SHIMBA HILLS

 

The Shimba Hills National Reserve is a small National Reserve in the Coast Province of Kenya, 33 km from Mombasa and 15 km from the coast. The reserve is an area of coastal rainforest, woodland and grassland. It is an important area for plant biodiversity – over 50% of the 159 rare plants in Kenya are found in the Shimba Hills, including some endangered species of cycad and orchids. It is also a nationally important site for birds and butterflies.

There are estimated to be approximately 700 elephants in the reserve. This population is unsustainably high – it causes significant damage to vegetation, threatening the endangered plant life. Conflict between humans and elephants has also reached critical levels. North of the Reserve, the Mwaluganje elephant sanctuary has been established to provide a route for elephants to leave the park. The remainder of the park boundary is fenced to prevent the elephants from invading farmland. The Kenya Wildlife Service has plans to relocate up to 400 elephants from Shimba to Tsavo East National Park in 2005.

Shimba Hills contains Kenya's only population of Sable Antelope. There are about 100 in the park.

The gates to access the park include kivumoni, shimba Gate,kidongo and the Main gate.

The wildlife at the park comprises of Bush Duiker,  Greater Galago, Vervet Monkey, Red Duiker, white  and black Colobus, Blue Duiker, Waterbuck, Bush pig, Buffalo, Giraffes, Leopard, Genet, Hyenas,the Endangered Sable Antelope, Elephants.

There are over 100 bird species at the reserve these include ; Falcon, Cuckoo,Guinea-fowl, Quail, Blue Sunbird, Uluguru, , Ostrich Eagle, African Hawk and much more.There are also reptiles present at the park ;Geckos,cobraz,pythons and more.

You can set up camp at four different campsites ;These are Sheldrick Falls Walk, Ocean view, Professional and Makadara.You can stay at the Shimba Hills Lodge or at the Sable Bandas which is provided by the Kenya Wildlife Service.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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MARSABIT NATIONAL PARK

The Marsabit National Park is a national park and nature reserve located at Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya, near the town of Marsabit.

It is located 560 km north of Nairobi in Marsabit District in Eastern Province and its reserve is noted for its zebra population and bird sanctuary. There are two  gates i.e Ahmed and Abdul.You can also visit the park by air using the airstrip at Marsabit a flight that takes about two hours and a half from Nairobi.

On the road south from Mount Marsabit to the rocky plains of Shaba, Michael Palin describes passing extraordinary Strangler figs in the mountain-top forest, a stark contrast to the dusty track below which is lined by low, flat-topped acacias. The area is home to Sociable Weaver birds, which can be identified by their neater, tidier nests; Sparrow Weavers, with their "scruffier" nests; and white-bellied turacos.

The main attractions at the park include reticulated giraffe, lion, hyena, Grevy’s zebra, Kirk’s dik-dik, Elephants, buffalo, greater Kudu, baboon and  leopards .

In addition there is magical Lake paradise, raptors, bull elephants,the greater Kudu, Prisrine Forest, Bird life, and the land of the Gofs.

Camping services are also offered:Public camps present include the Ahmed campsite and Abdul campsite.There is a special campsite near Lake Paradise.

You can stay at the Marsabit Lodge which is wonderfully located to give you a very wonderful view of the pa k.

References Wikipedia and KWS .

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ARABUKO SOKOKE NATIONAL PARK

The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is located on the coast of Kenya, 110 km north of Mombassa and is protected as a national Forest Reserve. The Arabuko-Sokoke National Park is only a small portion of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, a few square kilometres in size and is located on the north-western edge of the forest. The National Park was gazetted only in the late 1980s and in fact straddles the Forest Reserve boundary with about 50% lying outside the boundary. This outer section actually lies outside an electric elephant fence installed in 2006/7 and is now fully inhabited by local communities to the extent that there is no sign on the ground to show where the National Park begins or ends.

 The National Park sadly doesn't add any particular protection to the forest which is the largest fragment of coastal forest (420 square km) left in East Africa, and is an area of high endemism, containing endemic mammals, birds and plants. The Reserve, however, is jointly managed by the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Museums of Kenya and the Kenya Forest Research Institute and is one of the better protected forests in Kenya. 

