Destinations in Kenya

MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

area: 1.672 km2
location: south-western Kenya, GPS: 1°29′24″S 35°8′38″E
speciality: abundant wildlife, annual migration of wildebeest, administered by Maasais
best time to visit: August-October

It was opened in 1974 and is managed by the nomadic, pastoralist Masai tribe, who arrived in the area by the middle of the 17th century. As of July, the vast herds of the Serengeti in Tanzania begin moving to the Masai Mara in the north, lured there by the rains and the fresh promise of green pastures. The crossing of the Mara River is as gruesome as it is fascinating. The animals begin to move South again by late October, in order to calve in the Sernegeti in January. This reserve is one of Africa's premier wildlife destinations.
Wildlife: lion, hippo, crocodile, vulture, elephant, baboon, gazelle, giraffe, jackas, water buffalo, ostrich, topi, impala, Coke's hartebeest, buffalo, bushbaby, bushbuck, Colobus monkey, dik-dik, duiker, eland, Grant's Gazelle, Thomson's Gazelle, genet, gerenuk, hares, hartebeest, spotted hyaena, klipspringer, mongooses, vervet monkey, oribi, serval, steinbok, suni, warthog , waterbuck, cheetah, leopard, black rhino, Roan antelope, African wild cat, civet, bat-eared fox , striped hyaena, hyrax, pangolin, bushpig, porcupine, ratel, reedbuck, aardvark, aardwolf and up to 500 species of bird.

SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE

area:165 km2
location: north Kenya, GPS: 0°37′5″N 37°31′48″E
speciality: elephant herds comming regularly to Ewaso Ngiro river, leopard, oryx, grevys zebra
best time to go:

Scenically and faunally dramatic, for most of the year Samburu National Reserve is under the hot equatorial sun. Relief comes from the wide swathe of the Ewaso Ngiro River which rises few hundreds of kilometers to the west on the foothills of the Aberdares and which vanishes beyond Samburu in the recesses of the Lorian swamp. The river is at its best in the Reserve, broad and sluggish with a large population of crocodile seen on sandbanks at almost every bend. In the lower reaches, where permanent pools have formed as a tributary joins the river, are hippos. The river is fringed with giant acacias, figs, kigelias and doum palms all of which provide shade and sustenance to the wildlife, which comes to water including the herds of elephants.
The Reserve is within the lands of the Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and harbors a number of wildlife species rarely found elsewhere in any numbers like Grevy zebra, the reticulated giraffe and the Beisa oryx all found only north of the equator. The long-necked gerenuk is a graceful antelope, which spends much of its time in a bi-pedal stance seeking succulence among the withered scrub.
Wildlife: elephnat, hippo, buffalo, oryx, grevys zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, impala, waterbuck, lion, leopard, serval, nile crocodile, 350 species of birds including somali ostrich, tawny eagle,
kingfishers, humming birds or guinea fowls among others.

MERU NATIONAL PARK

area: 870 km2
location: north-eastern Kenya, GPS: 0°5′37″N 38°12′29″E
speciality: not crowded by tourists, good wildlife
best time to visit: December-March

Meru forms part of a larger wilderness area along the Tana River, including Bisanadi and Mwingi National Reserves, Kora national park and Rahole national reserve. The wetter north-western sector is hilly, with rich volcanic soils. Numerous permanent streams cross the Park, and three large rivers straddle the reserve: the Tana to the south, the Ura to the south-west and the Rojeweru to the east. The park was made famous by the writings of Joy Adamson, most noted for her book Born Free, the true story of Elsa, the lioness, and her return into the wild.
Wildlife: baboon; buffalo; bushbuck; duiker, eland; elephant, gazelles, genet, gerenuk; giraffe, hartebeest, hippo, hyaena, hyrax, impala; jackal, kudu, lion; mongoose, vervet monkey, oribi; oryx, steinbok; suni, warthog; waterbuck, zebra, wild dog, aardwolf; bushbaby, caracal; cheetah; civet, dik-dik; leopard; black and white rhino, serval, over 400 bird species.

MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK

area: 700 km2
location: central highlands, Kenya, GPS: 0°9′00″S 37°18′00″E
speciality: second highest peak in Africa, very scenic, UNESCO world heritage site
best time to visit: January-February

The mountain has two main peaks - Batian (5200m) and Nelion (5188m). The flora and fauna is fascinating here as it changes dramatically with altitude. Dry upland forest and rainforests are supported on the lower slopes while a bamboo forest melts into a upper forest of smaller trees covered in high altitude moss. Between 3000m and 5000m vegetation types include African Sage, protea, helicrysum and moorland with giant lobelias and heather.
Mt. Kenya is an important water catchment area, supplying the Tana and Northern Ewaso Ngiro systems.