Sunday, July 27, 2008

Kenya Safari Luxury Tented Camps and Lodges

Kenya has probably the most extraordinary safari lodges up and tented camps, acclaimed for their configuration, protection practices and visitor solace, also the sublime wild areas.

Kenya Lodges and camps are carefully inherent the shrub, intended to converge with the surroundings and offer basic yet agreeable convenience in remote national parks.

Bars and swimming pools are a general component at all the hotels. See a portion of the chose lodges in different National Parks have been recorded beneath.

Governors II Moran Camp, Mara River, Masai Mara

Located in the populous Masai Mara Game Reserve,  Governors II Moran Camp is covered up in the shadow of indigenous trees and re-makes the air of the first chasing camps. The stream floats gradually past this roomy and extravagant camp. From each patio you might see quick bushbuck on the banks, crocodiles napping on the sandbanks.

Offices: 10 tents, eating tent, free drinks, room administration on solicitation and shop. Suitable for youngsters above eight years.

Tents: Private verandah, ensuite washroom with outside shower, hot and frosty running water, gas and paraffin lights. These tents don't give a phone.



The Luxury Governors' Il Moran Camp, Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya
Governors Il Moran Camp, Mara River, Masai Mara

Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Aitong Hills, Masai Mara

Mara Safari Club lies in the north-west of the Masai Mara, at the base of the Aitong Hills. The camp is situated along the Mara River, giving all ensuite tents perspective of the stream with hippos. The hotel is encompassed by all around developed greenery enclosures and indigenous trees.

Offices: 50 tents, eatery, bar, room administration on solicitation, shop, wellbeing store boxes, youngsters' exercises. Visas acknowledged.

Extravagance Tents: these offer perspectives of the stream bank. Patio and hairdryer gave,

Games and Leisure: Outdoor pool, conventional Maasai artists show, diversion drives, strolling safaris, flying creature strolls and hot-air inflatable safaris.


Kenya luxury tented camp at Fairmont Mara Safari Club on Kenya safari holiday

Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Masai Mara



Sabuk Lodge, Northern Laikipia

Sabuk Lodge is a dazzling wild destination, roosted on the high banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River within the Northern Frontier District, ignoring the Laikipia level and Samburu land. Sabuk Lodge was designed out of the neighborhood scene, work with nearby materials, bent wood and rocks.

Offices: Five ensuite covering bungalows, feasting ranges, parlor, and wellbeing store boxes . Charge cards acknowledged.

Bungalows: These houses have a private porch offering shocking perspectives over the rive gorge. These rooms don't give a phone.

Games and Leisure: Guided shrub strolls, strolling safaris with fractional camel rides amusement, diversion drives hedge breakfasts and stream line angling.

Loisaba Wilderness Lodge, Northern Laikipia

Just a couple of miles from equator, this private diversion farm is in a nation of otherworldly excellence. The perspective from Loisaba reaches out for hundred of miles to Mount Kenya and the Lolldaiga Hills. Built structure tone nearby timber and covering.

Offices: Seven rooms, feasting range, lounge, security store boxes and looking after children. Visas acknowledged.

Rooms: Each rooms has extensive French windows that open onto a private deck anticipating out of the slope, and a water gap couple of hundred feet underneath which draws proceeds with natural life. These rooms don't give a phone.

Games and Leisure: Cliff-top pool, spa, tennis court, amusement drives, trekking, rafting and horse riding.


Loisaba Wilderness Lodge, Laikipia in Kenya


Ol Malo, Northern Laikipia

Ol Malo or the spot of the Greater Kudu is a farm and diversion asylum that lies along the Uaso Nyiro River on the edge of Kenya's Northern Frontier District. Work from normal rock with thatched rooftops, Ol Malo is formed by the stones and the bend of antiquated olive woods. The living zone and lounge area, each with an open chimney for the frosty nighttimes, have vast windows confronting a superb perspective

Offices: Four houses, eating zone, parlor, youngsters' exercises and looking after children. Charge cards acknowledged.

Houses: These bungalows, have private patios neglecting the tough bramble and Mount Kenya and ensuite lavatory. These rooms don't give a phone.


Games and Leisure: Pool, day and night amusement drives, steed and camel rides, nature strolls, shrubbery picnics, mountain biking and visits to the brilliant roaming Samburu.

Perused more about excursions setting off to the aforementioned safari lodge facilities and tented camps available in Kenya for Kenya Safari.

Luxury accommodation at Ol Malo House in Northern Kenya at Laikipia
Ol Malo House, Laikipia, Northern Kenya

Kenya Tour, Kenya safari, Kenya holiday: Kenya Safari trips: Kenya Wildlife Safaris


Kenya Tour, Kenya safari, Kenya holiday: Kenya Safari trips: Kenya Wildlife Safaris


About Kenya
Kenya is the 'Place that is known for the Lion King' and sits at the focal point of the African safari experience, with a remarkable assortment of wild creatures and Big Five survey opportunities. In spite of the fact that safaris are its most prominent fascination, it is a nation of awesome differing qualities with a great deal more to offer than amazing natural life. Basically it is a spot for outside living - the coast offers shorelines and water-based exercises, the mountains exhibit a test to explorers and climbers, and the moving savannahs are a diversion viewers heaven.

The nation sits with on leg on each side of the equator and offers remarkable landscape and an assortment of tribal societies. From its focal area, the hallowed tops of Mt Kenya rule over a scene fundamentally secured by fields and thistle trees, quite a bit of it encased inside of its numerous parks and holds. Toward the west the stupendous Great Rift Valley is sprinkled with lakes abounding with an assortment of birdlife, whose shores and encompasses are crossed by horticultural farmlands. Toward the east lies the guarantee of an unspoiled shoreline occasion with the imperative white palm-bordered shorelines and flawless coral reefs. Occupying the good countries and Rift Valley are two of the most surely understood of the various tribal societies, the Kikuyu agriculturists and the tall, red-clad Masai dairy cattle herders. The coast is home to old Swahili civilisations and old port towns that are rich in a past filled with extraordinary flavor exchanging and battling.

