Kenya – Networld Game Safaris

LaikipiaLaikipia

Ol Pejeta Conservancy: Resting at the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountain Range, in central Kenya’s Laikipia County, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa.

It is also home to the last three remaining northern white rhino in the world. Originally a working cattle ranch in colonial Kenya and now a pioneering wildlife conservancy, Ol Pejeta works to protect wildlife and provide a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees.

The Conservancy is a popular safari destination and is home to the renowned ‘Big Five’ as well as a wide selection of other African animals including: zebra, giraffe, hippo, cheetah, jackal, serval, hyena, vervet monkey and many more. Visitors can enjoy an assortment of outdoor activities such as horse rides, game walks, and nocturnal game drives.

Lewa Conservancy: Spanning over thousands of hectares of vast open savannah grasslands in northern Kenya, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is home to the world’s largest population of Grevy’s zebra. Renowned as a pioneer and leader in responsible tourism, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy actively advances and develops community engagement and wildlife conservation. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and serves as an important sanctuary for a large selection of wildlife including the endangered black rhino as well as the white rhino. Lewa offers visitors the opportunity to have close encounters with these prehistoric creatures against an unspoilt backdrop, making it one Kenya’s top game-viewing destinations. Boasting one of the highest wildlife densities in Kenya, the park is also inhabited by elephants, lions, buffalo, wild dogs, giraffes, cheetahs, and over 400 bird species

Losaba Conservancy: Loisaba is a 57,000 acre wildlife conservancy and working ranch located in Northern Laikipia, Kenya, East Africa. The two permanent rivers and abundant permanent springs make Loisaba attractive to wildlife throughout the year.

The conservancy is a haven for more than 260 species of birds and 50 species of mammal. Alongside the more common wildlife, there are over 800 elephants who roam across Loisaba, large herds of buffalo, dozens of the endangered Grevys Zebra, reticulated giraffe and the beautiful Greater Kudu. Cat population is thriving, with over three prides of Lion on Loisaba at one time and numerous Leopard and Cheetah sightings. To top it off the Wild dog, thought for many years to be extinct in the region, are once again being sighted regularly and often denning on Loisaba.

Lake Nakuru National ParkLake Nakuru National Park

On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru National Park is a shallow alkaline lake that is about 60 square kilometers in size.

The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs. Stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides are covered by a Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter.

Lake Nakuru is bordered by Menengai crater to the north ,the Bahati hills to the north east. Lion hill ranges, Eburu crater and the Mau escarpment are clearly seen from this park. Three major rivers, the Njoro, Makalia and Enderit drain into the lake.

In the recent past, the alkaline waters of the lake was the home to flocks of flamingo but today the water level has risen, making the food source of the lake less attractive. None the less you will still find limited numbers of flamingo and pelican roaming around the lake shores. This exotic park boasts of a rich concentration of wildlife including black and white colobus monkeys and is also a Rhino sanctuary. Look for temperamental black rhinos browsing in the bushes, and larger white rhinos cropping grass along the lakeside.

Nakuru means “Dust or Dusty Place” in Maasai language.

Lake NaivashaLake Naivasha National Park

Lake Naivasha is a beautiful freshwater lake, fringed by thick papyrus. The lake is almost 13kms across, but its waters are shallow with an average depth of five meters. Lake area varies greatly according to rainfall, with an average range between 114 and 991 sq kms.

Afternoon wind and storms can cause the Lake to become suddenly rough and produce high waves.

For this reason, the local Masai christened the lake Nai’posha meaning ”rough water”, which the British later misspelled as Naivasha. Much of the lake is surrounded by forests of the yellow barked Acacia Xanthophlea, known as the yellow fever tree. These forests abound with bird life, and Naivasha is known as a world class birding. The waters of the lake draw a great range of game to her shores. Giraffes wander among the acacia, Buffalo wallow in the swamps, Colobus monkeys & other primates call from the treetops while the Lakes large hippo population sleeps the day out in the shallows. The region surrounding the Lake is well worth exploring. Most visitors ensure to enjoy a boat ride on this lake.

