Kenya

Nairobi National Park and Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Nairobi National Park was established in 1945 and is Kenya's first national park. Uniquely situated on the capital's doorstep it is a well-kept, compact and beautiful area of plains and wild bush containing a large number of Africa's best-known animals. Large herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffe roam the plains and black rhino, ostrich, baboons, cheetah and lions are some of the other photogenic inhabitants. In the park is the Animal Orphanage where sick, wounded and abandoned animals are cared for and rehabilitated into the park, as well as an Educational Centre featuring a Safari Walk. Close by is the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where infant elephant and rhino (orphaned because of poaching activities) are cared for and eventually returned to the wild in Tsavo National Park. The centre is open every morning and visitors can watch the calves bathing in the mud hole and being bottle fed by their human surrogate mothers.

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is a park of giants, renowned for its herds of mighty tusked elephants presided over by the magnificent backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro. One of Africa's most unforgettable images is the picture of these large creatures standing in silent tribute before the gigantic snow-covered mountain just over the border in neighbouring Tanzania. It is a relatively small park with wide plains merging with the distant skyline, affording good visibility in all directions. Observation Hill rises from the centre for breathtaking views over the park and towards Mt Kilimanjaro, especially in the pink light of dawn. Meaning 'Place of Water' in the Masai language, it has a continuous supply from Kilimanjaro's snowmelt, forming underground springs that feed the marshy patches and swamps home to hippos and a great variety of bird life. Predators are relatively scarce apart from jackal and hyena, but there are large numbers of grazers such as wildebeest, zebra and gazelles on the grassy plains and giraffe among the thorn trees. A popular way to take in the scenery is by way of a noiseless microlight flight, either from Nairobi or the Amboseli airstrip. There is a wide range of accommodation in and around the outskirts of the park for those wanting to extend the experience.

Mount Kenya National Park

This national park encompasses Africa's second highest mountain, Mt Kenya, an extinct volcano with a series of jagged snow-covered peaks. The local Kikuyu people revere the mountain they call Kirinvaga or 'Place of Light' as the home of their Supreme Being, Ngai, and traditionally Kikuyu homes are built to face the sacred summit. Part of the mountain's attraction is the incredible variation in flora and fauna due to the changes in altitude and its position on the equator. The slopes are covered in thick forest, home to a variety of animals including the black leopard. Bamboo, moorland and alpine vegetation give way to rock, ice and one of the world's rarest sights - equatorial snow. The summit is a technical climb, but Point Lenana is a popular trekkers' objective, the third highest peak that can be reached by a number of different scenic routes, lasting from three to five days. For those not wishing to climb the mountain the park offers a pristine wilderness, lakes and glaciers and is good for game viewing and hiking.

Lake Naivasha

Recognised for its abundance of birdlife and beautiful scenery, and with the nearby attractions of Elsamere and Hell's Gate National Park, Lake Naivasha is a popular destination and a place of pilgrimage for bird fanatics. The lake is a shimmering waterscape of floating hyacinth surrounded by mountains, and the skies above are pierced by the distinctive cries of the fish eagle. Brightly coloured kingfishers dart into the waters from their papyrus perches and ugly Marabou storks strut along the shoreline like cantankerous sergeant majors. The trees are home to Colobus monkeys and at night the earth shudders with the movement of grazing hippos. The fertile soils and fresh water supply have made this one of the major agricultural regions in Kenya and farmlands surround the lake giving way to forests of acacia on the mountain slopes. The southern shore of the lake is lined with hotels, campsites and guesthouses, prettily situated either on the shore or higher up on the slopes of the mountain with fantastic views over the lake. Boat trips are a popular way to explore the lake and also the private Crescent Island Game Sanctuary.

Masai Mara National Reserve

Kenya's most visited park, commonly known as the Mara, is a wildly beautiful place with rolling savannah grasslands and is an extension of the Serengeti Plains in neighbouring Tanzania. Much of the film 'Out of Africa' was filmed here and it offers wonderful views and an extraordinary concentration of wildlife, including the 'Big Five'. It has the largest population of lion, and large herds of grazers also attract many other predators such as cheetah and hyena. The annual highlight is the Great Wildebeest Migration, creating one of the world's supreme natural spectacles, when an estimated two million animals form one large herd and leave the dry plains of Tanzania to seek greener pastures in the north, arriving in the Mara from late June onwards and returning again in September. Their entrance into the Mara makes a breathtaking spectacle, as they cross the crocodile infested waters of the Mara River. A once in a lifetime way to experience the magic of an African dawn over such a wilderness is by hot air balloon, drifting silently over the herds below. These can be booked through any safari company and operate daily from several of the lodges in the reserve. Also within the reserve is a Masai village that holds demonstrations of traditional dances and music as a source of tourist income for the local communities of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Traditionally the lands were used by the Masai for their herds of cattle and the settlement programs set up to compensate for their displacement have only recently been accepted, albeit reluctantly. The proud warriors have become a symbol of tribal Kenya with their beadwork, feathers, spears, decorated gourds and red blankets. Today the Masai communities are allowed to hunt and graze their animals in the reserve, and the occasional flash of red glimpsed between the thorn trees and bush on the fringes of the Mara has become a natural part of the Mara's character.