Kenya has a complex tourism base, with two noteworthy urban communities controlling most of the tourism exchange. Nairobi, the capital, is the safari and climbing center point, arranged in the cool Central Highlands, while on the east drift the hot and damp exchanging port of Mombasa capacities as the door to the resorts and immaculate shorelines of the zone. Unfortunately the substantial impact of tourism has implied over the top costs for safaris, gifts and most exercises of enthusiasm to nonnatives, and additionally the consistent bother by touts, aides and dealers to part with as much cash as they can trick the blameworthy explorer into spending.

Regardless of this, the general population are cordial and guests can do as meager or as much as they prefer, and the blend of natural life, together with its shorelines and mountains, make Kenya an incredible occasion destination.

From Amboseli, a generally little stop in South Kenya well known for groups of elephants and dazzling perspectives of Kilimanjaro, to the volcanic Chyulu scope of slopes, in the middle of Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks, offering sees over Kilimanjaro, the Taita Hills, and the Kenya Plains.

Toward the East, Tsavo is the biggest National Park in the nation, a spot to truly find the privileged insights of the shrub.

Toward the North in the bone-dry swamps past Mount Kenya is the Samburu National Reserve. It won't not have the capacity to coordinate the broad amusement populaces of some of Kenya's other National Parks however is more than their equivalent in sheer magnificence. Extending through the focal point of the nation, the Rift Valley is the best geographical shortcoming on the planet. For winged creatures, untamed life and guests in Kenya it is the dark blue waters of the cavity lakes that demonstrate powerful.

Towards the West of the country, the Masai Mara is the unfenced Northern tip of the immense Serengeti National Park eco-system, a wedge of short-grassed plain and a sanctuary for round of various sorts - 'The Big Five' are occupant in higher focuses here than maybe anyplace else.

No one but Kenya can offer such an abundance of beautiful differences, supplemented by the palm bordered Indian Ocean coastline, where the reef bordered coast overflows with fish, or the memorable island of Lamu where you will discover one and only auto and miles of vacant shorelines.

Elephants on safari in Kenya
NAIROBI:
About Nairobi:

It is the biggest city in the middle of Johannesburg and Cairo, and an occasion in Nairobi is to encounter the great, the terrible and the revolting of urban Africa. The fundamental reason individuals go to Nairobi is to dispatch onto one of Kenya's well known untamed life safaris or an outing to the coast. The city itself offers humming showcases, some fascinating touring and an energetic nightlife.

At the point when to travel:
An occasion in Nairobi can be taken for all intents and purposes at whatever time of year, despite the fact that the late spring months (November to February) are most prevalent with sunny, warm days. The height of the city makes for a moderate atmosphere, and it can be genuinely cool in winter, particularly around evening time. The rainiest season is harvest time.

Why travel?
Individuals who go to Nairobi are typically those expectation on a defining moment safari experience, utilizing the city as a base for eco-visits and amusement seeing endeavors to Kenya's national stops and saves.

More Information:
Wellbeing and security are significant contemplations for anybody arranging an occasion in Nairobi: check the present circumstance in admiration of these issues, and discover a large group of other valuable data in our Nairobi travel guide, which is redesigned routinely.

Diagram
Nairobi is best described by its assortment of privately given clear names, illustrative of the city's differentiating pictures - of well off open rural areas, beguiling blossom lined avenues and an invigorating atmosphere, nearby wrongdoing, defilement, rottenness and neediness. Names like 'Green City in the Sun', 'City of Flowers' and the Masai name 'Spot of Cool Waters' endeavor to eclipse the very genuine form of "Nairobbery" that stands as a well-discovered cautioning to recently arrived travelers.

Nairobi is one of Africa's biggest and most intriguing urban areas. It is a position of tremendous vitality, an energetic and flourishing clamor of individuals, and a city of contrasts. Arranged races, tribes and starting points are every one of the a piece of its make-up. Rustic workers and displaced people are drawn by the trust of riches and opportunity, worldwide specialists are pulled in by productive business prospects, and travelers are guaranteed the makings of the ideal safari. The downtown area hums with the vitality, desires and advantage of money changers, safari touts, would-be criminals, sustenance merchants and knickknack dealers, whores, customers, security watchmen, and sharp-looked at shoe shiners surveying the footwear of the rushed throngs. Among them are the disappointed appearances of the unemployed, the poor people and the penniless.

Kenyatta Avenue is the city's most loved vacationer picture, a wide parkway bordered by trees and blooms that was initially intended to permit a twelve-bulls group to make a full turn. There are a few exhibition halls and spots of enthusiasm for the inside, including the National Museum and Snake Park. There are various markets offering customary artworks, particularly the engaging Masai market. Only outside of the inside is the Nairobi National Park, and the adjacent Bomas of Kenya host exhibitions of culture. AFEW Giraffe Center offers guests the opportunity to hand-feed the endangered Rothschild giraffes that possess the territory.

Nairobi is likewise the Kenya safari capital of Africa and a decent base for go in Kenya. From here trips and safaris can be orchestrated to any of the national stops or saves in the nation.country.

Masai Mara Wildbeest Migration 2008: Masai Mara Safari


Masai Mara Wildbeest Migration 2008:
Finally wildebeests are in Masai Mara!

