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Samburu Game Reserve
Samburu is a journey of about 220 miles north of Nairobi in Kenya’s arid, northern scrublands. This tiny park is only 64 square miles but in its boundaries is the best game viewing Kenya has to offer.
You will see species here you won’t see anywhere else and yes, they are uniformly beautiful. Watch the reticulated giraffe, boldly marked blocks separated by the finest of lines, delicately move through acacia branches. The Grevy’s zebra, fine lined patterns that seem to merge to gray from a distance, is easily distinguished from its Burchell (common) zebra cousin – besides the finer patterning the Grevy is larger with more of a domesticated horse conformation; front and back ends seem more in balance. One of our favorites is the gerenuk, the gracefully long-necked “giraffe” antelope, perfectly capable of stretching full height on his hind legs to feed on the from tree branches. That strikingly marked huge antelope, the Beisa Oryx, lives here as well, as do elephant.
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Lake Nakuru Game park
Lake Nakuru, the home of the famous flamingoes, is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland. The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and plants, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern side.
With Menengai crater to the north, the Bahati hills to the northeast,, the lion hill ranges to the east, Eburu crater to the south and the mau escarpment to the west, the view the lakes view is spectacular. Three major rivers, the Njoro, Makalia and Enderit drain into the lake, together with treated water from the town's sewage works and the outflow from several springs along the shore
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The Masai Mara
The Masai Mara National Reserve is the most famous and most visited Reserve in Kenya. It offers breathtaking views no other game reserve can offer, perhaps in the world.
The wildlife can be divided into mammals, birds and reptiles. Many of the mammals can be divided into carnivores, primates and ungulates (hooved animals). Carnivores include cheetah, genet, hyena, jackal, leopard, lion, mongoose and wild dog. Primates include baboon, bush baby and monkey. Odd-toed ungulates include rhino and zebra. Even-toed ungulates include buffalo, giraffe, hippo, warthog and antelope (bushbuck, dik-dik, duiker, eland, gazelle, hartebeest, impala, klipspringer, kudu, oribi, reedbuck, roan antelope, waterbuck and wildebeest). The so-called "Big Five" are Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhinoceros. The "Big Nine" extends this to include Cheetah, Zebra, Giraffe and Hippo.
An impressive feature is the annual migration of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles from the plains of the Serengeti that cross the Tanzanian border and rivers to reach the Mara's grasslands from late June, tracked by predators: lion, leopard, cheetah,
and hyena, and circled by vultures as their journey unfolds. Their dramatic river crossings are a reality for tourists visiting in early July-August.
This is one of the most spectacular and most popular game reserves in Kenya. Rich in game, the rolling grasslands and acacia savannah have frequently been captured on film, with "Out of Africa" being the most famous. The reserve borders Tanzania and the two countries share the vast Serengeti plains, with wildlife free to roam between Kenya and Tanzania in search of food. The concentration of game in the Mara during the mass migration is mind blowing, and this is one of the few areas where you are likely to see the big five - buffalo, elephant, rhino, lion and leopard.
In fact lions are ridiculously common and as they have grown accustomed to cars, you are quite likely to see them feeding on a kill during your visit. This is also a good place to see cheetah, sitting majestically on a termite mound watching the world.
Other animals include zebra, spotted hyena, black backed jackal, hippo, giraffe, eland and the wildebeest. The Mara-Serengeti ecosystem is famous for the annual migration of over one million wildebeest and thousands of zebra. The incredible spectacle of them crossing the Mara River into Kenya happens in late July or August. Thousands of animals die in this dramatic crossing and predators and crocodiles have a field day. In October the animals return again.
The attraction of the Masai Mara lies in the vast plains characteristic of the East African savanna. The spectacle is the migration of the hairy hordes driven by a common purpose. The crocodiles preying on the creatures as they cross the Grumeti and Mara rivers on their journey northwards provide extra drama.
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Amboseli
At the foot of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, Amboseli is one of Kenya's most popular parks. It is some 240kms, Southeast of Nairobi very close to the Tanzania border. The snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the clouds dominates every aspect of Amboseli. The national park covers only 392 sq kms but despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem it supports a wide range of mammals (well over 50 of the larger species) and birds (over 400 species). Years ago, Amboseli was the locale around which such famous writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big game hunting in the wilds of Africa. It is also the home of the Masai people, those tall, proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. The Masai have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife, which surrounds them. A part of Amboseli National Park is composed of a dried-up lakebed, which in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for wildlife throughout times of drought. The snows of Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, form a majestic backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains' game, creating Kenya's most sought after photographer's paradise. But the Park's popularity is also causing serious concern.
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Tsavo East
Tsavo East National Park covers an area of about 12,000 square km. This vast park lies in low semi arid country at the eastern edge of the inland plateau, north of the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway. Much of the park is level, open country with scattered rocky ridges and outcrops. Due to its size, the park is one of the world's wildlife and biodiversity strongholds.
The Yatta plateau, a long, flat-topped lava ridge, runs along the western boundary of the park. Beneath it flows the Athi river which joins the Tsavo river, just above the Lugard falls, to become the Galana river, a permanent river that cuts right across the park.
There are scattered seasonal pools, swamps and dams, but relatively few sources of permanent water. One of the great spectacles of the park is the Mudanda rock between Voi and Manyani. This one and a half km long outcrop is a water catchment area, which supplies a natural dam at its base. In the dry season, hundreds of elephants come to drink and bathe here
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Tsavo West
Tsavo West National Park covers 9000 km2 and contains a diversity of habitats, wildlife and a mountainous scenic landscape.
The park is a vast expanse of savanna stretching from the Athi river, North of the Mombasa-Nairobi road and south to the Tanzanian border. The North Eastern boundary along the Athi adjoins Tsavo East National Park, but Tsavo West has a more varied topography and a more diverse array of habitats than its neighbour.
The park's habitats include open plains alternating with Savannah bush and semi desert scrub, acacia woodlands; rocky ridges and outcrops and more extensive ranges and isolated hills; palm thickets and mountain forest on Chyulu hills.
A part of the park, towards the Chyulu Hills, is of recent volcanic origin with lava flows and ash cones including the Shetani lava flow, an example of a recent volcano. In the far southwestern corner on the Kenya Tanzania border is Lake Jipe, part of which is in the park. This very attractive lake is fed by runoff from Mt. Kilimanjaro, visible in the rear.
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