#Kenya the latest #tourist dreamland……
And if you thought of Kenya to be one of those hot, scorched African countries you are in for a surprise. Nairobi, its capital, situated at an altitude of 5543 feet, is an extremely pleasant weather city throughout the year. Sitting at 140 km South of Equator, resting on hilly plateau, Kenya is an ideal place to visit anytime of the year. June July with around 24 degree C to 12 degree C are the coldest months. Mostly visited for its wildlife experience, Masai Mara is synonym to Kenya. Miles of grasslands, rocky valleys, forests and wetlands, this Nairobi National Park is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream. Nairobi is a city that offers a thriving night life, its a foodie’s delight as much as a shoppers haven that can turn you a shopolic even if you are not.
Connectivity to Nairobi is easy. From New Delhi to Nairobi is a direct flight thrice a week by Air India. In a flight of 5 1/2 hours you are in the Kenyan Capital Nairobi. It takes off from New Delhi around 1.30 pm reaches Nairobi at around 6 pm. Gives one enough time to reach your destination and wind up the day relaxing to be ready to explore the city and nearby places next day. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is the gateway to the entire region. Jambojet, Kenya Airways, Turkish Airlines, Egyptair, Emirates and Qatar Airways are some others that fly in and out. The other three important international airports in Kenya include Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airport and Eldoret International Airport.
Picture credit Priti Prakash at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi
Nairobi, a confluence of modern and native
A clean city with good roads Nairobi is dotted with beautiful Malls, exotic restaurants, almost at every street, manicured green roadsides that make your drive pleasurable. Fresh fruits vendors dot the roadsides. The city is a Florists paradise. Flower nurseries are a common sight on every road, flower selling being one of the major businesses by Nairobians. Kenyan coffee, savored for its aroma and taste is the most exquisite coffees in the world. Exquisite wooden furniture in impressive local style pulls home décor enthusiasts. The city is crowded, busy and buzzing.
Local transport for getting around Nairobi is cheap and easy. If you are the one who wants to experience the local vibe just hop on a Matatu, a public minibuses, for traveling between Nairobi and the suburbs. Adorned heavily with striking colors and elaborate urban graffiti, art and branding, Matatus’ depicts an enchanting Nairobi’s Matatu culture. Taxi services like Uber, Bolt, InDriver and Faras can also easily be requested online through their mobile apps.
MATATU…the local transport
Swahili is the language spoken by the locals and one is greeted at every shop one enters with a warm ‘Jumbo’ which means ‘Halo’. I learnt a few more words. ‘Karibu’ is welcome and ‘Asante’ means Thank You.
Received by our host we drove to their apartment at Peponi Road, a posh area in the heart of Nairobi. Having a predecided itinerary in place the first day casually and leisurely drove around the city. June being winter month in Kenya the sun was warm and soothing in the day time.
Photo credit Priti Prakash at the UN Headquarter Kenya
The UN Headquarters in Nairobi like everywhere, is a restricted entry. We were allowed in with a Visitors Pass as guest, after some strict screening, that is usual for any visitor. With flags of all UN member countries furling by the ramp, the sprawling campus has about half a dozen conference halls, numerous cafes, library, even Bank outlets. For a nature loving traveler the rich variety of foliage around which is a mix of both local and exotic plants and trees, is a journey into the most unknown species of plants and trees. I bet you must have not seen Cactus in their ‘Tree’ form. Huge and Jurassic. Have a look below.
Photo credit Priti Prakash
Shop till you drop in Nairobi
The Village Market: Nairobi’s Hotspot
On Friday the Masai market comes to life at the Village Market. This sought-after market offers a diverse selection of items, including curios, paintings, drawings, clothing, fabrics featuring East African prints, jewelry and wood carvings. You can also find accessories of beads that is native to the Masai tribe, limestone things, beautiful etched glassware like goblets, jars, jugs and shot glasses.
We went there in the evening. Limestone and wooden souvenirs emblematic of the rich wildlife treasure, Kenyan chocolates, glassware and tapestries are sold here. The market, opposite to its name, houses both local stuff and modern things. The Coffees Cafes remain crowded as the rich #Kenyancoffee smell pervades the entire place. The leading brand of coffee sold is Java House Coffee brand. The best coffee I would recommend and we bought was Kenya AA and East Africa Blend. Village Market is a tourist haunt.