Hell’s Gate National Park lies beside the lake. This Park was named for its pair of massive red tinged cliffs framing a geothermically active interior of steam vents and bubbling springs. The park is home to a profusion of plains game and birdlife. Walking is permitted, making it ideal for hiking, biking, and rock climbing.

SamburuSamburu National Park

Samburu national game reserve is situated in the Northern Province of Kenya. It is rugged and a semi-arid. To get here you will cross the equator at Nanyuki and go northwards passing the snowcapped Mt Kenya lying on the equator line and the environment here is enchanting.

The river Uaso Nyiro (‘River of Brown Water’ in Samburu) is the lifeline and the nerve center of this Reserve and is bustling with a huge population of crocodiles.

This game reserve is renowned for its rare species of animals that can only be found in this park, like –the long necked gerenuk, gravy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, and the Beisa onyx. The leopard is a frequent visitor in this park and most evenings it pays a courtesy call to the lodge’s guests as it feeds on some bite on a tree across the river. The park has an abundant species of birds and can turn even the most reluctant guest in to an avid bird watcher. It is considered by Ornithologists a paradise for bird viewing. The Samburu National Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George Adamson and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best-selling book and award winning movie Born Free.

Amboseli National ParkAmboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park is a top destination for a Kenya Safari. Indeed, one of the classic images of East Africa, let alone Kenya, is that of a herd of elephant strolling across the plains with the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro in the background.

While Kilimanjaro is actually across the border in Tanzania, Amboseli has a perfect view of this world’s tallest freestanding mountain, rising an impressive 5 kilometers above the plains

The best time to view the majestic mountain is at dawn and sunset, when the clouds lift and the light is both clear and soft. The park is one of the smaller game parks in Kenya, but it offers you the best opportunity of seeing the critically endangered black rhino, along with a spectacular range of wildlife. The area’s low and well-munched vegetation also ensures that animals are easy to spot. Lions can easily be found and can occasionally be watched stalking their prey. Buffalo, cheetah, gazelle, hyena, jackal, wildebeest, zebra, and baboon are just some of the animals that can be encountered at Amboseli. Streams from Kilimanjaro surface in the centre of Amboseli, creating swamps that attract and support a rich diversity of wild animals and birdlife. Most of Amboseli is flat and dusty and so the best spots for game viewing are these wetlands.

NairobiNairobi City

Situated in along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa’s most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place.

There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum, Giraffe centre and most notably just 20 minutes from the city centre wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve, Nairobi National Park which is Kenya’s first ever National Park.

Although it is a seasonal park, most of the game, such as lion, leopard, cheetah, impala, coke’s hartebeest (Kongoni), eland, Thomson’s and Grant gazelle, Maasai giraffe, hippo and buffalo, including the indigenous Black Rhino, live in the protection in this Nairobi national park all year round.Herds of plains zebra, wildebeest and eland enter the park during the great migration in July and August to enjoy the rich grazing until the next rains come.This park is an ideal starting point for ornithological safaris, with over 400 species of birdlife or a great start if you are looking to have a safari feel upon arrival in Kenya.

Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Tsavo East Tsavo WestTsavo East and West

Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks forms one of the largest National parks in the world and covers a massive 4% of Kenya’s total land area. They cover an enormous tract of land in southern Kenya. The main Nairobi to Mombasa road and railway splits Tsavo East and West right down the middle, which neatly cuts the parks into two. Tsavo East National Park is one of Kenya’s oldest and largest National Parks at the eastern edge of the inland plateau. Here you find bushy grasslands and rocky open plains alternating with semi-arid acacia scrub and woodland, with the Galana River cutting a green swathe across the park.

The seasonal Voi and Tiva rivers are important to the northern and southern portions of the park, as there is little other surface water.

