How to Pick a Kenya Safari Location
by Ziara Safaris
Amboseli – Best for Elephants
And, as a result, is best for the people who may not have the best eyesight. Amboseli National Park is home to around 900 free-ranging elephants, traversing the landscape and covering huge distances in their large herds. The landscape is open and very, very flat, so it's not difficult to spot these colossal creatures over great distances, or even from the unparalleled vantage point of the Observation Hill. There is something simply delightful about encountering a herd of these fabulous beasts, crossing the landscape with their slow, steady gait, swaying their trunks and tending to the calves.
Hell's Gate – Best for a Thrill
Hell's Gate is one of the only national parks in Kenya where a walking safari is permitted. Once you've entered the park's boundaries and re-entered the food chain, so to speak, suddenly your senses become razor sharp – what was the rustling sound from behind that shrub? Did something just brush against your leg? The lack of large predators and your armed ranger guide means you will be safe throughout the safari, but you still won't be able to shake the thought that the gazes of a twenty-strong herd of cape buffalo seem slightly more menacing than usual! A walking safari throughout Hell's Gate's dramatic landscape, with hot geysers and spikes of volcanic rock, is supremely rewarding, and the technical climbers amongst you can even try scaling the plummeting rock faces.
Lake Naivasha – Best for Budget
Lake Naivasha is absolutely stunning. The lake itself is huge, sparkling, surrounded by rushes and verdant grasses on the shores. There are groups of resident hippos wading in the shallows, who might dip below the water disconcertingly quickly, before reappearing behind you as you sail the lake on a boating safari. Great egrets stretch their colossal wings on the water's surface, fish eagles cry out and swoop down to snatch a fish. Why should this place, so abound with natural beauty and fantastic creatures come under a “budget” category? The fact is, Lake Naivasha isn't strictly speaking a national park or game reserve, so you don't pay any fees to enter. This can save you quite some money, especially if you are in a large group or want to spend a couple of days there. This also makes it the ideal place for a stopover between, for example, Samburu and Masai Mara.
Lake Nakuru – Best for Ornithologists
A visit to any of the national parks on this list would be a boon to any bird enthusiast, but Lake Nakuru has been selected specifically for one very special reason – the flamingos. These fabulous, flamboyant birds gather on Lake Nakuru's shore in their thousands. From a distance the lake itself appears to be one shifting mass of pink, and if the air is particularly still you should be able to hear a soft hum of clicking and splashing as they wade the waters and feast on the algae. If you're lucky, you might just turn from the flamingos and be faced with a black rhino – one of the many beasts which are thriving in this fantastic national park.
Masai Mara – Best for the Big Five
The pursuit of the “Big Five” - lion, leopard, elephant, cape buffalo and rhino – was an obsession in the colonial days, when to go on safari was to lose yourself in the wild, sit around the camp fire as the darkness sets in and try to remain alert to any potential predators. Luckily, the modern-day obsession with the “Big Five” means simply spotting these creatures in the wild, not hunting to kill. The Masai Mara, so rich and diverse in spite of its small size, is the best place in Kenya to glimpse any one of these fabulous beasts. If you want to pursue the big five in a unique way, keep in mind this is one of only two places in Kenya where you can go on a hot air balloon safari.
Mount Kenya – Best for Climbers
Well, I think the reasons why this national park is the best for climbers are fairly obvious, but here's a description just to whet your appetite; imposing, overwhelming and 5199 metres at it's highest, jagged peak – Mount Kenya, the place of light, the mountain after which the country we know today was named. Although the two highest peaks can only be reached by those with extensive technical climbing ability, Point Lenana, the so-called hiker's peak, can be reached by those hikers who are fit, healthy and up for a challenge. Even if you're not already used to such altitudes, most hiking routes can be reworked to include an extra acclimatisation day.
Samburu – Best for Budding Zoologists
The animals you encounter on safari could be anything from cute and cuddly, tough and scaly, huge but harmless or small but sneaky. Some of the wildlife you encounter in Samburu, however, seems to have bypassed evolutionary norms altogether! Take, for example, the gerenuk. Extremely rare in other parts of Kenya but easily spotted here, the gerenuk is a bizarre-looking antelope with a small head, big eyes and even bigger ears. It is often found standing on its spindly hind legs, stretching it's long, thick neck into the treetops to reach the most succulent leaves. The Somali ostrich, meanwhile, only reveals its truly unique nature during mating season when it's face and legs, normally greyish with a duck-egg hue, turn bright blue! Seeing such animals in the wild should be the delight of any zoologist or evolutionary biologist.
Tsavo West – Best for a Challenge
Tsavo West National Park is huge. With it's location convenient location, straddling the land between Amboseli and the bustling, vibrant Kenyan coast, it should be a popular stop-off point for those who want the Kenyan bush-and-beach experience. The fact is, it is simply harder to spot game in Tsavo West, and as a result this beautiful park is largely ignored. True, you may not get the instant gratification here that you would at the Masai Mara or Amboseli, but there is a lot of wildlife in Tsavo West and much to discover, if you take the time to look for it. One particular gem of Tsavo West is Mzima Springs. Mzima means life, and indeed the springs provide the habitat and/or sustenance for a whole host of animals – hippo, crocodile, rock python, freshwater prawns and myriad fish all reside in the crystal clear waters, percolated and filtered slowly and completely through the porous rocks of the nearby Chyulu Hills.
Ziara Safaris is the Kenyan branch of Tanzania Adventure, an established tour operator with over 10 years experience of providing world class safaris throughout Tanzania and Kenya. In this time we have organised fantastic safaris for over 8,000 guests. Ziara Safaris knows how daunting choosing Kenya safaris can be. That is why they have a skilled team of experts to help to create the perfect, personal safari experience for you.