Just recently, the phenomenon wildebeest migration was recognized as the Seventh wonder of the world. This natural event takes place on July – October in Maasai Mara which lies 270 kilometers south east of Nairobi. The animals move from northern Serengeti plains in Tanzania across Mara and Telek Rivers in Maasai Mara.

If you have not been following this series or if this is your first time you are hearing about the wildebeest migration, here is an eye witness occurrences on this year's migration which has just started.

The light showers that swept across the central Mara over the last week have drawn more herds from the northern Serengeti. The Mara River, about 3 kilometers north of the south-Mara bridge, has been the main arena over the past few days. Heavy crossings have taken place as thousands of the Serengeti herds crossed west on the Mara Triangle. The river is still low, making the crossing a bit easy for the animals. Once in the Mara, these herds have taken a traditional route splitting into two, with one group heading west and crossing over the Mara River while the other, north into Meta and towards Burrungat plains - mountkenyaclimbing.com.

Our guests had a week full of excitement on game drives due the close proximity of the herds. and we are assured of even better things as the migration progresses! It's amazing to know that although this phenomenon is widely known as the wildebeest migration, it is the burchell's zebra who pioneer the pilgrim and they are usually the first ones to cross Mara river - mountkenyaclimbing.com.

We tend to believe, the main characteristic witnessed in Mara – that of the largest mass movements of ungulates is not the sole stuff that was considered to rate this event as a global wonder, but the drama itself. Listen! As these ungulates move in millions, thousands and hundreds, your interest should be focused on the predators rather than the 'Gnus' since they will definitely appear in your shots whether still or in video slots. Look out for the drama of: - the crocodiles in Mara and Telek rivers, the lions, leopards, and my favorite cat the cheetah, as they follow and hunt the herbivores. If you are not able to spot the carnivores, just look out for the scavengers both the hyenas and vultures and you will no miss one or two carnivores enjoying a kill as the vultures wait impatiently - mountkenyaclimbing.com.

The Northern (Loita) and the southern (Serengeti) herds have now merged on the south Mara triangle. The converging point is a recently burnt area where new nutritious shoots are beginning to sprout after the recent light showers. An interesting occurrence we have witnessed in the last two years, some of the Loita herds are starting to cross back at Paradise crossing point onto the eastern side of the river - where they had crossed the just previous week! The remaining animals from these herds have over the past week been streaming in small numbers towards Paradise Plains, with some crossing westwards onto Mara conservancy - mountkenyaclimbing.com.

About the predators, Lion sightings were remarkably high over the past week. There are not many lion cubs at the moment, but some females are expected to give birth over the next couple of months. Olkiombo Pride has settled east of Mara Explorer about 1.5kms along the main road from the airstrip. The Ridge Pride is still very active, with many attempted hunts being witnessed during the day in the past week as they respond to the pounding hooves of the migrating herbivores. The concentration of the herds is however still lower in their territory.

Encounters with cheetahs have now become more frequent than in the previous weeks. Leopards are also starting to get active and their sightings have improved remarkably. As the migration may have taken the name of Maasai Mara wildebeest migration, it will be of no importance to tell you about Mara alone without mentioning the Serengeti -mountkenyaclimbing.com.

The movement from Serengeti to Mara is also very interesting although it might not be as dramatic as the Mara triangle episode. This is how it goes – When the rain stops on May/June, they start to migrate from south of Serengeti to the central and west of Serengeti plains stretching as far as Grumeti game reserve and lake Victoria. From July they move northwest of Serengeti in Bolonga and Ikorongo game reserve and finally plunge into to Mara.

The first thing you should do when you see the first wildebeest in Mara, I guess is to clap for them. Just imagine the long journey they have to take every year sometimes passing through dry areas and going for days without water. This means only those which can do without water for a long period and can adapt to the poor forage reach Mara. You can also imagine the challenge of crossing Grumeti, Telek and Mara rivers. Clap anyway!

Around November, most of the pastures in Mara are exhausted and the animals start the cycle again to now greener pastures in south of Serengeti, Ngororongoro and Maswa game reserves. The best place to be if you missed the Mara and Telek drama is Lobo or Loliondo area in October and November. Likely, at this time, wildebeest and Zebras have made their way to south Serengeti, giving birth in a very short space of time making places such as Ndutu woodland and the surrounding plains a massive spotlight for predators.

You might be wondering – are the plains left empty during the migration? The answer is No. The migration does not mean that the plains are completely empty. There are many animals which do not follow the migration pattern and have become residents both in Mara and Serengeti. These include predators such as lions, leopard and cheetahs while herbivores include some wildebeest, Zebras, Gazelles, Impalas, Topi to mention but a few mountkenyaclimbing.com.

Although the migration has become a core attraction in Mara, it is still a lifetime experience to do and African safari and visit Mara anytime of the year. There is a lot of good stuff………www.mountkenyaclimbing.com!

See available Masai Mara wildebeest migraton safari trip and Masai Mara holiday offers with Mount Kenya climbing Expeditions.com
See you there!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya



Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya
Masai Mara Safari: Maasai Mara Safaris: Masai Mara animal migration tour

Many who have been to Africa would say that one of their favorite African safaris is the Masai Mara. This is a national reserve, one of which has the most breathtaking views and one of which has the best African Safaris. Here are some of the reasons why this place is one of the lists of the most breathtaking views and one of the best African safaris.

This national reserve is located at the Great Rift Valley which it stretches from Ethiopia to Kenya and then to Tanzania, Malawi and to Mozambique. You can see the Ngama Hills on the east, where you will find leafy bushes and on the west you will find the Oloololo Escarpment where its plateau gives an amazing view from the distance.