Immerse in the culture of Kenya with a picture galore:
Photo & Video Credit Priti Prakash
Other than Village Market, key shopping Centres include Galleria, Sarit Centre and Kazuri Beads. Spinners Web, recommended by our host, is another place for picking up some exclusive tit bits. One can see Avacado trees with the fruit hanging low.
Food that will make you drool
The first day evening we explored a Restaurant to eat some amazing authentic Kenyan food named Ankole Grill. Mbzui, a kind of indigenous goat meat was its special dish, pork ribs, prawns, pizza with alcoholic & non alcoholic drink was a sumptuous fill. Beit e’ Selam, another upmarket restaurant that serves #Ethiopianfood, is a foodies delight with an aesthetic vibe. There are many more places that will spoil you for choices. You just need to have time for it.
DAY 2….The Great Rift Valley, on the way to Mara
The Great Rift Valley is a geographical wonder that tore apart this part of the earth, from Mozambique , which is the north eastern part of Africa to the Red Sea, a good 9600 km area. This is now a flattened portion of earth that is shown as the Great Rift Valley while you travel from Nairobi to Masai Mara. An example of the enormity of nature.
Photo credit Priti Prakash
ENTER MASAI MARA
A large sized entrance like structure awaits you at the border of the National Park. As we stand at the entry point of #MasaiMara the thrill is unexplainable. A group of #Masai tribe women surround you, nudging you to buy their wares as they sell hand made bead neck pieces, bangles, earrings etc. These Masai women are single mothers or single women or even wedded ones. Some are associated with self help groups that displayed images of the struggle of Masai people at an Exhibition Centre.
I was amazed at the ingenuity of the basic facility. Sinks that were made of pans used in the kitchen. There was a school too run besides the Exhibition Centre.
Below are the paintings displayed at the Exhibition Centre at the entrance of Masai Mara Reserve that depict the societal struggles and customs that the Masai tribe lived through.
On talking to our driver cum guide I discovered that Masai’s have changed and evolved quite a lot over the time. Now they are in business, own small companies, have moved out and some of them are pretty rich.
MARA, THE GREAT SCAPE
My eyes weres not enough to capture the vastness nor were my camera lenses wide enough to cover the landscape. Words fall short when I wish to describe MASAI MARA. Also commonly addressed as Mara, we entered the Park after having shifted to another safari jeep and after paying an entrance fee. A few yards from the entrance we spotted zebras, impalas, giraffes and Bisons. The excitement was unparalleled. A little later as we drove we spotted a cheetah with his cub in bushes.
The drivers of the safari vehicle generally have a sense of the possible place of sightings of the Big Cat. As we drove, we saw at a little distance, were congregated a few more jeeps. Our jeep too pulled up and lo and behold, it was our first sighting…….an old Lion, rather feeble, half asleep next to the wheel of a jeep. One can’t imagine the reaction of the first sighting…..stunning awe & woww. All cameras focused so as not to miss the sight of the grand animal right in front of you in the open. Mesmerizing and awestruck, at the least. Our driver pointed out some 4 lionesses just about 5 feet away from the lion, in siesta. The jeeps’ engine would only start intermittently breaking the silence of the jungle which was supposed to be maintained at any cost.
Like a beauty that you just can’t take your eyes off, we didn’t want to move. Getting the best shot in our cameras the big cat kind of obliged us. A Lion sighting was more than enough to satisfy us our ultimate curiosity. As we drove past the Reserve to head to our Resort, Ashnil Mara Resort, hoards of #Impalas became a common sight. Other spottings were Crown Bird, Ostriches, Giraffes, Topi (something between a cow & a horse). #Topis are a common sight too and very often a good meal for the hunting lionesses.
There are 2 safaris’ in a day usually. First one starts early morning and lasts till early afternoon which we just finished. The second half of the safari in the evening started after settling our luggage at the resort, a lunch break & a little rest. Morning safari and evening safari’s can give you experiences totally different. Animals come out either early morning as per the temperatures or when the sun downs. The big cats particularly come out for a kill in the early hours or evenings. Generally they relax, sleep in the afternoons after a full stomach. A Giraffe mom with her calf happily posed for our cameras.
