Africa

There’s nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands and rich traditions that endure. Prepare to fall in love.

NAKURU

Nakuru is the biggest city in the Rift Valley. It lies near the Mau Escarpment on the north shore of Lake Nakuru, near the heart of the Kikuyu people’s homeland. It is the fourth-largest urban hub in Kenya, lying 1850m above sea level. This was a town formed in 1904 by the British...

LAKE NAKURU NP

We arrived late in the afternoon at Lake Nakuru, and it took us quite some time to get approval from rangers to park there overnight. This park is among Kenya’s finest national parks, flanked by rocky escarpments, pockets of acacia forest, and at least one waterfall. The park is...

LAKE NAIVASHA & OLOIDEN

Today, we hired a small car with a driver (half day 2000 KES) to explore the surroundings of Lake Naivasha and Lake Oloiden. Lake Naivasha, hugged by grassy banks and shingled with cacti and sand olive trees, is the Rift Valley’s highest lake (1884m above sea level). You can hire a...

HELL’S GATE NP

Late afternoon, we arrived at Elsa Gate of the dry, dusty, but infinitely peaceful Hell’s Gate National Park. It is a rare Kenyan park made for bicycles and walking. Large carnivores are rare, so we rented bikes (800 KES) and paid a cycling fee (250 KES) and a park entrance fee (28...

MAASAI MARA

After the whole day of driving (468 km), we arrived at midnight at the Sekenani gate of the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve. Rangers were pretty shocked but allowed us to park behind the gate just a few steps from the main building. The following day, we paid the “special”...

MAASAI VILLAGE

There are several Maasai villages around Amboseli. Visiting a Maasai village is a great way to learn about the traditions and culture of the Maasai people, but it could also be a scam. They tried to charge us 3000 KES per person, but we ultimately paid 500 KES per person after lengthy...