In this reserve the largest part is the plains where you can see bushes, boulders, grasslands and wildlife roaming around such as wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles, leopards, jackals, hyenas, lions, foxes, cheetahs and many more. You will find black rhinos and hippos, the hippos you will most likely find at the Mara River. You will also find different sizes and colors of Mara birds and other birds like eagles and storks.

Not only does this reserve is breathtaking as it is yet this has its own distinct culture. This is because of the Masai people, they have many villages in the reserve and for centuries they have managed a relationship with wildlife.

Masai Mara Safari Kenya, Maasai Mara Tour Reviews , Rating and Vacation
MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE:


Masai mara is “the” park of all parks in Kenya. The grass-carpeted smooth hills, the chocolate Mara river waters having mithful hippos, and the rich variety of fauna, fulfil the anticipations of any tourist looking African landscape displayed in motion pictures for example, “Out of Africa” or “Mogambo”. Save specific tastes and needs, this is the park leading the “must” list in the country: no tour to Kenya would be considered complete without touring Masai mara. It is true that it is not graded best for bird lovers and also true that some species are rare to find. But leopards and rhinos are plenty, and with over 450 bird species, the reserve should not envy Samburu or the great Kenyan bird places. Though, in a region just a bit smaller than the state of Rhode Island and with changed and complicated geography, getting lost is far quicker compared to finding a leopard or viewing a certain bird group in its various woods.

The reserve created in 1961, is found west of the Rift valley and is naturally part of the Serengeti plains in Tanzania. The Mara river, the reserve’s backbone crosses north south lading to its westbound way into Victoria lake, via the Tanzanian park. This course is the natural obstacle harvested yearly by the many moving herds including wild beets and zebra which move through the two parks. As elaborated below, over one million wild beasts and 200,000 zebras wonder while looking for the green pastures, meeting the crocodile crowded river on the way. When the herds cross the steam, multiple animals die flattened or drowned, leaving their bones at the ground at the ledge of Mara river. Masai mara is at its peak, with the seasoned tourists inhabiting the huge grasslands from July to October.

Masai mara’s place of location and height above sea level is 1500m, yield climate that is more mild and more damp compared to other places. The grassy landscape and the nutrient wealth for the big herds are supported by the adequate rains, which here fall from November to June, as a fusion of the two rain seasons (long and short) found in other Kenya places. Night storms are often in the hells and plains. Grasslands are scattered with acacia woods and bush. The grounds at the edge of river Mara and of the many tributary streams are defined by dense riverine forests with a good opportunity to get some of the reserve’s bird groups.

The long distance of the country’s recognized urban centres poses a difference that allows this reserve to maintain one of the characteristics which is currently becoming a strange event in African parks: wildlife wanders in total freedom, with no limits or other barriers around. Animals do not notice the limits drawn on the papers, not only those which separate Kenya from Tanzania, but also the boundaries of the reserved area.

The protected re is surrounded north and east by the so-called dispersal area, populated by the Maasai but in other words, similar to the province within the with exact or even more chances to view wildlife than at the reserve itself, often crowded by visitors arriving and moving around by car, minibus, airplane, balloon or micro light.

Since it is kept as reserve and not as national park, Masai mara is not controlled by Kenya wildlife service but rather by the local authorities, called District Councils. The problem comes with the administrative decisions, defined by river Mara. The eastern side is under Narok District, while the western sector is under Transmara District. This information, currently not important, is infact something one should have in mind in theory, the amount of money paid at the entrance is used to cater for touring the side belonging to the jurisdiction of the district through which the tourist has accessed. In practice, this condition is always overlooked, but just in case, its better you leave the park using the same district you used while entering.

And in this wildlife webwork, where do Maasai pit?. The normad pastoral tribe, which was feared in the past due to their warrior behaviour, populates these lands since the olden days. When Chief Lenana signed an agreement in 1911 with the colonial government, he agreed to sell the Maasai provinces and moving southward, in a bid to develop Nairobi’s urban centers. But the Masai mara area had been left already over the 19th Century, when epidemics and tribal warfare put to death the Maasai people and put them to a lower level, which they are still anticipating to recover from. Therefore, the ancient Maasai foretelling, which forecasted the coming of the colonialists also prophesied a future that would bring back the old magnificence days.

When the reserve was initiated in 1961, it was intended to conserve animals in a deserted and wild country, where wildlife was almost ending, because of a lot of killing done by white hunters. The protection of this region, leaving alone other factors, enabled re-inhabiting of the province by the Maasai, who were put under the control of the reserve’s management by the District Councils, by virtue of its status. Even if land conflicts are still going on, the preferred way for protecting this natural space attempts to give some reward to the Maasai through trading with visitors, both through campsite management, handcraft selling and tours to villages. All of it offers a permanent source of income, though scarce and unstable, for these people who fight for protectring their traditions against progress. Their aspect and legend overtime has turned them into a mythical tribe, which sparsely gives attention to the romantic image forged around them.

The fact is that the Maasai strive hard between their classical conservation and the attempt to join the files of industrial change looking for a better kept up life Their inclination to take a grip on tradition, has given hem a consent to sympathy and admiration from visitors looking for picturesque scenes, but also refusal from the more proceeding Kenyans, who believe that a normal pastoral tribe in the 21st Century’s world economy is doomed to poverty.

Currently, various Maasai customs are limited by law, for example, hunting of lions, whereas the rest, for example traditional hunting on blood and milk fall into disregard slowly by slowly. Meanwhile, visitors anticipate to find at the same time the Orzowei’s Maasai and a safe and peaceful country without poaching, with no cattle in the reserve and with no broad-snouted Indian crocodiles. A combination impossible, spare making it compulsory fro the Maasai to turn into something close to thermatic workers of the park youngsters putting on jeans and feeding on humbuggers that dress up at night in their parent’s clothes to execute their tribal dances of thousands of years ago. After all, some of it can be seen today in the pierced ears of various waiters and cooks of te lodge.

