Aberdare National Park

 

The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift  Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east .The park is located about 100 km north of Nairobi and stretches over a wide variety of terrain at elevations from 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Established in May 1950, the Aberdare National Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The park contains a wide range of landscapes – from mountain peaks that rise to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, to their deep, v-shaped valleys intersected by streams, rivers, and waterfalls.  Moorland, bamboo forests and rainforest are found at lower elevations.

Wildlife present in the protected area include lion, leopard, elephant,  East African wild dog , giant forest hog , bushbuck, mountain reedbuckwaterbuckCape buffalosuniside-striped jackalelandduikerolive baboon, black and white colobus monkey, and sykes monkey. Rarer sightings include those of the African golden cat and the bongo. Species such as the common elandserval live in the higher moorlands. The Aberdare National Park also hosts a large eastern black rhinoceros population and over 250 bird species including the endangered Aberdare cisticolaJackson’s spurfowlsparrowhawkAfrican goshawkAfrican fish eaglesunbirds and plovers.

Amboseli National Park

 

Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is a national park in Loitoktok District in Kajiado County, Kenya. It harbours 400 species of birds including water birds like pelicans, kingfishers, crakes, harmer kop and 47 raptor species. The local people are mainly Maasai.

Amboseli National Park was home to Echo, the most researched elephant in the world, and the subject of many books and documentaries, followed for almost four decades by American conservationist Cynthia Moss. Echo died in 2009 when she was about 60 years old.

Amboseli National Park is home to African bush elephant, Cape buffalo, impala, lion, cheetah, spotted hyena Masai giraffe , Grant’s zebra, and blue wildebeests . It is also a host of large and small birds occur too.

 

The Nairobi Snake Park

Nairobi Snake Park (NSP) is one of the National Museums of Kenya attractions located adjacent to Nairobi National Museum and is extremely popular with visitors. On display are, cobras, puff adders, mambas and the large African-Rock python (non-poisonous) found only in Kenya.

Several species of crocodile found in Africa, the American alligator, fresh water terrapins and tortoises are also on display aquariums holding coral fish from the East African lakes and rivers are a main feature of the park.

Apart from the attraction, the Snake Park provided refuge and home for abandoned and unwanted reptiles including a giant tortoise that is still currently living at the park. The specimen was found wondering along a road in Limuru in 1961. The Snake Park has continued to provide refuge to a number of abandoned, threatened, rescued and unwanted reptiles to date.

 

Nairobi National Park

 

The main tourist attraction in Nairobi, the Nairobi National Park is unique as the only national park within a city boundary. From the edge of the city, you can even see giraffes in the distance. The wide open grasslands of the national park are backed by the city’s buildings and you can find a wide variety of iconic wildlife living here, such as lions, giraffes, cheetah, hyenas, buffalo, and a diversity of birdlife.

The park is also home to one of Kenya’s healthiest rhino populations. The park joins to a conservation corridor for the Athi-Kapiti plains towards the south of the park making is such a draw for wildlife. In addition to the iconic larger animals, there are a number of others to be found here including ostriches, baboons, gazelles, eland, impala, and a very high diversity of birds. Including migrants, there are around 500 different bird species found within the park boundaries making it a great place for birders.

The David Sheldrick Trust runs a sanctuary in the park that hand-rears orphaned elephant and rhinoceros calves, and later releases them back into secure sanctuaries. Orphaned and sick animals are brought to the sanctuary from all over Kenya. The sanctuary is located close to the park’s main entrance.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a not-for-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya’s Laikipia County. It is situated on the equator west of Nanyuki, between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes, and generate income through wildlife tourism. All members of the “Big Five ” ( Lion, buffalo , elephants ,leopard and rhinoceros) can be found on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Other rare animals that can be found on Ol Pejeta include the endangered African wild dog, 0ryx Jackson’s hartebeest, Grevy’s Zebra, serval, cheetah and bat eared fox. The more common African wildlife can be found too, including giraffes, vervet monkeys, baboons, hippos, impala, eland, gazelle, dik dik, plains zebra, silver backed jackal and hyenas. There are also over 300 bird species on the Conservancy. The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is incorporated within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy and is the only place in Kenya where chimpanzees can be seen.

Lake Bogoria

Lake Bogoria (formerly Lake Hannington) is a saline, alkaline lake that lies in a volcanic region in a half-graben basin south of Lake Baringo , Kenya, a little north of the equator. Lake Bogoria, is periodically home to one of the world’s largest populations of lesser flamingos. Although the lake is in a semi-arid part of Kenyan Rift Valley , it is surrounded by numerous and varied wetlands along its shorelines, along faults where hot, warm and cold springs have developed, and along rivers that run across the rift floor. Lake Bogoria is in a geothermally active part of the Kenya Rift Valley, and is famous for geysers and hot spring along the bank of the lake and in the lake. There are about 200 hot springs, most of which are distributed along the shoreline .

