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Tourists Flight To North Eastern & Eastern Provinces National Parks & Gmae Reserves In Kenya

North Eastern and Eastern Kenya is vast and covers the frontier town Maralal, Marsabit, Embu, Machakos,Kitui and Makindu, and the little explored Etani lava Flows, and is an ideal tourist destination for the unconventional safari. Due to the rough terrain and remoteness of the area, it is still inhabited by tribal communities that have been hardly touched by 20th century civilization, such as the Boran,El-Molo,Gabra, Merille, Rendille, Samburu, and the Turkana. This makes the area an ideal destination for those who want to touch base with unadulterated traditional culture.

The Samburu people live in Shaba and Maralal. Samburu means butterflies in English; the people are closely related to the Maasai. They share a dialect and are also pastoralists but are different in a number of ways. While the Maasai wear flowing shukas, the Samburu tie the shukas around their waists but add a white sash. The Samburu do not cover their bodies and hair with red ochre like the Maasai do, but instead decorate their upper bodies and heads with patterns.

Most of North Eastern and Eastern Kenya is barren and dry desert land. However, the short rains bring to life the dry rivers and cause some vegetation to grow for a short while. The most popular tourist attractions in this area are the Samburu National Park, Marsabit National Park, and Lake Turkana which has the largest population of the Nile crocodile in Kenya.

The frontier town of Maralal is where you will see the Camel Derby held annually in the month of August. Matthews Ranges offers some excellent camel trekking, with gifted Samburu as guides. Loroghi Hills are ideal for trekking while the rough terrain in Marsabit is a challenging and rewarding biking experience.

North Eastern and Eastern Kenya is the place to buy the exquisite woodcarvings, soap stone sculptures and woven baskets made by the Kamba communities in Machakos and Kitui, with some of the finest handicrafts on sale.

Marsabit is accessible from Nairobi via Isiolo and Archers Post by either matatu, bus or private transport, preferably a 4 by 4 vechicle. There is an airstrip serving charter flights. To go north from Marsabit, it is recommended to have a private transport. Isiolo is the last place you will find a bank or petrol station before Maralal or Marsabit, and it is therefore advisable to stock up here on your way North.

Wildlife safari is the ultimate in the North Eastern and Eastern Kenya. To the North is Marsabit, a small town located on an isolated million year old extinct volcano in the vast Northern desert. Here you will find the 2,090 sq km Marsabit National Park Reserve and diverse cultures of the Rendille, Boran and Gabra.As you head further north; you will find the most scenic Crater Lake aptly called Lake Paradise. This lake was made famous in the early films and writings of Martin Johnson and Vivien de Wattville and is one of the three lakes that are home to a wide array of bird life.

In the 1,500 sq km Marsabit National Reserve you will see the Grevys Zebra, reticulated Giraffe, the greater Kudu, a large Antelope with distinctive curved horns and Oryx, and large herds of Elephant. This reserve was once home to the elephant Ahmed, Kenyas most renowned elephant celebrated as having the largest tusks ever recorded in Africa. In 1970 the sate declared it a protected animal and placed it under 24 hour guard until his death at the age of 55. He is preserved at the Nairobi National Museum.

The Shaba National Reserve is home to elephants, lions, cheetahs, grevys zebras, giraffes, gerenuks, buffalos, Oryx, grants gazelles, dikdiks and waterbucks. This was also where the renowned Born Free author Joy Adamson spent her final years. Shaba was subject of her final book Queen of Sheba. The reserve was also the location for the Hi Us reality survivor series in 2001, making it the first African destination to be featured on Survivor.

Buffalo Springs National Reserve is named after an oasis of limpid crystal clear water at the western end of the sanctuary. Here you will find the unpredictable kori bustard, and also the Somali ostrich, which is distinguished from the Maasai ostrich by its indigo legs and neck. To the east are Arawale, Tana River primate, Boni, Dodori, and Shimba Hills national reserves, and Arabuko Sokoke national park.

Arawale National Reserve, 553sq km bush land, was created in 1973 to protect the rare hunters antelope sometimes called the hunters hartebeest, a species only found north of the Tana River and as far up as the Border of Somalia. The reserve can only be accessed through four wheel drive vehicles.

The small Tana River Primate National Reserve protects two primate species, the red colobus and the crested mangabey. Here you will also find the oryx, buffalo, lesser kudu, Maasai and reticulated giraffe and the common and grevys zebra. River Tana has abundant water birds, crocodiles and hippos.

Dodori National Reserve is named after a river which enters the Indian Ocean at Dodori Creek. It is home to the rare Dugong. Boni National Reserve borders Somalia and covers an area of 1339 sq km. The two reserves have an undeveloped road system. They are in areas where bandit activity is possible and local advice from your tour operator and from the Kenya Police should but taken before planning a visit.

Kapenguria Museum, officially opened in 1993, is popular because it is in the same building where the six founding fathers of the nation of Kenya were detained for their struggle for independence. The building had two prisons, a District Commissioners house and a room that was used as a courtroom during trial of the Kenyan heroes. In the museum are cultural exhibits of the Cherengani and Pokot people, newspapers and magazines articles of the Mau movement, and exhibits of Kenya during the colonial era.

Embu town is the provincial headquarters of Eastern province and is 120km from Nairobi. As you get into the town you will see the rice paddies in Mwea, and Seven Forks Dam where most of Kenya's electricity is generated.

On Mombasa road you will spot the Makindu Sikh Temple whose origins stem from the early 1900s when Sikhs came to Kenya to help build Mombasa to Kisumu railway line. Today the Gurdwara, as it is otherwise known, offers free rest and nourishment to travelers. However one is free to leave a donation.

Further south in Tsavo, the 200 years Old Etani Lava flows make for spectacular sight and photography for those travelling by air. The volcanic eruptions were deemed by the locals to be the result of evil spirits. This area is completely bare of plant life. There is a walking trail at the Chaimu Lava Flows that can take one to the very rim of the crater and one should carry a torch when going for an exploration.

 

About the Author

Anthony Juma is the Editor  and Senior Aviation Director at Wings Over Africa Aviation. 
This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Tourists Flight To North Eastern & Eastern Provinces National Parks & Game Reserves In Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http:// www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/tourist-flights.html

Randy Jackson (Zebra) "Hard Living Without You" Acoustic Show 2010 Live

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