Read more with Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions to see offers for trips to Masai Mara to include wildebeest migration tours.

Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara, Kenya


Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara, Kenya

Introduction

KEEKOROK LODGE
Keekorok, meaning motley abundance in the local Masai language is situated in the very heart of Kenya' s Masai Mara Game Reserve. The lodge which is the Masai Mara' s first lodge was constructed in 1962 on a choice eighty acre site in an area of permanent springs and lush grassland. There are no fences so it is not uncommon to see elephant and buffalo on the outer perimeter of the lodge.

Lodge Description
Keekorok Lodge is a large lodge comprised of stone built en-suite bungalows with private balconies. There are 89 double rooms, 8 superior rooms and 4 suites. The liberal use of cedar wood, pink and gray sand river stone and other indigenous building materials offset the green lawns and colourful bougainvillea. This lodge is popular for large groups. The dining area opens onto a veranda, allowing guests to dine either inside or out. The Hippo Bar thatched bar overlooks the Masai Mara' s plains and a pool with a resident hippo. The bar is open from 18h00 till 20h00. After nightfall an armed escort must accompany back to the Lounge Bar in the main lounge. The Lounge Bar is open from 06h00 until the last guest retires for the night. The swimming pool is located in an enclosed area. The poolside bar serves drinks and snacks between 10h00 and 17h00. A shop is available for personal toiletries and souvenirs.

Game Viewing
Unfenced, the Mara borders the Ngama Hills in the east and the Siria Escarpment in the west. Gazelle, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers and where prey is found so are predators. The famous black-maned Mara lions are possibly the stars of the Mara show. In earlier times the Masai were renowned lion killers and it is said that if lions scent approaching Masai on the breeze they move swiftly in the opposite direction. Cheetah, elephant, kongoni, topi, Thompson' s gazelle, waterbuck, hyena and the primates can also be found roaming the Masai Mara. The southern end of the Masai Mara National Reserve is the ideal area to witness the annual Migration of wildebeest and zebra. There is always activity around the waterhole but during the Migration, Keekorok Lodge is enveloped by the swarming mass of animals. One need hardly venture from the ground to view game.

Wildlife Activities
• Custom built four wheel game drives at the following recommended times: 06h30 – 08h30; 09h30 “ 12h30 and 16h30 “ 18h30.
• Their guides are certified by the Kenya Professional Safari Association.
• Daily hot air balloon flights take off at 06h30, dependant on prevailing weather conditions.
• Wildlife films, Masai dancing and bird walks are additional activities offered by Keekorok.

How To Get There
Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions can arrange scheduled 45-minutes flights to the Masai Mara airstrips. By road, it takes 5hrs to get to Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara from Nairobi

Child Policy
Children are welcome. Special menus and mealtimes are available. Listening service is available to detect wakeful children.

Electricity
220 and 240 voltage electricity is available 24 hours.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Sarova Mara Camp, Sarova Mara Game Camp, Sarova Mara Tented Lodge, Sarova Mara Lodge: Masai Mara, Kenya


Sarova Mara Camp Introduction
Sarova Mara Game Camp is located within the world famous Masai Mara Game Reserve. The camp is situated on an elevation astride two streams, with beautiful gardens. The camp boasts an extensive collection of exotic birds and butterflies that have taken up residence in the lush surroundings.

Camp Description
Sarova Mara is a large camp comprising of 75 tents, 20 Club tents, 2 Family tents and 51 Standard tents. All tents are en-suite with permanent shower and w.c. In addition, Club tents have a private balcony, larger bathroom and indoor lounge seating. The Isokon Restaurant offers a wide range of cuisine with special barbeques help by the swimming pool beneath star filled skies. The Oloip Bar which can accommodate 150 people is located on the ground floor. This is where the Masai performers entertain the guests with their cultural dances and music. The camp is popular with large groups.

Game Viewing
The Masai Mara is the finest game reserve in Kenya. All the big game is here, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah and buffalo. Along with the black rhino other commonly spotted animals include zebra, wildebeest, Thomson' s gazelle, eland and Masai giraffe. This is also the only place in Kenya where topi is common. One of the best places to look for game is in the Mara Triangle in the western part of the Masai Mara. Lions are found throughout the park. Cheetah is most often found in the short grass plains while the black rhino are highly concentrated in the Olmisigiyoi region of the centre of the reserve. The southern end of the Masai Mara National Reserve is the ideal area to witness the annual Migration of wildebeest and zebra. There have been over 420 species of bird recorded in the park. Flamingo, pelican and Egyptian geese flock to Amboseli during the green season when the plains turn emerald green. Observation Hill in the south of the park offers impressive 360 degree panaromic views over the park and surrounding mountains. To capture the elephants grazing in the swamps in front of Mount Kilimanjaro, you will need to wake early (before 7am). The elephants can be found in the Ol Tukai and Olokenya swamps.

Wildlife Activities
• Eye opening game drives to view the Big Five
• Bird watching and bush walks
• Romantic hot air balloon safaris
• Soothing massages indoors or under the open skies
• Visit to the Isokon Masai Cultural Village
• Masai boma dinner

How To Get There
Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions does arrange scheduled 45 minute flights to the Masai Mara airstrips and also road transfers which lasts upto 5 hrs.

Child Policy
Children welcome. Babysitting services are available.

Sarova Mara Camp, Sarova Mara Game Camp, Sarova Mara Tented Lodge, Sarova Mara Lodge

Kenya Luxury Safaris: Kenya Camping Tours: African Safari Holiday

Kenya Luxury Safaris & Kenya Camping Tours

Kenya camping safaris

Camping safaris cater for budget travelers, the young (or young at heart) and those who are prepared to put up with a little discomfort to get the authentic bush experience. At the bottom of the price range, youll have to forgo luxuries such as flash toilets, running water and cold drinks, and youll have to chip in to help with chores such as putting up the tents and helping prepare dinner.

