KENYA MIGRATION EXPEDITION

KENYA MIGRATION EXPEDITION

6-16 July 2006

At the beginning of this year we received a World Wildlife Fund member's advertisement for a trip to Kenya to witness the annual herd migrations across the Serengeti Plains. Well, why not! So we put our money down, got our shots, bought duffels and "bush clothes". We expected a fabulous experience and we got that and much more. It was the experience of a lifetime. Kenya is a wonderful country which recognizes that its wildlife is its major asset. Because of this, the American visitor is treated very well and the satisfaction of his every reasonable need seems to be the business of every Kenyan. In fact, hunting is outlawed in the entire country and poachers (the former huge problem) are now shot on sight by law enforcement. As a result, wildlife is amazingly abundant and we always felt safe and welcomed.

Our entire tour consisted of 16 people who came to see the animals. We were given three Land Rovers and had the same three driver/guides during the entire time. These guys were great! They knew all the animals, what they were doing, and what they might do next. Not mere bushmen, these three had college degrees and each had over 15 years experience. Not only are they great guides, they are also good company.

We stayed at tented camps (oh, yeah - each had its own plumbing and electricity) in three different game preserves. Game preserves are the high profile features of Kenya and provide safe game viewing by people like us. Simply put - it is an inside/out zoo. We stayed in the Land Rovers and were driven around dirt roads looking at animals who were completely free and wild. It seems that all the animals in the preserves know that a vehicle is just another large and non-threatening creature. Therefore, we were able to get within 20 feet of many species like elephants, lions, and cheetahs. We were thrilled.

One note: I don't think we saw a single non-Kenyan (read: Anglo) in any capacity anywhere. We got the feeling that Kenya is not an emerging third world country that is being helped along in the world. It seems to a solid nation in its own right.

This website is arranged in the order of our days. The links below will take you to major pages which will direct you to specific places and events. We hope you enjoy the site and feel free to come and go as you have time and interest.

Important Note: Most of the bird and mammal pictures are properly identified in their URL titles on the address bar of your browser. This seemed preferable to placing titles under each image which would clutter up the entire site.

Any tour needs a group photo and here is ours (Thank you, Terry): Group photo

Getting there: We are pretty sure that the reason for crossing date lines is to confuse you so badly that you don't know how long you are sitting in airplanes. Actually, KLM/Royal Dutch Airlines, treats you remarkably well. They actually feed you and give you a great many choices of movies and electronic games in the screens on the seat backs. We were picked up at the Nairobi Airport by our three guides who took us to the wonderful and very old Norfolk Hotel where we the spent the night and had the (usual) buffet breakfast. We were off early the next morning on a drive to our first game preserve: Sweetwaters. We even crossed the Equator and got a demonstration of the reverse whirlpool effect of draining water only 40 meters on either side of the line.

Sweetwaters: Sweetwaters is a private game preserve and gave us our first taste of a tent camp. We had the (usual) buffet dinner and were given game drives before and after. It was pretty cold that night but we found a hot water bottle in our bed and life was good. We had our only night game drive of the trip and were all sitting in the vehicles freezing until a male lion jumped in front of us and stayed just ahead of our bumper for more than a half mile. It reached a climax when he stepped off to the side of road and, as we stopped and watched, used a tree for a scratching post just like any cat. Some pussy cat!

Road to Samburu: Simply driving from one preserve to another was an experience. We stopped at the "frontier" town of Isiolo which was very crowded and very poor. We stopped there for gas and got mobbed by vendors. Once we left there the few habitations consisted of traditional huts and shacks.

Samburu Game Preserve: We spent two days and nights in this national park. No tenting here - we had a lodge! The Serena Lodge sits along the Ewaso Nyiro River and featured leopard and croc baiting at night. We had four game drives here and each lasted several hours which was typical of all our drives. Our guides were more than willing to simply park and watch any animal actions for five or 15 minutes so we were able to get a real good appreciation of the lives of these wild cats and their neighbors and prey.

Masai Mara National Reserve: This is a huge (583 square miles) preserve in Simba (lion) country! We spent four days and nights there and did 7 game drives. The Mara River runs through it and provides lots of opportunities to watch hippos and crocs. We saw the big cats hunting, feeding, and caring for their cubs. We also took a hot-air balloon ride over the plains followed by a champagne breakfast in the field. This is a tented camp and it also provides hot water bottles in our bed although we never saw anyone put them there. We flew from Samburu to Masai Mara.

Last Dinner: We were flown back to Nairobi and given day rooms at the Norfolk Hotel. That evening we went to the famous Carnivore restaurant and had a wonderful dinner which included ostrich, crocodile, and camel. Our guides took us to the Nairobi Airport and we were on our way home.

Special Pages:

Be sure to visit our LION PAGE and our CHEETAH PAGE.

email us here: kfdt@kris-dennis.net