Kenya
Full of good Game Drives (and Walks) and people that will go out of their way to do anything for you
For Return to Kenya yet again in 2017 please click HERE
For Wildebeest(less) Migration in 2019 please click HERE
For Kenya in Spring of 2021 please click HERE
For Kenya Summer of 2021 and the Wildebeest Migration please click HERE
People hear of Kenya all the time. From the Great Rift Valley, to Karen Blixen who wrote Out of Africa, to the great Game Parks all over the country. It is one of those places people always dream to visit and I can say I will be back one day to do some of the other game parks. The people were very friendly in always trying to help you with directions or give you rides places. The scenery is stunning and many of the buildings have interesting sayings on them such as “Glorious Hotel and Butchery”. The landscape being in the Great Rift Valley was absolutely stunning as the rolling hills took me back to what Uganda and Rwanda looked like.
I had the chance to be in Nairobi for a few days at the beautiful suburb of Nairobi Karen. This is the place where Karen Blixen (Out of Africa) lived and my campsite was right down the street from her house. Although I did not enter the city of Nairobi because of protests, I had the opportunity to see the Elephant Sanctuary where they take orphaned elephants and raise them up to be let back in the wild, as well as the Giraffe Park. Besides being in Game Reserves, this is the closest that I had gotten to Giraffes on this trip.
A great place to stay while in Karen is of course the Karen Camp. This lodge situate in this quiet suburb has rooms, campsites, and dorms. The restaurant and bar has a quiet serene atmosphere. A great driver to use which usually hangs around on the premises is Smiley. For a fair price he can drive you around to different spots that you need to go, or pick you up from places as far as a few hours away. His contact information is +254 733 913 109.
I also had the opportunity to visit a friend that I taught with from Japan. She lives and works in Kenya and we decided to have lunch together and talk about the past eight years. Strange how time flies….
The lakes are the place to go in Kenya if you want to see game. Everything from Giraffes to Baboons to Hyenas just to name a few. Lake Nakuru is a great game reserve in Kenya just a few hours from Nairobi. The whole city surrounds this game reserve that used to host millions of flamingos. As of recent times the flamingos have left because of the rise of the water, but that did not stop us from having one of the better game drives we have had…
Lake Naivasha, which is very close to Nairobi, holds another few good game parks. Hells Gate among a few of them is world renowned. They also have a beautiful Crater Lake which is surrounded by many different games, with an abundance of Pumbas, Zebras, Giraffes, and Antelope. This is one of the only walking safaris you can still do in the world and the sites were amazing, as was the Crater Lake. I also had the opportunity to have High Tea at Joy Adamson’s house who successfully tamed and reintroduced Lions and Cheetahs back into the wild. Her book Born Free which chronicled the life of her and Elsa the Lioness, was made into an Academy Award Movie. Colobus Monkeys ran around the forests of her house which overlooked the lake and made the afternoon more pleasant.
Our campsite was one of the most bizarre ones I have stayed at while traveling. Hippos routinely came out of the water and grazed the campsite while Colobus Monkeys and Vervet Monkeys routinely tried to steal food from us. It was a remarkable campsite and I would probably stay there just for the sheer fact that so much goes on there with wildlife.
A great guide/organizer to use at the campsite which can arrange anything is Simon. He can organize any excursion like game walks, national park walks/ bike rides, or anything your heart desires. His knowledge of the area, birds, and wild life is very impressive. His contact information is mutua.simon@yahoo.com or +254 720 732 251.