The forest was first protected as a Crown Forest in 1943, and was gazetted in the 1960s. The forest is threatened by the desire for land by local people. Several national and international conservation organisations are working with the Kenya Wildlife Service to protect the park.

The forest contains three forest types, mixed forest, Brachystegia and Cynometra, each of which protects different communities of plants and animals.

The wildlife at the park consist of ;Blotched Genet, Caracal, syke’s monkeys, Bushbuck, African Civet, Sokoke Mongoose, Ader’s Duiker, waterbuck, Golden-rumped Elephant-shrew and syke’s monkeys.Birdspecies are also present.

The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest protects many endemic and near endemic species. The Clarke's Weaver is completely endemic to the forest, while the Emonymous Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, and the Amani Sunbird and Spotted Ground Thrush are found only here and in a forest fragment in Tanzania. The park adjoins Mida Creek, a mangrove forest that is an important shorebird wintering ground, protecting species such as the Terek Sandpiper and the Crab Plover.

The endearing Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, an endemic elephant shrew the size of a rabbit, is the most noticeable of the park's endemic mammals; the Sokoke Bushy-tailed Mongoose and Ader's Duiker (found only here and in Zanzibar) are more elusive. The forest also has Savannah Elephants, African Civets, as well as sokokes, baboons and Vervet Monkeys. The park is also recognized as an outstanding center of amphibian diversity.

Places to stay are a lot around the areas bordering the park.

Lots of activities take place in the park to suit you.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

Lake Nakuru National Park (188 km², 73 mi²), created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, near Nakuru Town. It is best known for its thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink. The number of flamingos on the lake varies with water and food conditions and the best vantage point is from Baboon Cliff. Also of interest is an area of 188 km (116 mi) around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect Rothschild giraffes, black rhinos and white rhinos.

The park has recently been enlarged partly to provide the sanctuary for the black rhino. This undertaking has necessitated a fence - to keep out poachers rather than to restrict the movement of wildlife. The park marches for 12.1 km on the south eastern boundary with the Soysambu conservancy which represents a possible future expansion of habitat for the rhinos and the only remaining wildlife corridor to Lake Naivasha.

The park now (2009) has more than 25 black rhinoceros, one of the largest concentrations in the country, plus around 70 white rhinos. There are also a number of Rothschild's giraffe, again relocated for safety from western Kenya beginning in 1977. Waterbuck are very common and both the Kenyan species are found here. Among the predators are lion, cheetah and leopard, the latter being seen much more frequently in recent times. The park also has large sized pythons that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or dangling from trees.

As well as flamingos, there are myriad other bird species that inhabit the lake and the area surrounding it, such as African fish eagle, goliath heron, hamerkop, pied kingfisher and verreaux eagle.

Lake Nakuru, a small (it varies from 5 to 45 square kilometers) shallow alkaline lake on the southern edge of the town of Nakuru lies about 164 kilometers north of Nairobi.

It can be visited in a day tour from the capital or more likely as part of a circuit taking in the Masai Mara or Lake Baringo and east to Samburu.

 The lake is world famous as the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth - myriads of fuchsia pink flamingos whose numbers are legion, often more than a million - or even two million. They feed on the abundant algae, which thrives in the warm waters. Scientists reckon that the flamingo population at Nakuru consumes about 250,000 kg of algae per hectare of surface area per year.

There are two types of flamingo species: The Lesser flamingo can be distinguished by its deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater, which has a bill with a black tip. The Lesser flamingos are ones that are commonly pictured in documentaries mainly because they are large in number. The number of Flamingos has been decreasing recently, perhaps due to too much tourism, pollution resulting from industries waterworks nearby who dump waste into the waters or simply because of changes in water quality which makes the lake temporarily inhospitable. Usually, the lake recedes during the dry season and floods during the wet season.

