The greatest animal spectacle in the world - The Great Migration - can be seen in Mara. This migration is the freedom of movement of wildebeest and zebras between the Mara and the Serengeti. More than a million wildebeest and zebra cross the Mara from the Serengeti in July and August, a spectacle not to be missed. This park, which is an extension of Tanzania's Serengeti, has more wildlife residents than anywhere in East Africa. However, animals are not the only residents in this park, as it is also the home to the nomadic Maasai people, who live and graze their herds on the outskirts of the park. A trip into a Maasai manyatta can be arranged where you can interact with the people and learn about their culture and forms of art of these nomadic people. The abundance of game means that you are almost guaranteed to catch a glimpse of the Big Five of Africa. Amboseli National Park is at the foot of Africa's highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. 180 kilometres from Nairobi, the park provides breathtaking views of wildlife and Mount Kilimanjaro creates the finest photogenic backdrop to a game park. Much of Amboseli is dry and desert like. In dramatic contrast to the dry areas of Amboseli, there are two swamps both fed by underground streams from the melting snows of Kilimanjaro. Wildlife on the plains of the park are easy to spot. Elephants, buffaloes, lion, gazelle, cheetah, wildebeest, hyenas, jackal, warthog, giraffe, zebras and baboons are all present. For many of us who live in Kenya, the Aberdare National Park is perhaps the most exciting area. The National Park covers the Aberdare Range of mountains. The high altitude makes the park different to the typical savannah of most Kenyan parks and creates a cool alternative to the traveller. The range consists of beautiful indigenous mountains, bamboo forests and moorland. The forest is rich in wildlife; elephant and rhino, warthogs, bushbuck, waterbuck, buffalo and the giant forest hog are all to be seen. Three species of monkey, Sykes', Vervet and the black and white Colobus monkey are all common. Treetops and the Ark, two unique lodges, are situated amidst the rich forest on the lower slopes of the park. Here, visitors can enjoy viewing the animals from the comfort of their lodge. The lodges provide one of the few close-ups of wildlife from their ground level viewing blinds where they literally come face to face with the animals! Treetops became world famous in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth, who was on holiday in Kenya with Prince Phillip, became Queen Elizabeth II on the death of her father, King George VI. Situated in Northern Kenya, around the Ewaso Nyiro River, these three parks lie in a vast area of semi-desert and desert. They are characterized by open savannah plains that are broken only occasionally by small rugged hills. Samburu is becoming one of the most popular game parks in Kenya after the Mara partly due to its being only 350 kilometers from Nairobi. The game park's permanent water supply attracts a numerous number of species that can be found here. Crocodiles are a common site along the rivers, and some of the lodges leave bait to lure in the leopards. It is from these lodges that you are more likely to see a leopard than anywhere else in Kenya. The parks offer excellent bird-watching opportunities for the bird lover. Lake Nakuru is a soda lake on the basin of the Rift Valley. It is surrounded by a national park - Lake Nakuru National Park - that contains a wealth of bird life and a surprisingly large population of animals. With over 400 species of birds, this park is known as "the greatest ornithological spectacle on earth". The main attraction to this national park is the large concentration of nearly two million flamingoes that flock seasonally to feed on the blue-green algae. The views within the national park are also spectacular. A magnificent and breathtaking sunrise can be seen from the top of the Baboon Cliffs. A variety of wildlife can be seen in this park, including the zebra, impala, gazelle, lions, leopards, hyenas, rhinos, hippos and buffaloes. A speciality of this park is the White rhino and more than 30 endangered Rothschild giraffes that were introduced to the park. Tsavo is the largest national park in Africa and hosts the world's largest wildlife sanctuary. Due to the sheer size of this park, it has been divided into Tsavo West and Tsavo East, Tsavo West being the more popular of the two because of its diversity of scenery. Within Tsavo West are the Ngulia Mountains and the Ndawe Escarpments, which are part of the same volcanic movements that created Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Rift Valley. This volcanic upheaval also created an underground river system forming the famous Mzima Springs, which gushes out several thousand gallons of crystal-clear water each day providing Mombasa with its drinking water supply. Hippos, crocodiles and a variety of fish can be seen in the crystal-clear water from a sunken observation tank built at the springs. The largest concentration of elephants is found in this park. Lions and cheetahs are abundant but are difficult to spot in the high grass. In contrast, Tsavo East consists of arid flatland, desert and is far less visited than Tsavo West. Many animals have migrated into this part of this park from areas where the vegetation is too dense for them. The Kongoni and zebra now reside here in large numbers.
« home