Amboseli- The National Park under the shadow of Kilimanjaro

Amboseli is a wonderful place. It is quite a small game park very very close to the Tanzanian border, this is the game park for you if you aren't a fan of spending hours driving round and round a game park but just kicking back and seeing things at a leisurely pace.

The road from Nairobi to the Tanzanian border is amazing. It's empty and well maintained (well... don't expect the M4, this is still Kenya). Unfortuately, when I was there in March, the road from the border to Amboseli was appalling. Deep Corrugations all the way, so bad that it was only vaguely comfortable at 80Kph! But the surface is very slippery so that wasn't really an option. Allow a lot of extra time unless you are very good at driving on that type of surface (and possibly in someone else's car)

Amboseli has, as far as I can remember, no lions and no rhinos. But it does have loads of other animals, especially elephants. If elephants are your thing, then it's a toss-up between Amboseli and Samburu (although other people have said that they've spent weeks in Samburu without seeing one, there were hundreds when I was there in the dry seasons, just playing in the river all day)

There is a campsite there with bandas too. I think it's a take everything with you type of place, but they did manage to give us firewood. The campsite is run by the Masai (apologies if I actually mean Samburu). They are friendly but sometimes overly so. They are a little difficult to avoid and keen to stare. Be prepared to pay slightly more than advertised or be very fierce. They decided we were an easy touch and told us of monkeys who would come and knock our tents down if we didn't pay the boy something. There were no baboons as far as I could see, so I thought the monkeys were probably of the rather bigger kind.

There are also some more upmarket lodges which you'll find in any guide book. Not really my thing but much easier really.

Here are a few pictures to wet your appetite, see if you can spot the hyena, we thought it was sick but then it ran off very happily at the end of the day, having sat there all day.
I took my parents to Amboseli and they loved it. My mum hadn't camped in a tent since pony club camp when she was 14! but camping in Kenya is just a tad easier than in Scotland! Here's our camp. I scored a lot of brownie points when my father woke in the middle of the night to see Kilimanjaro lit up by a full moon.

Lets Go Travel-the local travel agent for Kenya

Calling all those in Kenya for some time who want to go somewhere out of the ordinary... or just who need a flight back to Europe.

Now, this isn't advertising. I really owe nothing to Lets Go Travel, I have no connection with them whatsoever. I have just used them a lot.

Lets go are pretty much the only travel agent to go to if you are already in Kenya and you want to go somewhere or book something. Their rates are pretty standard and you can get everything you want done through them.

The beauty of Lets Go Travel is that they can book all the little magical places around Kenya. There are loads of little self-catering and catered huts all over Kenya, some of them have to be booked through KWS (go to the main office in Nairobi National Park), but Lets Go will tell you about them if you push them into it. They can also tell you of many more places. So if you want a weekend away, having a party, or just fancy something different then this is the way forward.
Lets Go can get flights for you, they can book the train to Mombassa (saving going in to the station in the middle of Nairobi). They really are worth a visit whatever you want to do.
Lets Go is managed by Alan Dixon, though it is a pretty big organisation and there are offices in these locations- ABC centre Tel: (254) 20 4447151/ 4441030, Westlands; Karen (above Karen Provision Store) Tel: (254) 20 882505/882168. They also seem to have an office in Kampala, but I have never been there, so what would I know!

A quick aside though, some of the staff seem to be competent than others. Some of them are brilliant, but if you are in any doubt, ask to speak to the person with whom the booking has been done just to confirm that it has been made properly. Phone lines are bad in Kenya and not everyone's English is amazing, confusion does sometimes happen. Ask to speak to the person at the hotel or in the booking office just to check. I did once arrive at the coast with a booking to a hotel that had never heard of us, and which was full. In the typical Kenyan way, this was sorted out quickly and calmly and we had a great stay... But just check.

Escorted tours around the wilds of Kenya, Amboseli, Masai Mara and Tsavo among many other destinations

http://www.visions-of-africa.co.uk/destination.asp?DestinationID=12
This seems to be a very swish and exciting tour operator. They do baloon flights among other stuff

Steps Travel, Travel beyond the ordinary, Gorilla treks in Uganda

Wow, this lot do gorilla treks! How cool is that?! Start saving now.
This is a company that has trips to Uganda, Kenya Ethiopia and Botswana, and I'd imagine, everywhere else too. They seem to do all sorts of exciting stuff. So see if you can't be tempted.
http://www.steppestravel.co.uk/page736f.aspx
ps, Gorilla trekking, like hot air balloon rides, just is expensive, don't try to get this on the cheap, save up instead.