The lake is rich in other bird life. There are over 400 resident species on the lake and in the surrounding park. Thousands of both little grebes and white winged black terns are frequently seen as are stilts, avocets, ducks, and in the European winter the migrant waders.

Camping sites are also present;Public camp sites include Bacpakers and Makalia.Special camp sites include reedbuck, Naishi, Chui, Rhino and Soysambu.

You can stay at the Nakuru Lodge or Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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KORA NATIONAL PARK

 Kora National Park is located in Tana River County, Kenya. The park covers an area of 1,788 square kilometres. It is located 125 kilometres east of Mount Kenya. The park was initially gazetted as a nature reserve in 1973. It was gazetted as a national park in 1989, following the murder of George Adamson by poachers.

 Meru National Park and the Tana River mark 65 kilometres of the park's northern boundary. Features of the Tana River include Adamson's Falls, Grand Falls and the Kora rapids. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Mwitamvisi River. The park has several seasonal rivers

The topography of the park slopes gently from an altitude of 490 m in the south-west to an altitude of about 270m in the north-east. The central area of the park is an undulating peneplain. Basement ridges protrude above the surface of the peneplain as rocky inselbergs, domed hills or hard rocks that rise steeply from the surrounding area. The highest of these inselbergs are Mansumbi (488m), Kumbulanwa (450m) and Kora Rock (442m). The cracks and crevices in the inselbergs have become filled with soil, and a wide variety of herbs, shrubs and small wind-blown trees have become established in them.

The vegetation in the park is mostly acacia bushland. There are also riverine forests of doum palm and Tana River poplar.

There is a wide variety of animal species in the park, including the caracal, cheetah, elephant, genet, hippopotamus, spotted and striped hyenas, leopard, lion, serval, wildcat and several types of antelope.

The park had serious problems with poachers in the 1980s and 1990s. George Adamson and two of his assistants were murdered by poachers in the park in 1989. Adamson is buried in the park.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK

Aberdare National Park is located about 100 km north from Nairobi and stretches over a wide variety of terrains because it covers altitudes from about 7,000 feet (2,100 m) to 14,000 feet (4,300 m) above sea level. Established in May 1950, the Aberdare National Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The park contains a wide range of landscapes - from the mountain peaks that rise to 14,000 feet (4,300 m) above sea level, to their deep, v-shaped valleys intersected by streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Moorland, bamboo forests and rainforests are found at lower altitudes.


The Aberdare National Park covers the higher areas of the Aberdare Mountain Range of central Kenya and the Aberdare Salient to their east. Rhino Ark is a charity devoted to the protection of this critical habitat area.

Animals easily observed include the lion, leopard, african elephant, african hunting dog, giant forest hog, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, waterbuck, cape buffalo, suni, side-striped jackal, eland, duikers olive baboon, black and white Colobus monkey, and sykes monkey. Rarer sightings include those of the golden cat and the bongo - an elusive forest antelope that lives in the bamboo forest. Animals like the eland and spotted and melanistic serval cats can be found higher up in the moorlands. The Aberdare National Park also contains a large population of the black rhino. Visitors can also indulge in walking, picnics, in the rivers and camping in the moorlands. Even the bird viewing is rewarding, with over 250 species of birds in the park, including the endangered Aberdare Cisticola, Jackson's Francolin, sparry hawk, goshawks, eagles, sunbirds and plovers. It is a traditional belief of the Kikuyu that the Aberdare Mountain Range, where this park is located, is one of the homes of Ngai, or God.

Visitors to the park can find different types of accommodation according to their taste, ranging from the Treetops tree-house Lodge, to the Ark Lodge- built in the shape of Noah's Ark - and three self-help banda sites, eight special campsites and a public campsite in the moorland. There are also five picnic sites. Both Treetops and Ark provide excellent nighttime wildlife viewing. From here, visitors can observe various animals, such as elephant, buffalo, lion and rhino, which get attracted to the waterholes.

There is also catering by the KWS provided at Fishing lodge house, Tusk camp bandas and Sapper Hut.

Camping services are also present and are made available at Public campsites that are, Reedbuck and Ruhuruini.Special camps present are Queen Beatrice, Muringato, Prince Charles, Nyati and Bongo.

The park also includes two airstrips at Mweiga and Nyeri.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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HELLS GATE NATIONAL PARK

Hell's Gate National Park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It received the name "Hell's Gate" by explorers Fisher and Thomson in 1883.

Hell's Gate National Park covers an area of 68.25 square kilometres (26 sq mi), relatively small by African standards.The park is at 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) above sea level. It is within Nakuru District, near Lake Naivasha and approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Nairobi.The park is located 14 kilometres (9 mi) after the turnoff from the old Nairobi-Naivasha highway, and has a warm and dry climate.Olkaria and Hobley's, two extinct volcanoes located in the park, can be seen as well as obsidian forms from the cool molten lava.Within Hell's Gate is the Hells Gate Gorge, lined with red cliffs which contain two volcanic plugs: Fischer's Tower and Central Tower. Off of Central Tower is a smaller gorge which extends to the south and of which a path descends into hot springs that at some places you can find rocks that will burn you, also there is a fair amount of sulfur you can feel in the water.

There is a wide variety of wildlife in the national park, though many are few in number.Examples of little seen wildlife include lions, leopards, and cheetahs. However, the park has historically been an important home for the rare lammergeyer vultures.There are over 103 species of birds in the park, including vultures, Verreaux's Eagles, Augur Buzzard, and swifts. Hyraxes,African buffalo, zebra, eland, hartebeest, Thomson's gazelle, hyena, and baboons are also common. The park is also home to serval and small numbers of klipspringer antelope and Chanler's mountain reedbuck.

Access to the park through road is through Naivasha Town at a junction 5km south of Naivasha or by air via the airstip at Naivasha.

The main gates are the;Elsa and Olkaria gates.

Camping facilities are available like the Oldubai campsite, Endchata campsite and the Nairburta campsite.Lots of accommodation are available at Naivasha town.

References Wikipedia and KWS

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MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK

Mount Kenya National Park, established in 1949, protects the region surrounding Mount Kenya. Initially it was a forest reserve before being announced as a national park. Currently the national park is within the forest reserve which encircles it. In April 1978 the area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve The national park and the forest reserve, combined, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. 

The Government of Kenya had four reasons for creating a national park on and around Mount Kenya. These were the importance of tourism for the local and national economies, to preserve an area of great scenic beauty, to conserve the biodiversity within the park, and to preserve the water catchment for the surrounding area.

The national park has an area of 715 square kilometers (276 sq mi), most of which is above the 3,000 meters (9,800 ft.) contour line. The forest reserve has an area of 705 square kilometres (272 sq mi). Combined this makes the area of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 1,420 square kilometres (548 sq mi) A small portion of this park's borders near heavy populations have electrified fences to keep the elephants out of the surrounding farmland.  Volcanic sediment in the surrounding region's soil and the huge volume of fresh water coming down the slopes makes the area particularly favorable for agriculture.

At lower altitudes Colobus and other monkeys and Cape Buffalo are prevalent.

The park can be accesed through roads and through an airstrip.By road at about 150 kilometers from Nairobi through  Chogoria on the Embu/Meru road and also through Nyeri-Nanyuki road and also it is 170 kilometers from Nairobi using the Nanyuki/Isiolo road via Sirimon Path.

The park gates include ;kihari,naromoru,mawingu,kamweti,sirimon and chogoria gates.

There are over 100 bird species at Mt Kenya National Park and wildlife there consist of bushbucks, water buck, black fronted duiker, mole rat, tree hyrax, white tailed mongoose, suni,elands and elephants.

You can also visit the park for Mountain climbing,cave exploration,camping and much more.

There are lots of camping facilities offered at the park.

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RUMA NATIONAL PARK

Ruma National Park is dubbed the "Last Retreat of the Roan Antelope", Ruma National Park is the only terrestrial park in Nyanza Province. The park protects the only indigenous population of rare roan antelopes within Kenya. At present, the population is on the verge of extinction with individual populations numbering approximately 40. The park was established in 1966 as Lambwe Valley Game Reserve. It was later renamed “Ruma” after one of Kenya’s most powerful wizard, the much feared Gor Mahia who lived around the park (affiliated to Gor Mahia F.C.). The park is located in the vast Lambwe Valley. The park is assessable and motor-able all year round using three main circuits. However during the rainy season, 4 wheel drive vehicles are advised.

It is the only terrestrial park in Nyanza province. Ruma National Park is situated in Western Kenya near Lake Victoria. The park is located  in Southern Nyanza province in Lambwe Valley 140 km from Kisumu and 425 km west of Nairobi. The Park covers an area of 120 square kilometres.It lies on the floor of the Lambwe Valley, bordered by kanyamwa escarpment, gwassi Hills,ruri hills to the north and Sumba hills.

Game species at Ruma National park range from leopards, roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus), black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), Rothschild's giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi, oribis Ourebia ourebi, cape buffalos, Lelwel hartebeest s (Alcelaphus buselaphus lelwel), olive baboons, Bohor reedbucks (Redunca redunca), hyenas, servals Leptailurus serval, topis Damaliscus korrigum, honey badgers (Mellivora capensis), bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and vervet monkeys among others.

There are Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in the park, making it an Important Bird Area (IBA). The rare intra - African migrant, the blue Swallow ( Hirundo atrocaerulea) is one such avian species.

Picnic sites

The Korlang’o historical picnic site was used as escape route by the Kalenjin people during the British colonial time when they were brought to Lambwe Valley to die during the resistance, as the place was un-inhabited due to tsetse fly and malaria. Twiga picnic site, situated in the middle of the park allows clients to snack with the animals.

Two campsites are available i.e. Nyati (special) campsite and Fig-tree campsite. The Fig-tree campsite is public and a backpacker’s haven.

Other attractions include: team building, meditation, sightseeing, wildlife research and education.

Oribi guest house is a unique self-catering guesthouse allows clients to cherish the park’s tranquility, wilderness, scenic beauty and sunset. Three bedrooms are available and can accommodate a maximum of 6 people. The guest house is eco-friendly powered by solar energy. DStv is also available which is a satellite television service.

Point to Note: Ruma National Park is free of tsetse fly, thanks to a collaboration of KWS, PATTEC and Kenya Veterinary Department.

The park is accessible from two gates, the Main Gate (Kamato Gate) and Nyatoto Gate. Payment is by cash only.

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SIBILOI NATIONAL PARK(cradle of mankind)

Sibiloi National Park (Cradle of mankind) lies on the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. Established in 1973 by the government of Kenya for the protection of wildlife and palaeontological sites there, it covers 1570 km² and is internationally known for its fossils. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as a part of Lake Turkana National Parks.

The park was named for Mount Sibiloi in view at Alia Bay on the south perimeter. There also is located the park headquarters of the Kenya Wildlife Service, the administering authority; camping and short-stay facilities for visitors; and the Koobi Fora Museum. Koobi Fora Spit with the facilities of the Koobi Fora research Center are to the north, but are accessible through guided tours.The most famous remains from the park are the Australopithecus and early homo fossils. These have been removed to Nairobi, but fossil non-humanoids are on display in the museum.

The park is located 800 km north of Nairobi.

The major attractions at the park are; Petrified forests,lots of crocodiles,amazing birdlife, and the origin of man.

• The wildlife at this park consist of; Zebra, Grant’s gazelle, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, topi, greater kudu, hippo, lion, cheetah, leopard, striped hyena and silver-backed jackal, the Lake Turkana also houses the worlds Largest crocodile.

The following are places you can seek accommodation while at the park or outside the park.

Ø  Camping is possible with public campsites at koodi Fora Campsite and the Turkana campsite. There is also the Sunset Strip Camp.

Ø  There is a guesthouse namely the AlliaBay guesthouse that offers a fully furnished guesthouse inside and outside.

Ø  For in park services there is Lobolo Tented Camp and Oasis Lodge.

