East Africa Trip Report

Having returned from my site inspections in Kenya and Tanzania, I thought I would give you an idea of what I saw and experienced in East Africa. This has been one of my best work trips ever. It was a truly fantastic experience.

Our trip was organized by one of our ground handlers in Kenya. The excellent standard of their service was confirmed over and over during the two week trip. They offer private and personalised safaris, and the service is excellent whether you're traveling on a limited budget or are on a super luxury holiday.

The accommodation is great and the driver guides are extremely knowledgeable and fun to be around. You certainly leave with a sense of having truly experienced Africa.

We started our trip off in Nairobi, spending two nights at The Stanley, and one at the Nairobi Serena. Both hotels offer a good city stay, with some great restaurants and friendly service. Being close to the city centre, you can do plenty of shopping, and there are spas all over the show so you can relax after your long flight.

Nairobi has improved immensely since I lived there, with cleaner and better lit streets, and a more functional traffic system. Galleries with unique art abound, and travellers can now leave Africa with objects d'art rather than mass-produced curios.

For those who enjoy fine dining, there are a variety of awesome restaurants offering African, Chinese or Italian cuisines, as well as fiery Indian curries. We especially enjoyed Tamambo and the Rusty Nail restaurants.

We stopped at the Trout Tree en route to Samburu. If you are going this way, make sure you stop and enjoy this very special establishment. Apart from the wonderful setting, great food and peaceful surroundings, you may be lucky enough to spot the resident black and white colobus monkeys.

On our first night we went to the Carnivore Restaurant, known for its Nyama choma (BBQ). Each night of the week it has a different theme, from soul night and traditional evenings, to the more rowdy disco nights. Ordering a "dawa,” a truly Kenyan cocktail, is an absolute must.

In Tanzania, we visited Tarangire National Park, known for its ancient baobabs and large elephant population. Having never been there before, I can honestly say that it is now one of my favorite East African parks and is definitely worth a visit. It is close to the Crater and Lake Manyara, in an area of Tanzania offering great game viewing.

The Crater was brilliant to visit again, and having just had some rain, it was bright green with game out in big numbers. We were lucky enough to even spot a serval cat, which is by no means an everyday occurrence.

The migration was occurring up in the northern areas of the Serengeti, and we saw plenty of gnu and zebra up there. We stayed on the Grumeti River, in a wonderful camp right on the banks. We were even welcomed by a herd of elephant strolling past our tents.

We saw elephant in huge numbers in Amboseli, Tarangire and Samburu. Kilimanjaro showed her face on a number of occasions at Amboseli. The game concentrations around the swamps in Amboseli were huge, and the bird life was wonderful too. Should you prefer to visit Tsavo, the mountain can also be seen from there - just from a greater distance.

Nakuru was fantastic and there seemed be more flamingos than before. The baboons were up to their usual tricks. A cute little baby baboon captured our attention while the others raided the vehicle behind us, leaving one colleague very disgruntled when the very clever baboons made off with his cashew nuts and crisps.

Our time in the Mara had us hard at work visiting a number of camps and lodges. We were met with wonderful service, great food, and loads of game. A bush dinner on the river was organized for us. Nothing beats sitting around a bonfire under the stars with friends, after having just had a feast. On our departure from the Masai Mara, a pride of hunting lions sent us off.

Staying at Samburu was an experience of a lifetime, and it is another firm favourite of mine. Being quite an arid area, the landscape is usually dry and brown, but as there had been some rain prior to our arrival, the area was vibrantly green.

Every unique animal species showed itself to us, from the gerenuk to the brilliantly coloured blue and black vulturine guinea fowl.The beauty of Samburu is that it has not yet been commercialised, with fewer crowds and vehicles than some other East African parks.

Our hosts were very involved in causes throughout East Africa, and we stopped off at an orphanage near Mount Kenya to visit the 11 little ones lucky enough to have found a new home there.

Pastor Joe and Agnes have devoted their retirement years to bringing love and joy into these small children's lives. It was heart warming to see how well cared for they are. This trip certainly opened my eyes to the fact that there are worthwhile causes out there that we, as travellers, are not aware of.

Visiting Nairobi and not finding the time to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Giraffe Centre would be a great shame. There is an animal orphanage program where you can adopt an orphaned baby rhino or elephant. Go2Africa adopted Maxwell, a blind baby rhino. The love and attention that these poor animals receive from their keepers brought tears to our eyes.

A giraffe kiss at the Giraffe centre was quite a wet business and lots of fun. But for the not-so-brave Lauren, a giraffe hug was substantial.

We truly had a safari of a lifetime. I have seen some beautiful camps and I will be including as many of these into your itineraries as I can. A marvellous safari is guaranteed.

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