Elsamere Conservation Centre

Along the southern shore of Lake Naivasha is the former home of naturalist and painter Joy Adamson, author of 'Born Free', and now the Elsamere Conservation Centre, incorporating a guesthouse and a small museum. Visitors are invited to join the guests daily at 4pm for a sumptuous tea on the lawns of the beautifully peaceful lakeside setting, occasionally joined by the mischievous Colobus monkeys with a taste for cheesecake. The museum has displays portraying the true story of Joy and the lioness Elsa that she raised from birth, and her attempts to return her to the wild, as well as her paintings and personal artefacts. There is also a video shown about the story of Elsa the lioness.

Hell's Gate National Park

Named for the pair of massive red cliffs of the Njorowa Gorge that encloses a geothermic area of hot springs and steam vents, Hell's Gate is one of the two parks in Kenya that allows visitors to explore on foot, making it an ideal place for hiking, cycling, camping and rock climbing. It is famous for its natural steaming geysers, and the towering cliffs provide an eagle and vulture breeding ground. The wide plains are home to numerous animals, such as zebra, buffalo, eland, gazelle and hartebeest and the experience of walking alongside a giraffe or past a herd of zebra is a memorable one. Lion, leopard and cheetah are also present but hardly ever seen.

Lake Nakuru National Park

Although tiny, this park has huge concentrations of game with everything except elephant, and is one of Kenya's important rhino sanctuaries. Apart from the rhino, there are several prides of lion and it is the best place to spot leopard. The surface of the shallow alkaline lake covers about a third of the park and the saline concentration supports a blue-green algae that attracts thousands of flamingos. This pulsating pink carpet covering the fringes of the lake is a breathtaking sight and at any disturbance the air above becomes a noisy confusion of long pink legs and reddish wings in flight. Large flocks of pelicans are also attracted to the rich food source in the lake and waterbuck and the rare Rothschild giraffe are common sights along the shores. The park has several high points with good lookouts and waterfalls, and monkeys and baboon frequent the rocky cliffs.

Tsavo National Park

The vast Tsavo National Park is only an hour's drive from Mombasa along the main highway to Nairobi, and for administrative purposes is divided into the East and West. Covering 8,422 sq miles (21,812 sq km), the park is home to giraffe, buffalo, antelopes, monkeys, many exotic birds and Kenya's largest herds of elephant. The elephant often look startlingly red, covered in the dust and mud of the region's ruddy soil. Visitors are also likely to see rhinos - after being virtually wiped out by poachers in the 1980s their population now numbers almost 200, most are found in the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary. Poaching has now practically been eliminated and the elephant population is also increasing; there are now around 5,000 animals, up from 3,000 in 1985, but still short of the 25,000 that are estimated to have roamed the park in the 1960s. In one of the park's pools is an observation tank from where visitors can get a close-up view of hippos, crocodiles and tropical fish in their natural habitat.

The Giraffe Centre

Experience giraffes up close and personal at this wonderful centre dedicated to the preservation of the endangered Rothschild giraffe. Visitors can experience the rare pleasure of hand-feeding these graceful and gentle creatures, and also enjoy the nature walk with 160 species of bird. This is the single best attraction for children in Nairobi. Betty and Jock Leslie Melville founded the Giraffe Centre in 1979 to preserve the Rothschild giraffe of which only 120 remained in existence.

Nairobi National Museum

This hugely diverse museum contains some world-class attractions among its dusty relics and stuffed animals. The facility is home to the great pre-historic finds from the Leakey family including relics from mankind's earliest ancestors. There are also fascinating sections on art, geology, wildlife and local history. Look out for fossils from Lake Turkana and an attached snake park where some of the world largest and also most venomous snakes are displayed.

Karen Blixen Museum

Karen Blixen was a notable Kenyan personality who lived and farmed on the outskirts of Nairobi from 1917 to 1931 when she returned to Denmark bankrupt and heartbroken at being forced to leave Africa. Writing under the name Isak Dinesen she authored acclaimed books including Out of Africa which inspired an Oscar winning film of the same name. The main building of the original house, M'Bogani House, now houses the Karen Blixen Museum and retains much of its original furniture and other photographs and items of interest. The museum is situated in the suburb of Karen, a short drive from the city centre.