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OLDONYO SABUK NATIONAL PARK

The name of this park established in 1967, Ol Donyo Sabuk, means large mountain in Maasai language. It is situated 65 km (40 mi) north of Nairobi and has an excellent and clear view of Nairobi and other lowland areas. Wildlife species that can be spotted here include buffalo, colobus monkeys, baboons, bushbuck, impala, duiker, and abundant birdlife. 



Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park is a common one-day trip out of Nairobi only 65 km (40 mi) away. The mountain is the highest peak in the park, covering 20.7 km² (8.0 sq mi). It is particularly attractive for hikers or families wanting some freedom and exercise, outside their vehicles. One approach to the park is via the Fourteen Falls on the Athi River. The park's attraction is its beauty and views of both Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro. It teems with game including baboon, colobus, bushbuck, impala, duiker and many birds. While the name "Ol Donyo Sabuk" is Maasai for 'large mountain', the word Sabuk was mistakenly thought by many writers to mean "buffalo" whereas in fact Maasai call buffalo Olosowan. Today, some 250 buffalos roam the slopes. Kikuyu traditionalists also call the mountain by Kea-Njahe, known as the 'Mountain of the Big Rain', one of Ngai's lesser homes. The solitary mountain rises to 2,145 m (7,037 ft) from an otherwise flat area.  The steep ascent requires a 4WD (4×4) vehicle. Near the summit lie the graves of Sir William Northrup McMillan (1872–1925) and his wife Lady Lucie.

The town is located about 18.5 km (11.5 mi) east-southeast of Thika, along the Thika-Garissa road (A3 road). Driving on Garissa Road from Thika town, there are pineapple plantations on both sides, accentuated by little pockets of blooming eucalyptus. About 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of Thika, there is a junction going south, with Kenya Wildlife Service markings. It will be a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) drive from here to the famous Fourteen Falls, described as one of Kenya's most spectacular landmarks. By the river is Kilimambogo Teachers College, and Immaculate Heart of Mary mission hospital. Donyo Sabuk town is a kilometre (half-mile) away from Fourteen Falls, just across the Athi River, with a junction leading to the game park, and the other to the great house of Donyo Sabuk.

Down past the 7,037 ft (2,145-metre) mountain base sits Donyo Sabuk town, a town that has retained many things that Lord Macmillan bequeathed the area. Here, partying goes on well into the night, and there are a number of "boys’ bands", where the box guitar is still in vogue. This musical town is the hometown of the late Kamba musician Kakai Kilonzo, late legendary Sila of Kilunda fame, and the still-active Gä'thika boys band.

The major attractions att the park include; Fourteen Falls, scenic views of Mt.Kenya  from the summit, abundant forest birds, wildlife watching, An unusual burial site the McMillan grave, Montane landscape,and much more.

Lord William Northrop Macmillan (1872–1925) was a decorated American soldier and knighted by the King of England, even though he was not British. He was a huge man raised in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He arrived in Kenya in 1901 for big game hunting, playing host to former US President Theodore Roosevelt, during his famous 1911 safari at their ranch, Juja Farm (later a popular location for film crews). He and his wife were great philanthropists. They established the MacMillan Library in central Nairobi.

His poor grasp of plain reality was more than compensated for by his exaggerated ambitions and legendary eccentricities. But not until travelling from where Juja town stands today, through open distance all the way around and past Mount Kilimambogo, can someone begin to understand how the unlikely dreams of one man shaped the future of an entire community.

If the facial image retained inside Macmillan Memorial Library, in Nairobi, which has immortalised him, is anything to go by, the man was a serious-looking gentleman. Indeed, he was serious enough to want to own the whole mountain, which, together with the Aberdares (Nyandarua Ranges), was regarded by the Kikuyu and Kamba as God's subsidiary home after Mount Kenya. This is Mount Kilimambogo, which today falls in the middle of Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, another enduring legacy of Lord Macmillan's exploits. Macmillan's farming pursuits stretched from horizon to horizon. The anguish of his crushing failures to father children is equalled only by the indomitable spirit in which he took on one farming failure after the other. But the American stayed on, a craving that he seemed to have passed on to many people who followed in his footsteps.