The lake supports more than 300 water bird species. It is an important stop over site for a population of up to 1.5 million migratory birds, notably for the lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor). Its immediate surroundings are a critical habitat for vulnerable species such as the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and African lion (Panthera leo); another important species is the greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros). The lake’s stable water level makes it doubly important during periods of drought, when water levels in other East African lakes drop.

Hell’s Gate National Park

Hell’s Gate National Park is a national park situated near Lake Naivasha in Kenya. The park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It was established in 1984. The park is notable for its wide variety of wildlife and for its scenery. This includes the Fischer’s Tower and Central Tower columns and Hell’s Gate Gorge. The national park is also home to five geothermal power stations at Olakaria. The park features three basic campsites and includes a Maasai Cultural Center, providing education about Maasai culture and traditions.

The park is located 14 kilometres (9 mi) after the turnoff from the old Nairobi-Naivasha highway, and has a warm and dry climate. Olkaria and Hobley’s, two extinct volcanoes located in the park, can be seen as well as obsidian forms from the cool molten lava. Within Hell’s Gate is the Hells Gate Gorge, lined with red cliffs which contain two volcanic plugs: Fischer’s Tower and Central Tower. Off of Central Tower is a smaller gorge which extends to the south, with a path that descends into  hot springs that have rocks hot enough to cause burns, and sulfuric water.

Wildlife in the national park includes  lions , leopards, and cheetahs . However, the park has historically been an important home for the rare lammergeyer  vultures. There are over 103 species of birds in the park, including  vultures, Verreaux  eagles , and swifts.   African buffalo, zebra, eland, hartebeest,  Thomson gazelle , hyena, and baboons are also common .The park is also home to several and small numbers of klipspringer  antelope and Chanler’s mountain reedbuck.

 

Karura Forest

 


The Karura Forest Reserve is an urban upland forest on the outskirts of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. This remarkable geographical location and natural resource is one of the largest gazetted forests in the world fully within a city limits. It covers an area of about 1,000 ha (2,500 ac) and today is a shining example of how country-based corporate social responsibility and individual philanthropy can serve to secure and protect a country’s natural resources. The forest offers eco-friendly opportunities for Kenyans and visitors to enjoy a leafy green respite from the hustle and bustle of the city to walk, to jog, or simply to sit quietly and experience the serenity of nature in all its diversity.

Activities

  1. Biking
  2. Picnic
  3. Trekking/ Walking
  4. Bird watching
  5. Jogging
  6. Dog walking

 

Zanzibar

Zanzibar also known as the Spice Island, is a beautiful island   full of culture and history, shinning white-sand beaches with palms swaying lazily in the sea breeze, together this  makes Zanzibar a fabulous place to explore as well as a dream to relax and unwind.

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba.

The Island is heaven for water sports activities such as swimming, snorkelling, diving with lots of luminous fish or just grazing over nearby coral gardens and pods of dolphins frolic offshore. The smooth beaches make the day dazzling in the sun.

The historic Stone Town sits in the island’s capital, Zanzibar. The historic heart lets you imagine yourself floating back in time. The Spice Tour gives the opportunity to head out into the live plantations to see, touch and taste Zanzibar’s many spices in its natural environment. Some of the exotic flavours include cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices that have made the island famous.

 

Lake Elmenteita

Elmenteita is derived from the Maasai word muteita, meaning “dust place”, a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, especially between January and March. The town of Gilgil is near the lake. In the south-to-north sequence of Rift Valley Lakes, Elmenteita is between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru. Along the nearby escarpment, the major Nairobi-Nakuruhighway  gives motorists a spectacular vista of the lake. Today the lake is a protected area due to its bird life and has been named as a UNESCO heritage site together with Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria.

At the southern end of the lake are the “Kekopey” hot springs, in which an introduced fish, the Lake Magadi Tilapia, breed. The reed beds nearby are fishing grounds for night herons and pelicans.

It is a soda lake (high alkalinity, high biodiversity).

Over 400 bird species have been recorded in the Lake Nakuru/Lake Elmenteita basin. Elmenteita attracts visiting flamingoes, which feed on the lake’s crustacean and insect larvae and on its suspended blues-green algae, respectively. Lake Magadi tilapia  were introduced to the lake from Lake Magadi in 1962 and since that time the flamingo population has dwindled considerably. The tilapia attract many fish-eating birds that also feed upon the flamingo eggs and chicks.The lake’s shores are grazed by zebra, gazelle ,eland and families of warthog.The lake is normally very shallow (less than 1 m deep) and bordered by trona-encrusted mudflats during the dry seasons. During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, Lake Elmenteita was at times united with an expanded Lake Nakuru, forming a much larger dilute lake. Remnants of the former joined lake are preserved as sediments at various locations around the lake basins, including former shorelines.