Comprehensive guide to Car Hire in Kenya

I thought I'd try for something quite useful. I don't know if I can make it work. I'd like to be able to give you a comprehensive list of car hire companies and there up to date prices. If this works, I'll move on to other fields. The idea is that you can look here to learn which car hire companies operate in Kenya, what they offer, and at what price. These are all for 1 day. They may get cheaper over longer periods.
Here is one company

Africa Point. http://www.africapoint.com/cars/kenya.htm
Toyota Hiace Mini Bus Vehicle US$ 90
Toyota Corolla Standard Saloon Car US$ 54
Toyota Land Cruiser Standard 4WD Car US$ 155
Toyota RAV4 Small 4WD Car US$ 93
Suzuki Vitara Small 4WD Car US$ 85
Mitsubishi Lancer Standard Saloon Car US$ 54
Mitsubishi Pajero Standard 4WD Car US$ 147
Mercedes Benz C 200Luxury Saloon Car On Request
25 Seater Rosa Bus Medium Sized Bus On Request
Which seems pretty expensive to me...Welll lets try another

Argus Car Hire http://www.argusrentals.com/reserve/quote.asp?Ref=@0904191021142360805

IDMR - Toyota Corolla(or similar) £168.53
SDMR - Mitsubishi Lancer(or similar) £168.53
IFMR - Toyota RAV 4 4x4(or similar) £280.14
SVMN - Minibus 9 seater Chauffeur Drive Only(or similar) £335.57
FFMR - Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4(or similar) £440.44

Wow now we are talking rich Americans only!

How about another, I think this is cheaper
East Africa Shuttles http://www.eastafricashuttles.com/cars/index.htm

Nissan Sunny B12 60 USD per day unlimileagelleage
Toyota A E90 60 USD per day unlimileagelleage
Toyota A E100 60 USD per day unlimileagelleage
Nissan Sunny B14 4WD 60 USD per day unlimileagelleage
Suzuki Vitara 4WD 75 USD per day unlimileagelleage
Toyota Hiace Mini bus (9 Seater) On request
Mitsubishi Pajero 200 USD
Range Rover 240 USD
Land Rover (9 Seater) 200USD- unlimileagelleage
Toyota Landcruiser 20unlimitedlmileagelleage
KIA Sportage 80 USD
Minibus (25 or 29 Seater) 200 USD


South Travels http://www.southtravels.com/africa/kenya/carrental.html
Not very useful this one, they have a list of all the pretty cars they have (which is extensive), but no rates " available on request" only. HA!

I'lll i'll finish this another day

Right back on the case

First Car Hire
http://www.firstcarhire.com/reservar1.php
They are rediculously expensive for 1 day but a week works out at 63 euro a day
Mitsubishi Lancer 1.3 No A/C. 63 Euro.
They have other bigger cars too which get more expensive

Car Hire Centre
http://www.car-hire-centre.co.uk/book-cars.php
Again, rates over a week work out at 91 Euro a day
Mitsubishi Lancer 1.3 91 Euro

Hertz Budget and Avis
http://www.kasbah.com/car_rental/kenya.htm
This site does not appear to offer bigger cars
Hertz
Economy 23.25 Euro daily

Budget
Economy 31 Euro Daily

Avis
Economy 46 Euro Daily


CarHire.co.uk
http://quote.carhire.co.uk/

Economy 2dr a/c 57 Euro
Compact 2dr a/c 70 Euro
Compact 4dr a/c 75 Euro
Intermediate four wheel drive 4dr a/c 97 Euro
Standard four wheel drive 2dr a/c 105 Euro
Full size four wheel drive 4dr a/c 135 Euro

www.carhirekenya.com
This seems to be a good site.
They claim to be the best anyway (I know the ad speaks very well of it)
They don't give rates, you can email them on cars@carhirekenya.com. They have lots of saloon and 4X4s so plenty to choose from

Daphne Sheldrick's elephant orphanage in Nairobi- the latest addition to the family

Now I'd like to tell you about something that is really special. Daphne Sheldrick's Elephant orphanage. Forget about these awful places called orphanages around the world where baby animals are captured and then kept in captivity all their lives. This is not the same. Baby eles are found deserted by their parents for one reason or another: poaching; washed down a river; stuck in the mud; etc. Then a team of experts fly the elephant to Nairobi national park where it is nursed back to health and with a lot of help from there keepers they are then released into the wild again at the age of 2. Baby eles are extremely similar to baby humans and this should be borne in mind while reading their stories. They grieve like us, they get sunburns like us, they need play like us, at the age of 2 an ele is still very much a toddler. They need the same love and attention that a baby does, they even get fed SMA milk!
Here is the story of the latest member of the family.