Showers are provided at some but not all campsites, although theres usually a tap where you can scrub down with cold water. The price of your safari will include three meals a day cooked by the camp safari chef(s)

There are more comfortable camping options, where there are extra staffs to do all the work, but they cost more. A number of companies have also set up permanent campsite in the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Reserves where you can just drop into the bed at the end of a dusty days drive.

At the top of end of this market are some cvery plush luxury campsites offering hot showers and big permanent tents fitted with mosquito nets, beds and sheets, about as far from real camping as five-star hotels are from youth hostels.

Whatever you pay, youll end up hot, tired and dusty at the end of the day, but youll sleep well, and if youre lucky your traveling companions should be like-minded independent souls with a sense of adventure. Few things can match the thrill of waking up in the middle of the African bush with nothing between you and the animals except a sheet of canvas and the dying embers of last nights fire.

Its not unusual for the elephants or hippos to trundle through the camp at night, or even the occasional lion, and, so far, no-one has been eaten or trampled on-that we know of.

Kenya Lodge & tented camp safaris
If you cant do without luxuries, theres another side to the safari business, a world of luxurious lodges with swimming pools and bars overlooking secluded waterholes, and wonderfully remote tented camps that re-create the way wealthy hunters used to travel around Kenya a century ago. Some of the lodges are beautifully conceived and the locations are to die for, perched high above huge sweeps of savannah or water. holes teeming with African wildlife. Most are set deep within the national parks, so the safari drives offer maximum wildlife viewing time. A lot of the environmental bad habits of the 1980s, leopard baiting for example, are falling out of favour.

In the lodges you can expect rooms with bathrooms or cottages with air conditioning, international cuisine, terrace bar beneath a huge makuti (palm-thatched) canopy with wonderful views, swimming pool, wildlife videos and other entertainments, and plenty of staff on hand to cater for all your requirements.

Almost all lodges have a waterhole, and some have a hidden viewing tunnel that leads right to the waterside. Some also put out salt to tempt animals to visit, a dubious habit which shouldnt really be encouraged.

The luxury tented camps tend to offer semi permanent tents with fitted bathrooms (hot showers come as standard), beds with mosquito nets, proper furniture, fans and gourmet meals served alfresco in the bush. The really exclusive ones are even more luxurious than the lodges, and tend to be very expensive; many of the guests fly in on charter planes, which should give you some impression of the kind of budget we're talking about.

Kenya Luxury Safaris & Kenya Camping Tours: African Safari Holiday

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Zanzibar Hotels North East, Zanzibar Beach Holiday, Tanzania


Hotels North East, Zanzibar Beach Holiday, Tanzania

Matemwe Bungalows
Is well established and still tries to be as eco-friendly as possible, yet providing a high standard of comfort for guests. Built of local materials with thatched roofs, the bungalows are set on a rise above the beach.

Location - The Hotel is adjacent to the fishing village of Matemwe some 1.25 hours drive from Stone Town.

Accommodation - The 14 bungalow rooms are built of local material with thatched roofs and each has a verandah overlooking the ocean. The "Suite" rooms, ideal for honeymooners, are a generous size with king-size beds and expansive verandah. All rooms have ceiling fans.

Facilities - The open sided bar/restaurant is the focus for gathering of residents. Meals are good and many of the ingredients are bought from local producers and fisherman from the local village. Kayaks are available to explore inside the reef at low tide. Scuba diving and snorkelling beyond the reef around Mnamba Atoll is arranged with a nearby dive centre.

Between March - July 2005 there will be major developments at Matemwe Bungalows, all rooms will be of a "suite" standard and all will have uninterrupted ocean views; there will be luxury villas and a swimming pool will be built. It will retain its small, exclusive charm.

Matemwe Beach Village
Is a small mid-range hotel set adjacent to an attractive beach. It is well managed by Gail Arneson who has brought a nice touch to the Hotel by improving the furniture and fittings, with large colourful cushions for seating in the central lounge/dining area.

Location - The hotel is about 1 Km south of Matemwe village and relatively easily accessible to Stone Town by tarmac road, the trip taking only 45 minutes.

Accommodation - There are 17 "standard" en-suite rooms some of which are close to the beach, others are set back a little. There are 2 airconditioned room, all others have ceiling fans. The Asali Suite is a treat for honeymooners with extremely spacious accommodation and its own plunge pool. There are 6 new "suite" rooms which are much larger than the standard rooms and also have a roof terrace.

Facilities - There is a central lounge, bar and relaxation area with board games and a small library. The meals are good. One Ocean Dive Centre has a centre at Matemwe Beach for scuba diving and snorkelling. This is one of the closest locations to the famous Mnemba Atoll, one of the best dive sites in the Indian Ocean.

Zanzibar Retreat Hotel
This small beach-side hotel which opened in 2006 faces on to one of the longest stretches of uninterrupted beach on the island.

Location - On the north east coast just 50 minutes from Stone Town on sealed road which makes it one of the more accessible beach hotels. It is close to the fishing village of Matemwe where there is a fish market each morning.

Accommodation - There are just 7 rooms with a configuration of doubles, twin, triples and there are inter-connecting rooms for families. The specifications of the rooms are high, all have airconditioning as well as ceiling fans and mosquito nets, TV connected to a satellite receiver and rare among hotels on Zanzibar there is wireless & LAN reception in rooms. Some rooms have side-on sea views. All rooms have traditional 4 poster Zanzibari beds.