Further east of Ol-Donyo, the building that was Macmillan's home, a fort by any definition, sits in splendour. More than three-quarters of the house is under key and lock. A part of it houses the Muka Mukuu Co-operative Society, a local failed outfit, managed by elderly locals.

Covering a ground enough for three basketball pitches, the villagers have spent more than a century wondering why a couple that had no children put up such a huge dwelling place. So large is the building that Lord Macmillan and his wife would spend one year in one wing of the house, then migrate to the other in the second half of the year. The locals are yet to figure out how they can benefit from such an obvious tourist attraction site.

It was in this house that Macmillan housed his friend and former American President Theodore Roosevelt, as he wrote his biography. In fact, it was not the first time Roosevelt was spending time there. He had been there before he became president while on a series of hunting trips. Thanks to the ribald gang he joined on the way, his conduct during his stay at Donyo Sabuk almost cost him his presidency. The other prominent person who had stayed in the house was the wartime British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The house also served as a jailhouse during the Second World War. It is also one of Kenya's most famous film crew jaunts. Macmillan's house is a museum now.

The Fourteen Falls area is protected and equipped with a picnic site. It has historical and religious importance both to the residents and Asian immigrants. The Asians use the site for recreation and spiritual rites, disposing of cremated ash in the river in the belief that it will go all the way to India through the Indian Ocean, hence acting as a shrine. Others come for recreation, retaining the Happy Valley theme that was first introduced by Lord Macmillan. Like Lord Macmillan, the adjacent community, some of whom are descendants of the people the adventurer brought here, still farm the land. Fourteen Falls is located just a little bit away from Thika town.

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MOUNT ELGON NATIONAL PARK

Mount Elgon National Park is a national park 140 km North East of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of 1279 km² and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers 1110 km² while the Kenyan part covers 169 km². The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1968,the Ugandan part in 1992 Mount Elgon is an important water catchment for the Nzoia River which flows to Lake Victoria and for the Turkwel River which flows into Lake Turkana.

The climate is moist to moderate dry. Annual rainfall is over 1,270mm. The dry season runs from June to August, and December to March, although it can rain at any time.

Elephants and buffalo can be found on the lower slopes. The park is also home to a variety of small antelope and forest monkeys, including the Black-and-white Colobus and Blue Monkey. Over 300 birds can also be found in the area, including the Lammergeier, African Goshawk, and Baglafecht Weaver. Maathai's Longleg an endangered dragonfly was discovered here in 2000 and named after Nobel Prize winner Wangari Mathaai.

Together with the fauna and flora, the park has a variety of scenery; this includes cliffs, caves, waterfalls, gorges, mesas, calderas, hot springs, and the mountain peaks.The most popular areas are the four explorable, vast caves where frequent night visitors such as elephants and buffaloes come to lick the natural salt found on the cave walls. Kitum cave, with overhanging crystalline walls, enters 200 m into the side of Mt. Elgon.

At the Endebess Bluff there a panoramic view of the areas' escarpments, gorges, mesas, and rivers. The highest peak of Mt. Elgon on the Kenya side, Koitoboss, measures 13,852 ft (4,155 m), and is easily reached by hikers in about two hours from the road's end. Activities include

Ø  Vehicle circuits leading to animal viewing areas, the caves and Koitoboss peak.

Ø  Self-guided walking trails (Ask for the Kitum Cave guide book at the gate)

Ø  Hiking to Endebess Bluff and Koitoboss Peak

Ø  Primate and bird watching

Ø  Cave explorations

Ø  Camping photography

Other attractions include ancient cave paintings near the trailhead at Budadiri, and hot springs in the former volcano's crater which bubble at temperatures of up to 48 °C.

The park is the setting for parts of Richard Preston's book The Hot Zone. Kitum Cave is also a setting in the book. Henry Rider Haggard's well-known novel 'King Solomon's Mines' may have been inspired by the Mt Elgon Caves.

