Kenya: Wildlife, Mountain, Nature and Lake Safaris

The diversity in Wildlife parks

Intriguingly, no single park allows visitors the opportunity to view every large animal native to Kenya. Part of the joy is traveling from park to park and sampling the various wonders of this delightful country.

If time is a factor-and not every visitor can be expected to set aside weeks to travel around the country-then Maasai Mara National Reserve probably has the greatest variety and abundance of game.

Air safaris in Kenya

Travel from Nairobi’s busy Wilson airport to the game reserves is simple and straight forward. Getting from park to park is easy, too, because they nearly all have their own landing strips and some of the bigger parks have more than one. Most well-heeled visitors will choose to fly-either from Nairobi or between parks. This saves time and is not especially expensive. It is certainly quicker and more comfortable than the safari bus alternative.

Road safaris in Kenya

Other visitors prefer to pick up their safari bus at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and keep to the same vehicle throughout their stay in Kenya. The safari bus does at least give visitor an opportunity to see the real Kenya beyond the confines of the game parks.

Accommodation in Wildlife park lodges and camps

Most is not all, of the larger parks and reserves, have a lodge or two for overnight accommodation or longer stays. There is also a wide and expanding choice of tented camps. Considering their remote location, many lodges and camps are unexpectedly luxurious and serve exceptional food.

Kenya Wildlife Service commendable Job

The military style Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) does an excellent job of keeping the parks free from poachers. As a result, many previously endangered or threatened species have begun to thrive and become more numerous in recent years. Growing numbers of white and black rhino, plus healthier elephant and cheetah populations, are just some of the positive results achieved by KWS.

The Wonder that is the Maasai Mara

The Maasai Mara- in effect the northern part of the Serengeti Plains-contains a high concentration of Africa’s ‘big Five’ species (Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Rhino and Lion).

Its comparative closeness to Nairobi, together with its wide open expanses-so familiar from wildlife documentaries and Hollywood films-has made the Mara a top destination for most first time visitors.

Many come to view the great migration-one of the world’s most amazing natural spectacles-between July and September. In addition, however, the Mara offers something of interest all year round and contains some of the best park accommodation in Kenya.

But Kenya is more than just the Maasai Mara. There are Bigger and less frequently visited reserves that offer an equally impressive window into Africa.

Largest Wildlife Parks in Kenya

For example, some of the best places in Kenya for viewing elephants are the Amboseli and the large Tsavo East and Tsavo West game reserves that straddle the Nairobi-Mombasa road. Amboseli, close to Mt. Kilimanjaro, has some of Africa’s highest concentrations of elephant. The park is well organised and unlike the "drive anywhere" Maasai Mara, viewing vehicles are restricted to the good graded road that winds its way through the park.

Great Rift Valley Lakes System: Nakuru Naivasha and Turkana

To the north of Nairobi, following the Nairobi-Kisumu road is a series of soda lakes that are either reserves or protected areas. Starting with the popular Lake Naivasha, Just an hour from the capital, the lakes stretch to the Ethiopian border and offer a great opportunity to view flamingos, pelicans and marabou storks as well as some game.

The 188sq km Lake Nakuru is the only KWS-administered reserve that is fully enclosed. Once just a bird sanctuary, lake Nakuru is now the best place in Kenya to see the highly protected black and white rhino.

For the more adventurous, and lying some way off the beaten track, is Lake Turkana National ark, covering 7,500 sq km, the largest and most northerly of the Great Rift Valley Lake. In the west and around Lake Victoria (second largest fresh water lake in the world after Lake Superior in the US) can be found the remote Mount Elgon National Park together with a number of small parks close to the lake itself. Not all these parks are for viewing animals. Some are bird sanctuaries, while others are mostly wilderness.

Nature safaris in Mountain Parks

High altitude National parks such as Aberdares and Mt. Kenya, the location of Africa’s second highest mountain, are entirely different. Both contain some game, but the main attractions are their natural beauty and the opportunities they present for climbing and hill walking.

More Wildlife in the drier North of Kenya

Of the drier, lower lying northern parks, the most impressive is the 239sq km Samburu National Reserve. The similarly sized Shaba National Park is less known than its near neighbour, but certainly worth a visit, as is Meru to the South.

Robert is a tour consultant and co-owner of Landmark Safaris Ltd in Kenya. Visit us to tailor make your African wildlife safari and grab your free safari photos: