Kenya

Kenya has many well known sights, so we will need to pick our favourite. There is overflow from issues in Sudan. There is banditry in the North and Northeast - the road from Marsabit to Ethiopia (that everyone takes) is done in convoy. The road is apparently very rough on tyres.

South Africans must have a valid passport. No visa is required for a stay of up to 30 days.

- Kakamega Rainforest - Kenya's only tropical rainforest. Entry roughly $20 ea. Hopefully it will not be mega kaka at that price :o

- Lake Bogoria - hot springs & geysers

- Lake Nakuru National Park - leopards, white rhinos, famous flamingos

- Aberdare National Park - moorland, peaks, forest, Kinangop Plateau

- Lake Naivasha - base for exploring - camp at Ol Dubai or Naiberta - large expat community- fish eagle

- Hells Gate National Park - walk, cycle unguided, cliffs, gorges, basalt columns, Fischer's Tower (rock climbing)

- Nairobi - bad reputation, but interesting. Probably similar to Joburg. There is a Carnivore restaurant, Carnivore Rd, Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi, for a set price of 1700KES (approx £13 ea) which we will probably want to go to. Other good restaurants are Simmers, Pasara Café and Tropez apparently. Nightlife: New Florida club. Karen and Langata are apparently nice suburbs.

******

From here we are thinking of heading out to the coast, to the points below, but this stretch of coastline is only a few short kms from Somalia, so we will need to check if it's safe to be on the beach in these areas. Its also a lot of extra distance to cover. If not, we will just cut this loop out:

- Amboseli National Park - one of the most popular - elephants graze with backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro

- Tsavo National Park - lions, elephants, leopards, wildebeest migration

- Marine National Park - Malindi - snorkelling, coral reefs. Looks amazing. Would love to scuba dive here, but maybe not from a boat :)

- Tiwi Beaches - some kind of paradise, looks beautiful

- Lamu Town - Swahili culture, carved woods, traditional houses - UNESCO

- Kilwa Fortress

- Mombasa
- Watamu - beaches - Swahili ruins of Gede

- then back to Nairobi

******

- Mt Kenya National Park - 5199m - Kikuyu people - UNESCO + biosphere reserve. Mount Kenya the second highest peak in Africa. Mt. Kenya is an important water tower in the country. It provides water for about 50% of the country’s population and produces 70% of Kenya’s hydroelectric power. Its described as one of the most impressive landscapes in Eastern Africa. Park fees approx $50 pp per day!

- Samburu National Park - Rugged semi desert park: not particularly well-known and as a result is less crowded than most

- Marsabit

National Geographic Pictures - http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/kenya-photos/


these are some teaser pics from the internet...