There is a lot of accommodation facilities at the park and its surrounding areas.these include ;

Ø  Public campsites that are; Rongai,Nyati and Chorlim campsites.

Ø  There is a special campsite known as the Saltlick  Campsite.

Ø  Kenya Wildlife Service does catering at Kapkuro Bandas and Koitoboss Guesthouse.

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NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya. Established in 1946, the national park was Kenya's first. It is located approximately 7 kilometres south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city,with an electric fence separating the park's wildlife from the metropolis.Nairobi's skyscrapers can be seen from the park. The proximity of urban and natural environments has caused conflicts between the animals and local people and threatens animals' migration routes.Still, despite its proximity to civilisation and relative small size for an African national park,Nairobi National Park boasts a large and varied wildlife population.Migrating herbivores gather in the park during the dry season, and it is one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries.

The park covers an area of 117.21 square kilometres (28,963 acres) and is small in comparison to most of Africa's national parksThe park's altitude ranges between 1,533 metres (5,030 ft) and 1,760 metres (5,774 ft).It has a dry climate.The park is the only protected part of the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem, making up less than 10% of this ecosystem. The park has a diverse range of habitats and species.  Nairobi Park

The park is located about 7 kilometres (4 mi) from the Nairobi's centre. There is electric fencing around the park's northern, eastern, and western boundaries. Its southern boundary is formed by the Mbagathi River. This boundary is not fenced and is open to the Kitengela Conservation Area (located immediately south of the park) and the Athi-Kapiti plains. There is considerable movement of large ungulate species across this boundary.

The fence that separates the park from the city runs along a high way leaving the airport, this is one fact many Kenyans are proud of – this park is the only natural safari park that has a city scape background that can be seen from almost any part of the park, as seen in the picture of the giraffe and the sky scrapers.

The park's predominant environment is open grass plain with scattered Acacia bushes. The western uplands of the park have highland dry forest with stands of Olea africana, Croton dichogamus, Brachylaena hutchinsii, and Calodendrum. The lower slopes of these areas are grassland. Themeda, Cypress, Digitaria, and Cynodon species are found in these grassland areas. There are also scattered yellow-barked Acacia xanthophloea. There is a riverine forest along the permanent river in the south of the park. There are areas of broken bush and deep rocky valleys and gorges within the park. The species in the valleys are predominantly Acacia and Euphorbia candelabrum. Other tree species include Apodytes dimidiata, Canthium schimperiana, Elaeodendron buchananii, Ficus eriocarpa, Aspilia mossambicensis, Rhus natalensis, and Newtonia species. Several plants that grow on the rocky hillsides are unique to the Nairobi area. These species include Euphorbia brevitorta, Drimia calcarata, and Murdannia clarkeana.

The major wildlife attractions at the park are the Black rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, buffaloes, Giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, elands and with over 400 species of birds sighted Some other attractions at the park  include the Nairobi Safari Walk, the Orphanage, Ivory burning site Monument.. 

Nairobi National Park is the main tourist attraction for visitors to Nairobi. Visitor attractions include the park's diverse bird species, cheetah, hyena, leopard, and lion. Other attractions are the wildebeest and zebra migrations in July and August, the Ivory Burning Site Monument, and the Nairobi Safari Walk and animal orphanage. Inhabitants of Nairobi visit the park and thousands of African children on school field trips visit the park each week.

The park's Wildlife Conservation Education Centre has lectures and video shows about wildlife and guided tours of the park and animal orphanage. These tours are primarily, but not exclusively, to educate schools and local communities. There has been criticism about animals' housing, and they now have more spacious housing in a more natural environment. The Kenya Wildlife Service has created a Safari Walk that highlights the variety of plants and animals that are in Kenya, and how they affect Kenya's population.

Nairobi national park has different gates to access it ,this include;Maasai gate,cheetar gate,Langata gate,Mbagathi Gate,Banda Gate and the main gate at langata road.

Picnic facilities are also present at the park for all kinds of events.

When visiting the park you may carry drinking water,binoculars, camera,sunglasses , sunscreen e.t.c.

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