Facilities - There is a good sized swimming pool and one of the bar/restaurants is located adjacent to the pool. There is also an elevated bar/restaurant on the 1st floor level with magnificent views of the beach and ocean. The hotel can arrange scuba diving and snorkelling trips as well as organising a wide range of excursions. A popular excursion is by traditional sailing boat to some of the islands off Zanzibar and includes a beach barbecue with freshly caught fish.

Mapenzi Beach Club
Mapenzi is the only All Inclusive hotel where we book people on Zanzibar. All Inclusive hotels often appeal to families as the quantities of soft drinks, etc consumed by young people is pre-paid so parents are not faced with a bill at the end of the stay.

Location - On the north east coast of the island a little more than an hours drive from Stone Town and the Airport.

Accommodation - The Hotel has 87 rooms, 30 rooms are designated as Sea Front and adjacent to the beach, 27 are Sea View set a little further back and 30 are Garden View Rooms. Whilst the Sea Front Rooms are the premier rooms, their location next to beach means there are many guests milling around. We prefer the Garden Rooms further back and up the hill which are much more private and quiet.

Facilities - There is a restaurant serving buffet breakfasts, lunch and dinner. The Pool Bar and the Beach Bar serve snacks and drinks. There is a tennis court and the watersports centre provides scuba diving and has a range of equipment including windsurfers, canoes and snorkelling equipment. There is entertainment most evenings and there is a disco.

Ocean Paradise Beach Resort
Even though Ocean Paradise is one of the largest hotels on Zanzibar with 92 rooms, the architecture and buildings are in keeping with Zanzibar and Africa, much of hotel complex being designed to replicate a Masai village. Ocean Paradise, as one would expect from a top of the range resort style hotel, offers extreme comfort, an excellent range of facilities and services, yet all delivered in a welcoming and non-intrusive way.

Location - Ocean Paradise is on the north east coast approximately 1 hours drive from Stone Town and the Airport. At the moment the last part of the drive is along a rough road, though we hope the road will be improved sometime in 2005.

Accommodation - The rooms, some in individual rondavels, some in bungalows with 2 rooms and others in 2 storey buildings set above the main gardens are all circular and furnished to a high standard; they have a minibar (with drinks, surprisingly at the same price as the bar), TV with 19 channels, direct dial telephone, separate dressing area and spacious toilet and shower area. Each room has a private balcony, many with sea views and some with garden views. There are 8 suites, 42 double and 42 twin rooms; 16 of the rooms are inter-connecting suitable for families.

Facilities - The main public area is set above the gardens; the imposing building houses a spacious reception area, a bar which is imaginatively designed to provide private sitting areas, shop, excursion desk and the hotels main restaurant where buffet meals are served. Beside the large swimming pool there is also a bar and a la carte restaurant where on some evenings there are bar-b-ques. Also adjacent to the pool is a well equipped water sports centre providing for a wide range of activities, a fitness centre and beauty/massage centre.

The Shooting Star
We think the Shooting Star is the best located hotel on Zanzibar, set on a rise overlooking one of the finest stretches of palm fringed beaches on the island. It is an "boutique" hotel, owned and managed by Elly M'langa and set in pretty tropical gardens; it is a place for total relaxation. It is very easy to just while away several hours with a drink, savouring the sight of the beach, the ocean and listening to the breeze and the sound of the waves on the reef.

Location - North of the village of Kiwengwa, the Shooting Star is just 1 hours drive from Stone Town.

Accommodation - There are ten large Sea View Cottage Rooms which are en-suite, airconditioned and furnished in traditional Zanzibari style; the verandahs have uninterrupted views over the ocean. Four of the Sea View Cottage Rooms have an upstairs area with 2 single beds making them suitable for families, or for couples wanting some additional space. There are 4 Lodge rooms which look out over the gardens.

Facilities - The open air restaurant serves local African/Zanzibari food and international cuisine and there is a well stocked bar. There is a small semi-circular "infinity" swimming pool, arguable one of the best located pools on Zanzibar. The Beach Bar, with adjacent thatched sun shades, is popular with guests and passers-by. There is an arrangement with a larger hotel some mile down the beach to use their facilities including the dive centre which can arrange scuba diving and snorkelling. Elly can arrange visits to the village of Kiwenga, the nearby inland cave, hire of bicycles, and excursions to other parts of the island.

Honeymoon/Family suites - Two magnificent suites were completed late in 2007. They are ideal for honeymooners looking for luxury and a bit of seclusion and they also provide good accommodation for families. The suites are set on the crest of the hill apart from the main hotel guest rooms.

Each suite is laid out on 3 floors with 2 bedrooms and each has a private swimming pool, set amidst a tropical garden. They are furnished with stunning traditional Zanzibar furniture and batik linen. From the roof of the Villa panoramic views can be enjoyed from the bathtub and there is a fully netted bed so that the fabulous stary night skies can be enjoyed. Both suites have ceiling fans as well as being fully air conditioned.

Bluebay Beach Hotel
Is a large, first grade resort style hotel set in attractive gardens and has a wide range of facilities. The rooms are furnished to a high standard with the Superior Rooms having a sitting area in addition to the bedroom and verandah. Meals are reputed to be of a very high standard; accommodation is on a half board basis.

Location - Next to the village of Kiwengwa just less than 1 hours drive from Stone Town.

Accommodation - 80 Superior and 6 Deluxe Rooms, the Deluxe being larger with a separate sitting area. The rooms, all airconditioned and extremely well furnished, are set on a rise behind the main hotel public areas. There are also 2 "Sultan Rooms" described as being "where the Sultans themselves would have wanted to stay"; each room has a personal butler.

