Kenya Warnings Or Dangers Tips by Myndo Top 5 Page for this destination

Coconuts - the silent killers from above...

They say coconuts kill more tourists every year than any wild animal. I can believe it, I had once one cominig down next to me during some meal.

If they fall on your head you will suffer a cracked skull. Don´t risk it.
On the beaches they try to take them down regularly, but you do better looking up before you lie down, if this really is such a safe place.

Traffic in Kenya

Kenya is not a country I would like to drive around myself.
They behave quite erratically on the roads, especially the mini-cabs that are omnipresent. They try to race each other for the customers- or just the fun of it. Look at how many cars have bumps and dents. They will overtake wherever there is some space. The conditions of the roads does also not much to help prevent accident, there are roads with more potholes than surface.

When I visited, I had the opportunity to read a Kenyan newspaper with an article about traffic accidents in it. The week before have been 38 deaths due to the traffic. I think this is quite a lot, especially if you keep in mind, that there are not soo many roads and not so many cars since a lot of the population can^t afford them.
Of the 38 deaths 21 have been pedestrians, 8 drivers and the rest passengers. They say the reason for the many pedestrians are that they don’t follow traffic rules (and of course there are a lot more of them on the roads than in say, european countries or america).

Bugs, Flies, Crawlers ...

There are quite a lot around. During the day you hardly see or hear them- except for the flies, but as soon it gets darker, well....

Especially noisy they are in the Crocodile Camp, where I also found the exemplar you can see in the picture. I have no idea what kind of bug that is. It looked a little cockroach-like, but else I never saw a cockroach in the Camps or in the hotel rooms at the sea (and outside only one, which is few for me, sometimes I feel like a bug-magnet).
Some of the bugs are real loud. If you are not used to the noises of the bush and sensible with sleeping, take some earplugs with you.

How much bugspray is worth, i don?t know. I found that mosquito repellant (with DEET) will repell Mosquitoes, but not flies or bigger bugs. Something with Permethrin in it should do the job, but I did not try it.

Toilets - be happy if you have one

You may be laughing when you see the picture here, but actually you can tell yourself you are lucky if you have one of these toilets. Mostly you just don’t. Then it’s either hold it or do it somewhere in the plains – with no bushes around, mind you, so that the lions can’t sneak up.

If you are like me and react sensible on black tea – better take none, even if offered in the morning. Better stay with plain water in smaller sips over the time.

If you don’t know where to find a toilet: souvenir shops often have „public“ ones, as an additional attraction. Come and shop.

Masai: businessmen

This is not supposed to be a general warning of the people here. They are generally quite friendly, especially if they feel they can sell you something. They are very used to tourists and quite the businessmen. So the will show you their village ? for 10-15 Dollar you can get it -including a demonstration of their dances and a visit to a hut and of course the possibility to buy some of their souvenirs: necklages etc.

Never ever try to make a picture of one without permission. Not only they will get very angry and will make you pay for it. Much. Shoot out of a driving car and you are apt to get stones and sticks thrown at it.

Some of the masai are very good looking and they do a lot for it: they wear makeup in red and black, do their hair in fine braids, wear yewellery of tiny pearl on the neck, the ankles, the wrists on the head and on the clothes. Classically they wear red clothes or at least with much red in it. The feet are bare or they wear sandals, sometimes made of old tires.
I am not going to get into the theme how difficult a relation between different cultures can be. There are enough books on them, already, for Massai check the book: "the white Massai". She was swiss, he a Massai, they married. I guess she had the pink glasses on. She tried to live like them. It did not work out.

Road conditions in the Ntl Parks

Outside the cities there are still many (if not most) of the roads that are untarred (say: gravel). It is not a must to have a 4WD when driving around Kenya, but as soon as you go into the National Parks I would suggest it very much.

If it rains – and it can rain a lot – the earth on the roads will turn to mud that is as slicky as soap. We were driven around in Toyota Hiace with 4WD, Landrover and .... and even with every of these cars we got at a point where we could not drive further.
In Masai Mara we also did some pirouettes – not voluntary.

Malaria - don't underestimate it!

I know that I am just one of many more that warn about that here.
But it is to be taken seriously!

Every year several hundred tourists suffer from Malaria and every year people (also tourists!) die from it in Kenya. Most of them may never end up in statistics, either.

Malaria is also not only a problem in the National Parks as some may think. You can also get it, while staying the whole time in your hotel at the coast.

The only way to catch malaria is by being bitten by the Anopheles Mosquito. (the one in my picture is one of those).
The Mosquito is active when the sun settles, in the dark and when it comes up again.
Avoid being bitten by using repelents with DEET or Bayrepel in it. Citronella may work for some people, but for the majority it does zilch good.
Also it is a good thing, if you can put on clothes with long sleeves and legs (linen or cotton, wide woven is good for that).

And since it is never sure even with this that you will not being bitten, use a Malaria Prophylaxis.
For Kenya Malarone is advised, which is effective and has very few side effects.
(That is for all of you out there who are so afraid of Lariam).
One tablet a day, starting 2 days before you enter Kenya, until 3-5 days after you came back.
Yes, i am aware that it is not a cheap medication - but on the other hand, lying in a hospital either in Kenya or at home is not cheap either.

For those who don´t know the effects of Malaria, have a look at my home-page travellogues.

Monkeys at the hotels

They are most probably going to be one of your first encounters with the "wildlife" of Kenya: Monkeys.
They are not afraid of human (anymore) and can be found at every hotel.
When the sun is going to settle down, they begin to roam freely about the hotel grounds (of course there are there also during the day, but mostly not so open).

A few advises for you: never, ever let your clothes dry on the balcony when you are not sitting directly next to them. Always close your balcony doors and windows tight when leaving the hotel rooms. (Or even when sleeping inside, we had monkeys in our room even though we were in it).
I have seen (and heard) more than once how the monkeys raided hotel rooms and took everything they could carry away. You surely don?t want to look for your clothes, underwear and bikinis shattered all over the palms or your camera being thrown hither and back between some playful apes. Also you are not likely to get any of your things back, normally the monkeys don?t tell where they hide them ..

Also don't feed the Monkeys and don't touch them. Even quite unlikely it is still possible that some of them have rabies - and biting or even licking damaged skin is enough for transmitting this still deadly disease.

On the other hand it is of course quite funny to watch them playing on the palms, stealing the sugar bottle in the restaurant and listening to your hotel neighbour ranting in his room, because a good part of her belongings have been abducted by them.... it?s the monkeys now!