Did you know? ... that in we have four major fitness challenges that take place annually in Kenya & Tanzania?

First ascended in 1899 by Halford Mackinder, a geographer and director of the London School of Economics, Mount Kenya, or Kirinyaga, is Kenya's highest mountain and has three separate peaks – Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana – of which, at 5,199m (17,057ft), Batian is the highest. It is also the second-highest mountain in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. Mount Kenya sits just south of the Equator, in central Kenya, around 150km north-east of Nairobi – and was the source for the Republic of Kenya's name.

 

This guest blog is very kindly written by Jared Crawford. Jared worked in environmental education with WWF, CARE, CITES, IUCN and AWF (amongst others) for decades before joining the safari world and so he speaks from both sides of the fence.

With the dramatic and well publicized increase in poaching I'm often asked if it is a wise or politically correct time to visit Africa on safari. This is a very good question and one that deserves to be addressed. Tourism has always been a mainstay for wildlife populations, local communities and conservation efforts throughout the continent. Many African range states are grappling with huge environmental choices as they hurtle towards modernization. There has simply never been a more important time for people to come on safari.

 

Beasts of the Serengeti, exchanging pleasantries with the Maasai, camping out in the bush amid the acacias and elephant dung.

When it comes to activities in Kenya you might think you’ve heard it all before

Unlikely.

Read on for some lesser known experiences in Kenya by Philippa Stewart and originally published in CNN Travel.

 

 

So, the safari is over, you have checked the animals off the list and now you have a day in Nairobi to spend at your leisure. By this time you have bought all the typical souvenirs on your way around the country and now you’re looking for something unique even for Kenya! Here are some very different places and things to shop for…

Kenya has a great variety of activities to occupy even the most ardent adrenaline-junkie, from white-water rafting to skydiving. What's your fix?

Kenya has an amazing array of avifauna with over 1,132 species recorded, including at least twenty species of eagle and twelve species of heron alone. Here are a few of the wonderful specimens you may encounter on a Kenyan safari.

The 10 to 4 is a downhill mountain bike challenge and fun ride that takes place annually on the slopes of Mt Kenya.
It raises funds for local communities and conservation efforts on Mount Kenya.
The SAX 10 to 4 Mountain Bike Challenge will take place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd February 2013.

Traditionally Christmas is celebrated throughout the African continent by Christian communities large and small. There are approximately 350 million Christians in Africa. On Christmas day carols are sung from Ghana on down to South Africa. Meats are roasted, gifts are exchanged and family visits made.

Eastern Africa down to South Africa are celebrating their summer, so it is beautifully warm. The safari lodges and beach accommodation generally provides you with a traditionally international (British usually) Christmas, consisting of a roast turkey, Christmas decorations (generally tinsel and a Christmas tree), a gift, Christmas carols and Christmas drinks from Mulled / Gluhwein to Christmas cocktails.

Unless you're in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, there's little chance of anyone enjoying a white Christmas in Africa.

So you are planning your holiday to Kenya however as Kenya has such a large tourism industry many of its parks have become overpopulated – here is a list of parks & reserves that have been less focused upon and therefore less populated by tourists and somewhere that you can have an enjoyable, relaxing holiday.

Including private conservation areas on any safari itinerary provides visitors with a more balanced view of conservation and tourism while also allowing them to be more active and engage their environment on a personal level. We can all agree on the enduring value of traditional parks and reserves. They have secured Africa's largest and most critical ecosystems for more than half a century. However, even the largest cannot reach out to cover all migration routes and dispersal areas nor can they cover entire ecosystems.

So the holiday is booked and the bags are packed and you are looking forward to a lovely vacation on the Kenyan Coast with the sun, sand and sea for company. However as we all know there comes a time when sun bathing gets a little dull so here are some cool things to do and experience on your holiday...

Have you ever wondered, whilst on safari or just at home, which animals fill these criteria - here is a brief glimpse at some record holders of the African bush.

A friend of Pippa's has just started working for the Kenya Wildlife Trust and one evening over a couple of drinks she was telling her about some of the facts and statistics about the Kenyan Lion population. Throughout the conversation Pippa became more and more astounded at what she was saying – the fact that our Rhinos and Elephants are being killed at an excessively high rate has always been publicized and well known. However the fact that we only have 2,000 Lions left in the country hit herlike a hard ball in the gut and she then asked her to write about it so that we could help, in some small way, to make people the world over more aware of this horrifying situation and hopefully help us all come together to try and rectify this tragic series of events.

Many safaris start and end in Nairobi and people are left wondering what to do?  There doesn't need to be a dull moment if that is the case, there are so many amazing things to do and see - our latest blog documents some of the options mostly in the Karen and Lang'ata areas.  So, read on.....

Recent official analysis of entry data received at Kenya's main international airports are seen to reveal an increase in tourism numbers in the first half of this year, but is this realistic and what are we really seeing on the ground?  From The SAFARI Company's point of view, yes we seeing an increase in bookings and an increase in amount spent on each safari but perhaps that is a reflection of the fact that we are marketing more and making a name for ourselves; we hear of other companies that are struggling.

Kenya has an enormous amount to offer, so here’s a brief guide to the country, its people and its history, to help you. On 12^th December 1963, Kenya gained its independence and became a Republic. But what was Kenya like before that – and since?

What a magical surprise this birthday turned out to be! We landed in Lamu and I still had no idea where we were headed and as we got closer to the mainland my husband pointed out this enchanted villa on the shores of Shela. From a distance its white walls shimmered in the sunshine and after ascending the stairs and walking through the elaborately carved doors the beauty of the house took my breath away.