Facilities - The main restaurant and bar are set beside the swimming pool and the beach bar serving seafood specialties is beside the beach. There is a tennis court, spa and fitness centres, dive centre which is part of One Ocean Dive Centre. There is an open-air disco. Adjacent to the Reception Hall is a well stocked gift shop.

Pongwe Beach Hotel
Managed by Val Preston, Pongwe Beach has been totally revamped from a rather run-down hotel, now providing excellent mid-range accommodation.

Location - About a 1 hour drive from Stone Town, the last part on a rough road, the hotel is in a very private position and, in our view, on one of the most attractive beaches on Zanzibar. It combines the wide expansive beaches for which Zanzibar is renown, yet is secluded and with the bonus of being able to retreat in to the shade of the palm trees in front of the Hotel.

Accommodation - The 10 thatched en-suite rooms, with Moroccan style walk-in showers, are a good size and are in four cottages, two cottages have 2 rooms and two cottages have 3 rooms. The rooms have traditional Zanzibari furniture, good mosquito nets, fans (but no air conditioning), private verandahs with beach/ocean views ideal for early risers wanting spectacular views of the sunrise, and to have a leisurely breakfast.

Facilities - There is a spacious bar/restaurant area which has an open front looking out over the beach/ocean. Meals are more than acceptable; the fish curies we have had are memorable. On Friday nights tables are set on the beach for moonlight dinners and special meals can be made to order. The Hotel has its own boat to take guests to the deep waters beyond the reef and scuba diving can be arranged with a dive centre. Snorkelling trips to Mnemba Atoll can also be arranged.

Tamarind Hotel
Is a mid-range hotel with clean and comfortable facilities fronting directly on to the beach.

Location - Tamarind is about 40 minutes drive from Stone Town along a reasonable stretch of road. It is well managed by Trond Furseth, a Norwegian who has been in Zanzibar for some years.

Accommodation - There are 7 thatched bungalows well spread out in the gardens with an abundance of palm and casuarina trees. Each bungalow has 2 en-suite rooms with private verandahs with sea views. Two of the rooms are large triple rooms and the other 12 rooms have double beds, but can accommodate an additional single bed as well. The rooms have ceiling fans and as the hotel is on mains electricity the fans work all night (some hotels powered by generators turn power off at night).

Facilities - The bar and restaurant offer very reasonably priced meals and drinks, the beer and wine prices are among the lowest of any beach hotel. Tamarind can arrange snorkelling either from a local fishing boat or with a nearby dive centre; fishing trips can also be organised as well as sailing in a traditional dhow.

Chwaka Bay Hotel
Is one of the best value beach hotels on Zanzibar, professionally managed by Per Hansen and his wife. They have developed a good relationship with the people of Chwaka village and support a range of projects to improve the life of the villagers.

Location - Located on the east coast at Chwaka Bay it is just 30 - 40 minutes from Stone Town, set in a tranquil location in lush tropical gardens. A real bonus is the swimming pool which compensates for swimming being limited at low tides.

Accommodation - There are 30 rooms in total. 20 deluxe en-suite rooms are in 5 double story chalets, airconditioned, each with private balconies looking out over the gardens and the ocean. The rooms are more than adequate in size and furnished to a high standard. There are also 10 evocative, spacious individual thatched en-suite rondavels rooms with private verandahs overlooking the gardens and ocean. These have fans but in November to March can be quite hot.

Facilities - The tiled swimming pool is surrounded by thatched shade areas with sunloungers. The main building houses the reception area, lobby with TV and internet access, the restaurant which specialises in seafood (usually fresh from the fish market at Chwaka) and there is a bar/lounge area with pool table. There are free trips in a local fishing boat to Michamwi Beach and snorkelling can be arranged as well as diving with a nearby dive centre.

You may sample available Zanzibar beach holiday and safaris with Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions at www.mountkenyaclimbing.com.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, East Africa Safari: Ngorongoro Safari


Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, East Africa Safari:
Size: 8292 sq Kms ( 3239 sq miles).
Location: 190Kms West of Arusha it is 4 hours drive or 1 hour Charter flight. From lake Manyara is 60 Kms just a 2 hours drive.bounded by Lake Eyasi in the southwest and the Gol-Mountains in the north.

The famous Ngorongoro Crater is among the world’s natural wonders, the Ngorongoro Crater is located in the Great Rift Valley gigantic fracture of the earth’s Crust.Volcanoes, mountains, plains, lake, forest and Archaeological sites from this magnificent land escape.

At 2,286 Mts above sea level, is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. Surrounded by very steep walls rising 610 meters from the crater floor, it cover an area of about 260sq km(100sq miles), and is home to up 30,000 animals in an area naturally enclosed by the slopes of the volcano it is the eighth wonder of the world.

Olduvai Gorge: The earliest signs of mankind in the conservation area are at La-etoli, where hominid footprints have been preserved in volcanic rock for the past 3,600,000 years. The story continues at oldupai (Olduvai) Gorge, a river Canyon cut 100mts deep through the volcanic soil of the Serengeti Plains.(Located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, it is 180 km from Arusha.)

Activities:
A trip to the Olduvai Gorge (visit the paleontology museum) where the Australopithecus Boise’s skeleton was discovered. A walking Safari to Maasai Country with donkeys.

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania safari, East Africa Safari: Ngorongoro Safari, Ngorongoro Lodge safari, Ngorongoro Camping, Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area with Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions.com

Serengeti National Park in Tanzania: Serengeti Safaris


Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, East Africa
Size: 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles).
Location: 335km (208 miles) from Arusha, stretching north to Kenya and bordering Lake Victoria to the west.

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.

Activities:
Hot air balloon safaris, Maasai rock paintings and musical rocks.

Visit neighbouring Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and Lake Natron's flamingos.