory trading. The story is well reported by CNN, which we precis as follows:

Quote:
(CNN) — Conservationists have welcomed the decision to reject a bid from Tanzania and Zambia to temporarily suspend a worldwide ban on trading in African elephant ivory so they can offload legal stockpiles in a one-off sale.
The 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Monday, voted to reject the proposal amid concerns about elephant poaching.
A petition from the two African countries to remove elephants from a list of animals “threatened with extinction” to allow trade in other parts of the animal was also thrown out.
“It’s welcome news, but my anxieties remain about the increased levels of poaching in Africa,” Save the Elephant’s Dr. Ian Douglas-Hamilton told CNN.
“There are huge problems ahead for the elephants,” he said. “I do see this huge demand which is emanating mainly from the prosperity of China. We have to win their hearts and minds for conservation and for the elephant so that they have more of an idea of sustainable use and not over-taxing populations.”
CITES banned the international commercial ivory trade in 1989 after elephant populations dropped dramatically across the world due to widespread poaching.
But in 1997 and 2002 it permitted Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to sell limited stocks of ivory to Japan, in recognition of the fact that some southern African elephant populations were healthy and well managed.
Five years later at a CITES meeting at The Hague further sales of stockpiled ivory were permitted in return for a nine-year moratorium on further sales.
Both Zambia and Tanzania claimed elephant numbers in their territories were on the rise after years of decline. They also said the proceeds from the sale of government stockpiles would be put back into conservation and enforcement projects. But wildlife experts in Kenya, part of a coalition of 23 African elephant range countries calling for an outright ban, say poaching has increased since the announcement of the last sale.
“Though Zambia’s anti-poaching enforcement measures are better than those of Tanzania, there is no justification for downgrading the elephants from the endangered list,” said Douglas-Hamilton, an expert on Kenya’s elephant population. Tanzania has increased poaching and increased illegal markets. Their main elephant population has decreased by some 30,000 in the last three years. In Zambia there were huge declines in the elephant population in the 1970s and 1980s. Whereas other elephant populations across Africa have recovered slightly since the introduction of the ivory trade ban, Zambia’s never have. They remain the same. In the mid-1970s the population was something like 160,000. It is currently estimated to sit at around 26,000.”
He added that the situation was particularly desperate in central Africa where there are estimated to be just 20,000 elephants left from a population numbering 1 million 30 years ago.
CNN’s David McKenzie contributed to this report.
Unquote

Naturally we are all delighted at the announcement but it is clear that charities such as Iain’s Save The Elephants, which can be visited as part of an itinerary to Kenya (and is a charity we support, as is the Sheldrick Elephant Foundation, see the video below), and those involved with our special interest safaris and Elephant safaris in the Okavango Delta need ongoing support, as do all those with a focus on elephant conservation in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Zambia.