Untapped retreat territory
The spiritual home of safari, Kenya is where is all began. From the big cats of the Mara to the elephants of Amboseli, combined with traditional tribes, real tented camps and an unparalleled physical diversity, Kenya has it all.
Safari is the Swahili word for ‘a journey’ and Kenya evokes nostalgia for the earliest origins of the African Safari. Romance, adventure and freedom are abundant in the classic stories told in ‘Out of Africa’ and ‘Born Free’, illustrating Kenya’s scenery, wildlife and people, with a welcoming and enduring appeal.
Located on the east coast of Africa, the Equator bisects the country resulting in a tropical climate, although diverse geography provides wide variations in temperature, rainfall and humidity. In relation to size, the assorted landscape is un-paralleled, and the multitude of national parks and reserves have their own unique attractions.
Marine reserves boast coral reef gardens with palm fringe beaches and turquoise oceans, while the savannah grasslands exhibit quintessential depictions of imagined Africa, harsh trackless expanses, solitary flat-topped acacias and incredible concentrations of plains game. The snowy peaks of Mt Kenya towers above vast rangelands, offering refuge in the dry times for a whole range of wildlife.
Kenya remains one of the best places in Africa to see great wildlife – lions, elephants, leopards and of course the annual wildebeest migration streaming in the Maasai Mara from Tanzania.
Regions
LAIKIPIA
In the central highlands of Kenya, stretching from Mount Kenya in the east to the Rift Valley in the west, is a two million acre are of semi-arid grassland and bush savannah. Half of the population of black rhino, Kenya’s second largest elephant population, the fastest growing wild dog populations on the continent and the globally threatened Grevy’s zebra have all found their home in Laikipia.
MASAI MARA
Only in the Mara does the whole spectrum of life and death, birth and growth seem to be there for you, rolling before your eyes. Herds of hooves trek to Kenya having exhausted their Tanzanian grazing, in search of new pastures. An estimated one and a half million wildebeest make the annual migration up from the southern Serengeti plains into Kenya and remain here from late June into October.
NAIROBI
Take a game drive in one of the most unique game parks in the world, Nairobi National Park, or visit the community that borders it. The Park is home to lion, leopard and rhino. Excursions into the environs of Nairobi to visit the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, the Giraffe Centre or the local shops offering a beautiful selection of African, local and home-made products.
THE COAST
The Malindi-Watamu protected Biosphere Reserve is located on the coast of Kenya, about 100 km north of Mombasa. With purest white sand leading to the bluest of waters teeming with coral reefs and sea-grass, Watamu is flanked by Mida creek which comprises tidal mud flats with fringing mangrove swamps and forests. Watamu beach is a natural classroom for learning any water-based hobby - spend your days in the water - paddle, snorkle, swim and play.
NORTHERN KENYA
In the northern frontier of Kenya, an area of 850,000 acres of pristine wilderness in the Mathews Range. The savannah plains and lush mountain slopes are home to elephant, leopard, reticulated giraffe, wild dog and kudu in ever increasing numbers. This remote and dramatic landscape is also home to the local Samburu people whose age-old traditions, including the famous ‘singing wells’ are as much a part of the fabric of this land as the wildlife.
AMBOSELI
Crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, the Amboseli National Parks is one of Kenya's most popular parks. The name "Amboseli" comes from a Maasai word meaning "salty dust", and it is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. Nature lovers can explore five different habitats here ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands with sulphur springs, the savannah and woodlands.