Today was one of those lucky days. A few kilometers of driving, our driver spotted something. As if exclusively for us….a pair of Lions sitting by the side of the flowing river. The driver cum guide pulled up the jeep right in front of them, just a few feet away. It was unbelievable, surreal. Being in front of 2 big cats in the open, was unimaginable. Awe, excitement, disbelief took over us. Henry, the Driver instructed us to freeze, no noise, only to watch. I couldn’t decide whether to watch or film them. The Lions would sometime get up to change their positions or turn around to sit but any move would give us jitters presuming what if they walk to us into the open jeep. Every moment was fantastic as it was scary but superbly exciting. We stood frozen for good about 30 minutes admiring and just watching every movement of theirs. There was no one except them and us. This moment was not to come back again.
Let me give you the other side of the beautiful topography. Mara is a vast landscape with wild grass growing upto 3-4 feet which gives these animals spaces to relax and even camouflage them. The symbolic beauty of Mara is the Acacia tree also known as Desert Date, that you may have seen in Mara documentaries & National Geographic or Discovery films. A single tree seen at the horizon of the vast grasslands is a photographers delight. Flowing amidst the grassland is Mara river amongst other rivers too. Take a look at the expansive Mara grassland…..
We spotted a Hornbill as also a big herd of wild buffaloes, grazing. To our good fortune we again could spot 2 adult lions relaxing in the grass. Every lion sighting was a feeling of ultimate gratification and each different from the other. This pair of full grown cats obliged us with a very unusual act. Have a look….worth a million dollar…
It was sunset time and the setting sun in Mara is an amazing background against the Acacia tree silhouette. Hyenas were spotted waiting for a hunt. The famous of the big five of Mara, a huge Tuskar elephant came across the kuccha path to oblige us with a trunk salute.
We returned to #Ashnilcottageresort for the evening. A beautiful resort in the midst of Mara at the bank of river Mara. A bonefire to sit around as temperatures drop at night was what one could ask in that chill. With good food and great ambience it was a perfect place to be. A cottage at Ashnil came for $ 300 per night (As of June 2024). A modern cottage with all amenities, rest room & bathroom with hot water, a sitting outside and help at call. An oasis in the wilderness.
DAY 3
A Kill that was to be
Excited at what was in store for the next day we started on our game drive by 7 am. #HotAirBallooning is a popular activity at Mara. It provides a aerial view of the landscape and wildlife down. One is transported by jeeps to dedicated Ballooning site from where it takes off.
All safari jeeps take on an early morning drive to catch the best sightings in Mara. So if a group of Jeeps are assembled at a spot means a big cat can be spotted there. Excitement and curiosity had taken the better of us today too. With binoculars out we were negotiating an uneven kuccha track. Mara as all reserves does not have a road track for a good reason.
At a distance our driver spotted some safaris’ and we knew there was something. As we reached and woa…..what a moment!…a pride of lioness slowly moving one behind the other (as seen in the above video). 20 of them, with a young lion. The jeeps followed. The pride appeared unconcerned. We froze in our open vehicles as they passed from in front of us. The only activity was the filming with our cameras of this lifetime shot. Clearly in look for a prey a lioness figured out a Topi at a little distance, marched ahead of the pride with a sharp eye on the Topi’s movement. This was a lone Topi in the area and the lioness had planned her strategy. She stealthily moved amidst the big grass, focused. Although alert the Topi could just barely sense the danger, not too sure. It was moving towards the lioness unsure of the direction she is going. And as we watched frozen in our jeeps, waiting to see the kill if it happened, we equally prayed in our hearts that the Topi escapes away the other direction. The scene was just out of the Nat Geo documentary. Patiently we watched the lioness every move, positioning herself. Lost, the Topi somehow took another direction and started moving away, the lioness still waiting camouflaged in the bushes. After some wait & watch she gave up. Slowly coming out of the grass hide she moved towards her pride. We missed the kill & she her prey.
There is never a disappointing moment in Mara. Ahead we saw more exotic birds. Driving some miles away, we spot a lioness under a tree’s shade. It was a pair of Lion & a lioness, very relaxed. As jeeps surround her quietly, she felt disturbed and walked up to her partner and both walk away to another shade in the bushes. The evening awaited other surprises. Rhinos playing in the river, Elephants, Giraffes, Hyenas & Wilderbeasts, famous for the great migration.
