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THE INS AND OUTS OF KENYA SAFARIS:
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW
BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
by Ted Cookson
Published in September 2006
Male lion at
Samburu National Park, Kenya,
36-second video clip
Elephant eating
at Samburu National Park, Kenya,
50-second video clip
4-wheel-drive
vehicle fording a stream at Kenya's Samburu Park, 44-second video clip
Kenya is far and away the most popular safari destination
from Cairo. Many expatriates in Egypt opt to capitalize on their close
proximity to East Africa by taking a safari and/or a beach holiday there.
GETTING THERE: The best airfare to Nairobi is obtained by flying the
same airline round trip. Egypt Air flies nonstop to Nairobi three or four times
a week, while Kenya Airways operates daily flights to Nairobi weekly via
Khartoum where there is usually a 45-minute stop in transit. (Disembarkation at
Khartoum is allowed only for those passengers ending their journey there.) Both
airlines offer overnight southbound flights from Cairo to Nairobi. While Egypt
Air's nonstop flights would at first glance appear to be more convenient, Kenya
Airways offers three big advantages. On most days Kenya Airways provides an
early evening northbound return flight while Egypt Air departs Nairobi in the
morning. Thus Kenya Airways passengers avoid the expense of a final hotel night
in Nairobi. In addition, Kenya Airways passengers don't have to suffer the
inconvenience of rising early on the final morning in order to depart from their
hotel in downtown Nairobi at 2:45 a.m. to drive to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport for an Egypt Air return flight to Cairo departing at about
5:00 a.m. Finally, because Egypt Air does not fly to any destination in Kenya
other than Nairobi, Kenya Airways offers the cheapest airfare to Mombasa and
elsewhere on the Kenya coast (and, for that matter, to Zanzibar for anyone
wishing to combine a safari with a visit to that lovely and unique spice
island).
THE SAFARI: A Kenya safari holiday is normally six nights or longer in
duration and includes a visit to at least two game reserves and a lake resort in
the Great Rift Valley. Other options include a visit to one of the tree hotels
near Mt. Kenya, an overnight in Nairobi and/or a visit to Mombasa, Malindi or
Lamu on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast. In addition, of course, a visit to Kenya
may be combined easily with a beach holiday in the Seychelles or with a visit to
another African destination served by Kenya Airways (Tanzania, South Africa,
Zambia, etc.)
Both lodge accommodation and luxury tents are available in Kenya. Luxury tented
accommodation, which costs no less than staying in a lodge, features all of the
facilities of a regular hotel room, including furniture, shower and flush
toilet. A much less expensive option is a basic tented group camping safari.
While the animals are the same no matter where one sleeps, anyone who elects to
combine two of the shorter group camping safaris (rather than taking one longer
group camping safari) will need to spend an extra hotel night in Nairobi in
order to connect.
Whether one stays in lodges or tents, the normal safari routine generally
includes three game drives in each game reserve. Morning game drives are taken
after an early breakfast, and afternoon game drives are taken around 4 p.m. The
drives typically last anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on one's
mood and one's luck. The animals tend to be active, drinking and feeding, in
the morning and late afternoon. In the middle of the day, while the animals are
asleep, visitors relax or take a dip in the pool.
THE GAME RESERVES: Masai Mara is considered to be Kenya's premier
game reserve. A rolling grassland beautiful to behold, the Mara plays host to
the great migration every summer when millions of animals, chief among them
wildebeeste, migrate north across Tanzania's Serengeti plain into Kenya's Masai
Mara. There is still game aplenty after the animals have returned to the
Serengeti by early autumn. A visit to Masai Mara is usually combined with a
visit to either Amboseli Game Reserve or Samburu Game Reserve.
Amboseli is situated in what was a dry lake bed until the El Nino/La Nina
phenomena of the 1990s. The wildlife inhabiting this reserve seeks sustenance
near several small streams which run through it. The primary attraction of
Amboseli is its proximity to 19,340-foot (6,447-meter) Mt. Kilimanjaro which
lies just across the border in Tanzania. With luck, visitors are able to
photograph game animals with the mountain as a backdrop. The long rainy season
stretches from mid-March until mid-June while the short rains occur from
mid-November until early December. The sun normally reappears right after each
short downpour.
Samburu, on the other hand, is somewhat drier than Masai Mara although it
too is rich in game. In fact, Samburu boasts some species of animals seldom
seen outside Kenya's North. These include the gerenuk (a long-necked gazelle
which feeds while standing up on its hind legs), the reticulated giraffe and
Grevy's zebra with its thin stripes. The primary attraction of Samburu for
many, however, is leopard. In Samburu several of the lodges bait leopard in the
evening; so, with luck, visitors can watch the nighttime predator come to feast
on scraps of meat under floodlights.
A Kenya safari also includes a visit to one of the lake resorts in the Great
Rift Valley since it is too far to drive comfortably between any two of the
three game reserves in a single day. Lake Nakuru, for instance, is famous for
its flamingos and pelicans. A rhino sanctuary has also been established there.
