Kenya
Fans of Ernest Hemingway must include visit to Kenya, the the setting for the some of the author’s most beloved adventure tales. Here you’ll find Masai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park, Tsavo East and West National Parks, Nairobi National Park, Samburu National Park (also known as Shaba National Park), and Lake Nakuru National Park.
Masai Mara National Reserve
Masai Mara National Reserve offers wildlife in such variety and abundance that it is difficult to believe: over 450 species of animals have been recorded here. You will easily see wildebeest migrations, lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopard, many kinds of antelopes and elephant. It is in the Mara that perhaps the most spectacular event of the natural world takes place.
Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park is situated due south of Nairobi, Most of the park consist of a dry ,ancient lake bed and fragile grassland with patches of acacia woodland, while in the southern area there is a number of small ,rocky,volcanic hills. Around the swamp s Ol Okenya, Ol Tukai and Enkongo Narok, the vegetation is lush with yellow barked acacias and phoenix palms. The park has a good view of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Tsavo West
Tsavo West is the most visited section in Tsavo National Park, offering many attractions apart from its wildlife. The foremost is the famous Mzima Springs where up to 227.3 million liters of cool crystal clear water flows out of the ground through porous volcanic rocks. The water is believed to originate from Chuyulu Hills, via an underground river.
Nairobi National Park
A short drive out of Nairobi’s central business district is Nairobi National Park, Kenya’s first national park established in 1946. Nairobi National Park is iconic for its wide open grass plains and scattered acacia bush with the city of Nairobi’s skyscrapers in the backdrop. Despite its small size and proximity to human civilization, this park plays host to a wide variety of wildlife including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, buffaloes, giraffes and diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded. As well, it is home to one of Kenya’s most successful rhino sanctuaries, and you are likely to see the endangered black rhino here.
Samburu National Reserve
Samburu National Reserve is bordered by the Ewaso Ng’iro River in the southeastern corner of Samburu District in the Rift Valley. The reserve is remarkable for its plethora of rare northern specialist species such as the Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy Zebra, Gerenuk, and the Beisa Oryx, as well as its abundance of elephants. Large predators such as the big cats are likely to be spotted here, as are wild dogs. Birdlife, a combination of the arid northern bush country species and a number of riverine forest species, is copious with over 450 species recorded. The threatened lesser kestrel and the Taita falcon both call this reserve their home. Other vulnerable species, namely the African darter, great egret, white-headed vulture, martial eagle and the yellow-billed ox-pecker live here as well. Additionally, the critically endangered pancake tortoise (malacochersus tornieri) is found in the reserve.
Lake Nakuru
Famously Lake Nakuru attracts vast numbers of fabulously colored pink flamingos to its shallow waters. Known all over the world for its flamingos, it’s alkaline and is harboring a population of over 40 black and over 60 white rhinos, but the flamingos, of course, have always been the main attraction. At times, there may be almost 2 million flamingoes in the residence, forming a stunningly beautiful deep pink band around the edge of the lake shore.