‘Kenya’, a word that conjures up ideas of adventure, great expanses of land speckled with spectacular and truly ‘wild’ wildlife. Most intrepid travellers get to witness this once in their life from a safari vehicle, better known as a photographic safari. There is nothing wrong with a ‘photographic’ safari, clambering into a 4x4 vehicle and driving through the unspoilt lands of Eastern Africa is as intrepid or adventurous as many people would like to get, but for the bold and the brave, we can offer a more extreme safari experience.

Whether from the back of a camel or a horse, the seat of a motorbike, a bicycle or a quad bike or from an old fashioned Arabic trading boat floating on the Indian Ocean, here are some ways in which to witness Kenya, whilst being ‘closer’ to nature.

If you are needing a long weekend out of Nairobi and can't be doing with the coast, this is the perfect place for you.  It would also be a great place to relax for a few days in the middle of a safari. 

‘The Masai Mara’, these three words conjure images of genuine, authentic, original ‘safari’, Acacia strewn savanna, animals galloping across the African plains and nature at its most raw, wild and un-spoilt.

If you have been on safari but haven’t been to the Masai Mara, we feel your safari experience is indeed not complete. Why is the Masai Mara the essence of safari? The most obvious answer is because it is the smallest area in which to see the Big 5 at all times of year as well as the home to the natural phenomenon that is The Annual Wildebeest Migration, which is in evidence from July until November every year. Annually, hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Kenya to witness this wondrous cycle that has been happening for over a million years. The raw brutality of nature comes alive on the savannah and at the river crossings as the world watches, horrified, but fascinated as the wildebeest, zebra and crocodiles fight the battle they have fought for centuries.

It is obvious that visiting the Masai Mara is a must in everyone’s lifetime, and here is how to do it on the budget you have available:

Offbeat Mara Camp is traditional Safari at its very best- private and small, the camp offers excellent game viewing in one of the most famous safari destinations in the world. Just six tents, and a prime location means that they can provide a truly individual and tailored approach to your holiday. This small and exclusive tented camp offers game-viewing in both the serene and unspoilt Mara North Conservancy, and close access to the famous Masai Mara National Reserve.

Few animals have sparked the imagination of man as much as the Gorilla, the largest of the living primates. Most Gorillas live in inaccessible regions in various dense forests in tropical Africa, one subspecies, the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) lives within only four national parks in the world, one inhabits the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda (2006 census recorded 30), the second is in a mountainous region referred to as the Virungas, which includes Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda and Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo DRC (2010 census recorded 480).

Nomad Tanzania is one of East Africa's original safari companies. For the past 20 years they  have owned and operated outstanding small safari camps in three of the remotest corners of Tanzania.

The Great Wildebeest Migration, the longest and largest overland migration in the world and one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of Africa”, comprises around 1.5 million Wildebeest, 200,000 Zebra, 350,000 Thomson’s Gazelles and 12,000 Eland making an epic circular journey of approximately 2000 miles in search of “greener pastures”. The Migration is not a single occurrence; it is a never-ending cycle which begins for a Wildebeest with its birth and ends with its death. Wildebeest are born in a mass birthing (known as “calving”) which takes place during January and February on the plains near the Ngorongoro Crater and the Olduvai Gorge, in Tanzania, at the southernmost extent of the Wildebeests’ range. Nature has ensured that, to increase its chances of survival, a newborn Wildebeest calf is able to stand within 2-3 minutes of birth and run with the herd within about five minutes! It is believed, from recent fossil discoveries, that Wildebeest have been grazing the Serengeti for more than a million years.

 

Towards the end of the short Dry season, in March, the grass plains of the southern Serengeti start to dry out and the Wildebeest continue – or commence – their journey, intuitively following the rains and fresh grasses first westwards towards the small, seasonal lake of Ndutu (Lagarja), and then northwest towards Lake Victoria. From here the herds gradually head north into the Masai Mara – and more of the life-or-death river crossings that prove such a draw for tourists from all over the world. The Wildebeest converge at the Mara River in their thousands and gather on the plains and banks beside it, waiting to cross. The cacophony as they call to one another is unprecedented. Their numbers can grow for days at a time and observers will often wait in suspense beside the river, anticipation building, until – for no apparent reason – the Wildebeest turn from the river, as one, and move away! Eventually, however, the herds will select a crossing point (frequently more than one), and the intrepid journey to the opposite bank will begin. It is still not known what prompts them to turn back or to cross – or even where they will choose to cross in any given year.

 

Usually, the Wildebeest begin their journey south again by late October, when the first of the Short Rains reach the plains of the Serengeti, bringing fresh growth and brimming seasonal waterholes. Rutting having taken place in May and June, the majority of the cows will already be heavily pregnant – and so the cycle continues on in perpetuity.

The Leleshwa Safari Company gave us a great, brief presentation of their products last week, you can of course book all of these through The SAFARI Company.

Latest travel advisory from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Ethiopia.

This advice has been reviewed and reissued with amendments to the Travel Summary and the Safety and Security - Political situation section (avoid large demonstrations and political rallies), the Safety and Security - Local Travel - River & Sea Transports section and the Entry Requirements - Visa section (need for biometric fingerprints and photographs).  The overall level of the advice has not changed; there are no travel restrictions in place in this travel advice for Tanzania.

This advice has been reviewed and reissued with an amendment to the Entry Requirements - Passport Validity section (updated).  The overall level of the advice has not changed; we advise against all travel to Karamjoa region except for trips to the Kidepo Valley National Park.

This advice has been reviewed and reissued with editorial amendments to the Travel Summary and the Safety and Security - Terrorism section.  The overall level of the advice has not changed.  The FCO advises against all but essential travel to within 60km of the Somali border, to coastal areas within 150km of the Kenya-Somalia border (this includes the Lamu area), to Garissa district and to low income areas of Nairobi, including all townships or slum areas.