Nowadays this may be the only opportunity for tourists to view rhino in Kenya.
OTHER OPTIONS IN KENYA: So called because they are in essence hotels on
stilts, the three tree hotels - The Ark, Mountain Lodge and Treetops - all offer
the opportunity to view mountain, forest and nighttime animals as opposed to the
plains game seen in the large open parks. The tree hotels are all situated in
forests in the vicinity of Mt. Kenya north of Nairobi, and the game viewing
routine is the same at them all. Visitors arrive for lunch, perhaps rest
briefly in the afternoon, and then before and after dinner until well into the
night feast their eyes on the sights and sounds of the various species as they
come to drink from the water hole in front of the lodge. Viewing is done from
one's bedroom, open balconies, glassed rooms or from an underground blind. It
is necessary to bring along warm clothing for a stay at a tree hotel as well as
high speed film in order to photograph at night under the floodlights. If one
hasn't seen all of the species by bedtime, he can notify the game spotter who
will buzz one's room if that leopard does turn up at 3 a.m.! To minimize noise,
children less than about seven years of age are not allowed at the tree hotels.
Nairobi, with a population of about two million, offers some excellent
shopping. Tourists will find distinctive wood carvings and woven purse baskets
for sale at rest stops along the highways in Kenya. Similar items can be found
at gift shops at the lodges in the parks, but they will be more expensive
there. If one doesn't see what one wants in the bush, it is likely to be found
in Nairobi. There one can buy everything from a safari suit to camera lenses.
One should be cautioned, however, that Nairobi continues to have a street crime
problem. Daytime incidents consist mainly of purse snatching, and it is not
advisable to walk any great distance on Nairobi's streets at night. If one
elects to overnight in Nairobi, he should consider taking a taxi when going out
to eat at one of the city's excellent Indian, seafood or other fine restaurants.
Resort hotels stretch along Kenya's coast both north and south of the island of
Mombasa. Diani Beach, Mombasa's best, is a magnificent five-mile stretch of
white sand on Mombasa's South Coast. Malindi, further to the north, is a much
smaller resort. Lamu, a coastal island far to the north, is a unique
destination reminiscent of Zanzibar. Kenya resorts offer the full range of
facilities for water sports and diving.
WHEN TO GO: The absolute best time to visit Kenya is July-September when
the migration is at its peak in Masai Mara. But the game is generally excellent
in Kenya even if one cannot travel when the migration is on. Travelers from
Egypt tend to visit Kenya from Christmas through March, typically during school
holidays.
The other major consideration is climate. Game is easiest to spot during the
dry seasons as then the animals can only find water in certain places. The long
rainy season stretches from late March until early June while the short rains
occur from mid-November until early December. Rain usually occurs in short
downpours after which the sun reappears.
Contrarian travelers may benefit by traveling in the long rainy season. During
these months there are fewer tourists and less dust. In addition, from April
through June lodging rates are usually discounted up to 15%. During the rainy
seasons one would expect to encounter all of the animal species but perhaps
lesser numbers of each.
Sitting astride the equator which passes north of Nairobi, the temperature in
Kenya does not change much over the course of the year. Rather, temperature is
a function of altitude. For instance, because Nairobi and Masai Mara are a mile
high, they offer a combination of warm days (when short sleeves and short pants
are appropriate) and cool nights (when a sweater or a light jacket is
appropriate).
Nairobi's average high temperature varies between 81 F./27 C. (March) and 73
F./23 C. (July-August). Nairobi's average low temperature varies between 55
F./13 C. (January-February) and 59 F./15 C. (April-May). Average rainfall in
Nairobi varies from 1 inch/3 cm (July-September) to 8 inches/20 cm (April).
VISAS AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS: Citizens of the U. K., the U. S., Canada,
Egypt and most other countries require tourist visas to visit Kenya. It is
recommended that tourists to Kenya be up-to-date in their yellow fever
vaccination. In addition, a prophylactic for malaria should be commenced at
least one week prior to arrival in Kenya and should be continued for four weeks
after returning. The web site of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control,
www.cdc.gov, is an excellent resource regarding health requirements for all
international travel.
ABOUT TED COOKSON: Egypt's most widely-traveled travel agent, Ted has been
to every country in the world! He has also visited 307 of the 315 destinations
on the list of the Travelers' Century Club (visit
www.eptours.com and refer to World Travel Club). A travel agent in Cairo
since 1986, Ted manages EGYPT PANORAMA TOURS, a full-service travel agency, at 4
Road 79 (between Roads 9 and 10, near the "El Maadi" metro station) in Maadi.
Contact Egypt Panorama Tours (open 7 days a week 9 AM-5 PM) at: Tels. 2359-0200,
2358-5880, 2359-1301. Fax 2359-1199. E-mail:
ept@link.net. Web site:
www.eptours.com.