Narripi
There is a place, near the Tanzanian border, where the Maasai tribesmen have dug a shallow well to water their herds. It is known as "Narripi" which in the Maa dialect means "Male Guide" In the early morning of 29th August 2005,when a Maasai Warrior who is, indeed, a male guide, happened to be passing, and spotted a tiny elephant calf trapped deep inside the hole. The ground around the hole was well and truly churned up, indicative of the herds' desperate attempts to haul the baby out, but in the end, fearful of humans, they had to leave, abandoning all hope of being able to save this very precious new member of the family, who was just 3 weeks old. It was evident too that the hyenas had also found the trapped baby, and bit off the end of his trunk, as it waved helplessly in the air searching for help and his mother. The Warrior then walked to the Amboseli Park Headquarters, where he reported the fact to both the Amboseli research unit and also to the Kenya Wildlife Trust Amboseli Park authorities. The calf was extracted from the hole and The calf was extracted from the hole and left in the area in the hope that his family would return. By nightfall he was taken back to the safety of the National Park headquarters, but it was too dark for the rescue aircraft to leave Nairobi's Wilson Airport, so the Warden, who had phoned us, was advised how to proceed for the night and to let us know first thing in the morning if the calf was still alive. He said that the baby was very weak and exhausted so we told him to put a blanket over it to keep it warm, to have someone in physical contact with it throughout the night and to feed it water, but no milk, and as much water or rehydration fluid that it would take. On his own initiative, he also had a small charcoal brazier burning nearby to heat the room, which was very thoughtful, for the cold season is still upon us and he snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro are not far off. Sure enough, at first light the phone call came telling us that the calf had survived the night, that it had taken water and was a good deal stronger. He asked that it be named "Narripi" so that it would grow up to indeed become, a "Male Guide" amongst its peers. The rescue plane set off immediately, and by 9.30 a.m. on the 30th August, little "Narripi" arrived at the elephant Nursery, having been fed a bottle of weak milk mixture by our Keepers before leaving Amboseli. Upon arrival, he was given all the homeopathic pills for his injuries and his trauma, and soon afterwards, the Vet arrived to administer the injectible antibiotic which hopefully will stave off both pneumonia and septicaemia. Although in good body shape, this poor little baby's trunk is in a mess, the entire tip missing with deep bites further up as well so the pain of this wound will be intense and inhibit feeding, since a newborn elephant's trunk has to feel comfortable against the body of the mother before it will suckle - in our case, a hung blanket, or the Keepers cheek or elbow. It will be at risk from the dreaded pneumonia and, of course, having eaten copious quantities of mud and dirty water, we can expect a battle with his tummy as well. However, he is too young to feel fear, or to grieve deeply for his lost elephant family, since the hind side of his ears is still as soft as a petal, and the delicate pink of a newborn. His eyes have needed attention as well, being caked in mud, and possibly later dead tissue will have to be cut away under local anesthesia. All this presents us with the usual tough emotional challenge, but we will do our utmost to save the life of this little bull "guide" named "Narripi", who owes his life to the compassion of a Maasai Warrior, who, instead of walking away, walked 10 miles on foot to alert the Amboseli authorities of his presence.
To view the photographs from Narripi\'s rescue please click on this link:http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=141

Well I've put these photos in too just in case you are too lazy.

To foster Narripi please click on this link:http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fosteringnew.asp?G=&N=141&LP=8302005458-pic7a.jpg&FN=NARRIPI
Most Sincerely,Dr. Daphne Sheldrick M.B.E. http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

Here is a picture of Lalitu, rescued by some friends of mine, sadly didn't make it due to the amount of water swallowed when washed down a river. Not all the elephants can be saved, but even these end their lives surrounded by the love of the keepers and the other babies, instead of in traumatic circumstances
It really is the most special place. It relies totally on donations to support the work it does. You can sponsor a baby elephant and have regular updates sent to you. The orphanage is open from 11-12 every day, so if you are in Nairobi -GO THERE. It is free to go, so donate generously if you do. This orphanage not only supports the elephants, there is always a group of school children there learning about the animals which are their heritage, this is such a necessary step for Kenya to take and will ensure that conservation efforts in Kenya will eventually succeed.