"Kenya, the Ultimate in Wildlife Viewing " a Kenya Travel Page by no1birdlady

In October of 1997 I took an 18 day birding safari in Kenya with the tour company WINGS. The word "safari" is Swahili for "travel" or "journey". There were 6 of us plus our guide and driver. We traveled in a small van with a top that opens up for wildlife viewing. Kenya sits astride the equator so temperatures are pretty much the same all year and vary with elevation. On the low plains it was hot and mostly dry. Up in the mountains and in the rain forests, it was cooler and could be quite wet.

Much of Africa is made up of vast plains filled with animals such as this picture that I took in the Masai Mara. But I found that there are a lot of other habitats found in Kenya. We visited a rain forest that reminded me of Costa Rica and there were lush lakes and springs. Mt. Kenya is a different habitat with cool temperatures. There are also alkaline soda lakes in the Rift Valley where it was very hot. Kenya is a wonderful country full of many different habitats which probably accounts for the tremendous numbers of birds and animals to be found here.
Pictures shown here are from a small point and shoot camera that I used to take prints with for my journal. I also took a telephoto lens camera that I kept slide film in. I was also to get good shots of birds and animals with that but can't scan them into the computer so when you see photos here of animals, know that they were close.

Kenya is a wonderful place to see wildlife. Unlike other countries, game is widespread not just inside of preserves but also outside of them probably because of the ban on hunting. Tourism is very important to the country and people realize that these animals are the reasons that tourists come to Kenya. I liked the way that our guide paid the local people in villages to help him find some of the more illusive species and guide us to them. This gave them a stake in the protection of the wildlife. The best seasons for wildlife viewing is during the dry seasons which are from Jan-mid. Ap and again July thru Oct.