Mudanda Rock is a great spectacle of this park as this outcrop is a water catchment area which feeds a natural dam where hundreds of elephants come to drink and bathe during the dry season. Views are exceptional and it is a good place to sit and watch game. Ancient volcanic activity is evident at the Yatta Plateau – a long flat-topped lava ridge on the western border of Tsavo East.

Tsavo West offers tremendous views and diverse habitats ranging from mountains, river forests, plains, lakes and wooded grassland. It is especially attractive at the end of the rains when the countryside turns green. Mzima Springs is pool of natural spring water that attracts a lot of game and there is even an underwater hippo-viewing hide. Tsavo West is known for its ‘Roaring Rocks’, which if climbed gives views usually only seen by the eagles and buzzards that whirl around these cliffs.

Coast KenyaEast African Coast

Diani: Famous for its gorgeous palm trees and its powder white sand lapped by glistening azure waters, Diani Beach is a popular resort area resting on Kenya’s magnificent Indian Ocean shoreline. The area’s wonderfully warm waters and exquisite coral reefs provide an ideal environment for an array of exhilarating water-based activities including snorkeling, scuba diving and boat safaris where you can witness the richly diverse marine life for which the southern coast of Kenya is known.

You’re likely to see turtles, mantas, barracuda and, if you are lucky, even the elusive and exceptionally large whale shark.

Don’t miss: the Colobus Conservation which provides a sanctuary for these fascinating endangered primates; the Shimba Hills National Reserve which offers an exceptional and unforgettable safari experience; and the nearby Kisite Marine National Park close to the Tanzanian border.

Lamu: Forming part of the Lamu Archipelago along Kenya’s spectacular coastline, Lamu Island is a peaceful tropical island where life moves slowly. This charming island is mostly blanketed in sand dunes, mango trees and palm groves. Lamu Old Town is one of the best-preserved and oldest Swahili settlements in East Africa featuring many influences from Omani Arabs, Turkish and Portuguese traders, who all left their mark. To this day there are only a few vehicles on the island and in many respects, the narrow streets, footpaths and alleyways and markets have barely changed in hundreds of years. All of this adds a level of ancient mystique to your tropical island holiday.

Mt. KenyaMt. Kenya

Mount Kenya is an imposing extinct volcano dominating the landscape of the Kenyan Highlands, East of the Rift Valley. Mt. Kenya lies about 140 km North, North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across the Equator.

The mountain has two main peaks – Batian (5200m) and Nelion (5188m).

The mountains slopes are cloaked in forest, bamboo, scrub and moorland giving way on the high central peaks to rock, ice and snow. Mt. Kenya is an important water catchment area, supplying the Tana and Northern Ewaso Nyiro systems.

The park includes a variety of habitats ranging from higher forest, bamboo, alpine moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial morains. The park, which was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and is also a Biosphere Reserve, covers 715 km2, and includes the Peaks consisting of all the ground above 3200m with two small salients extending lower down to 2450m along the Sirimon and Naro Moru tracks. Surrounding the park is Mount Kenya National Reserve with an area of approximately 2095 km2 Major attractions include; Pristine wilderness, lakes, tarns, glaciers and peaks of great beauty, geological variety, forest, mineral springs, rare and endangered species of animals, High altitude adapted plains game, Unique montane and alpine vegetation with 11 species of endemic plants.

Maasai MaraMasai Mara

The Masai Mara National Reserve is the most popular, and most famous, Game Park in Kenya. Together with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania it forms Africa’s most diverse, incredible and most spectacular Eco-systems and possibly the world’s top safari big game viewing eco-system. It is located close to the Tanzanian border, in the north-western corner of Kenya. The biggest attraction is the incredible migration of millions of wildebeest which happens every year, a huge highlight in many a visitors holiday.

Thousands of visitors come to the Mara every year to enjoy some of the most authentic safari experiences in Africa.

The open grasslands support a huge amount of wildlife, rich in its diversity. Guests can also experience the Maasai culture on a visit to a Masai village where interaction with the villagers is a highlight. Hand-crafts such as beadwork can be purchased at the villagers.

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