The evening tour was a much bigger surprise of another level. This pair of Lionesses had made a fresh kill of a wild Bore. This was a sight that made our day. After watching the sumptuous dinner of the pair it was time to move on. We headed for our resort.
Day 4
Time to travel back to Nairobi. We spent a relaxed evening unwinding the memories of Mara with our hosts.
Day 5 Nairobi Mamba Village…..Crocodile and Ostrich treat
Keep one day for Nairobi Mamba Village, a Crocodile and Ostrich Farm. The entrance fee for Kenyan and Non Kenyan residents differ. For Non Kenyan (foreigners/tourists) is Kenyan Shilling 1500 or USD 14 and for residents KSG 200. One of the largest reptiles roaming the earth, Crocodiles, from such close quarters, was scary at the least. No where, anywhere, are crocodiles so bred as here in Kenya.
There was another section for the graceful Ostriches and the quite Tortoise. You can feed them which is a fun experience. Have a look…..
Feed the Giraffes with Pellets
The Giraffe Centre, the closest that one can get to this tall beauty. Giraffe Centre is a breeding ground for the endangered Rothschild giraffes. The main attraction is feeding the tallest, humble, calm spotted creatures from a dedicated ramp. Queue up for an entrance fee of KSG 1500 (Kenyan Shilling) for non Kenyan residents, similar to the Crocodile park. A photo exhibition at the opening of this Centre and its history can be interesting. Believe me people including families with children along with tourists & visitors throng this place to see this amazing animals at close quarters as you get an opportunity to feed them too.
The Art of Bead Making
If in Nairobi you can’t miss the Beads making Centre. The Kazuri Bead Factory provides employment for single mothers and under privileged women in Kenya. The beads are made with a special clay, Mount Kenya clay, then moulded and given shapes, then dried in machines and then painted with special paints with which they get their lustre. They are then woven into necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other accessories. Worth a visit……..
DAY 6 Naivasha and Cresent Island….. countryside, a flood made lake and unconcerned wilderness
A drive of 2 ½ hours from Nairobi it was a beautiful countryside. The Great Rift Valley can be seen from the other side this way. One can see the once active volcano mountain with its crater periphery from far.
We reach #Naivasha by post afternoon with a lunch break in between at a very uniquely designed eating joint recommended by friends.
Shwari Cottage Resort in Naivasha is a very comfortable cottage concept stay. The entrance path is a kuccha track that leads up into the midst of the carefully maintained farm lands. A beautiful Resort that offers Cottages but without meals. The facility of cooking is provided with a functional kitchen. We called for food online through a nearby restaurant with delivery charges.
Day 7
The next morning we left for #CresentIsland. A very interesting place in the #NakuruCounty which Naivasha is part of. It is also called #MuhuKangri Game Sanctuary. An island in the shape of a Cresent is famous for wild life that roams freely without fear and with whom one can click pictures upclose. The Island has an interesting history of its formation. Crescent Island was created in 1988, when Lake Naivasha level dropped sufficiently to allow Crescent Island, named as it is Cresent shaped, to become part of the mainland.
Back in 1988 torrential rains the low lying parts got marooned and submerged in water. The remains of houses, restaurants running at that time and other things can still be seen half submerged. The Acacia trees that are native to the area now stand as trunks jutting out of water in a barren land. These trees lost their green due to remaining submerged since. There is a reason for the island being inhabited only by herbivorous animals like Giraffes, Zebras, Antelops, Impalas, Ostrich, Hippos, Pelicans, and a variety of birds. When the island was sinking the bigger animals either swam or waded to the other side ie Mara. The ones left here could not cross the waters and were left behind in what formed an island later.
Day 8
Back in Nairobi, we explore a Masai Market and also buy some souvenirs of limestone, wood and coasters to carry home. As it’s the last evening we choose to dine at an exclusive Restaurant Beit e’ Selam which serves Ethiopian food.
Day 9 Finally bidding good bye to Nairobi and beautiful Kenya we fly back in an Air India flight that’s 8 pm Nairobi time but around 12 am India time. It reaches 5 am New Delhi.
