We have just returned from a holiday to Kenya. Kenya has wonderful scenery with good wildlife parks. This was my first visit and I was attracted to visit Africa again after my stay in Ethiopia. Kenya is Ethiopia’s neighbour and has a highland area around Nairobi with a large lower Rift Valley Area and coastal regions which are hot and equatorial. The equator runs just south of Mount Kenya which is Africa’s second highest mountain at 5200 meters and has year round glaciers at the very top. The country actually takes its name from the mountain rather than the inverse. Kenya was the anglified version of a local dialect word describing the misty mountain because of the glaciated summit.
Nairobi is a modern bustling town. On arrival you feel that economically Kenya is doing comparatively well and the central area of Nairobi has a feel of business and commerce – not a donkey or goat to be seen on the streets! The highways out of Nairobi are also fairly good, at least until you reach some of the country areas. Our first journey was to Samburu National Park by mini-bus – a long drive of 7 hours. It was the short wet season and there had been rains recently causing the river to swell and the park was very green. There are many groups of elephants spread around the park plus reticulated giraffes, lions, cheetahs, leopards, Thomson’s gazelles among many other animals. We stayed in the Serena Lodge near the river. This looks straight out with a view of the crocodiles basking on the shore or in the water and elephants regularly coming to cool down. The land used to belong to the Samburu tribe who are pastoral. Now they also make a living through tourism. One highlight was seeing a mother cheetah and her cub strolling past our van. Cheetahs must hunt alone and the cubs are vulnerable while the mother tracks and chases prey. Often they can lose most or all of the cubs to scavengers before they reach adulthood.
