Kenya is the heart of African Safari country! But Kenya is not just about big game - it also has beautiful,
unspoilt beaches, thriving coral reefs with their
glorious colours, memorable mountain vistas and
ancient Swahili cities.
Think of Kenya and you
think of ...
Safaris,
Elephant, lion, zebra,
giraffe ...
The Masai Mara stretching
to infinity,
Serengeti, the Great Rift Valley
Children barefoot
in the African dust,
Masai resting under
baobab trees
"Revered by
anthropologists as the 'cradle of humanity', Kenya is also the heart of African
safari country, boasting the most diverse collection of wild animals on the
continent. And no matter how many Tarzan movies you've seen, nothing will
prepare you for the annual mass migration of wildebeests."
Beaches, Game Reserves, Coral Reefs, Mountains --- Kenya has them all.
We have a wide range of placements you can do in Kenya, plus
some additional fun specials, too!
Kenya is
not just about big game - it also has beautiful unspoilt
beaches, thriving coral reefs
with their glorious colours,
memorable mountain
vistas and
ancient Swahili cities.It is an
independent republic which lies on the Indian Ocean
coast and forms part of the East African Region. The capital city is
Nairobi, and its’ other major towns are Nakuru and Kisumu and the port of
Mombasa.
The
topography and scenic beauty in Kenya is breath taking, ranging from: the
vast rift Valley to the rolling savannas, the isolation of the desert
regions in the north, the magnificence of the highlands, with it’s central
piece - the world famous glaciated peaks of Mt. Kenya.
Mt Kenya, situated in the Laikipia district, is one of the greatest sites
in Africa. There are many tours which will allow you to climb this
magnificent natural site, and it is only one of the things you will not
want to miss out on!
The
people here are extremely friendly and their hospitality can sometimes be
over whelming. Their culture and traditions date back for centuries, and
with up to 70 different tribal communities you will find plenty to talk
about.
The
transport and open markets are chaotic and summarise Kenya in a word. They
will have you wondering where you are, but also glad to be in one of the
most intriguing and amazing places available to travel to.
"In my spare time I’m to be found mainly at
the beach or in the public pool nearby. I've been going jogging on the
beach in the early mornings (watching the sunrise here is amazing)
before going to work each day. I went down all the craft shop lanes,
down to the very seaweedy and rocky beach near Fort Jesus. I also
travelled down to the bottom of the island to see the baobab forest,
here I sat down for a while drawing and the amount of hellos I got was
astounding. For the first week I was working with the children,
everyday I came up with something new for us to do in the form of art.
It was great fun as I got to act like a kid again and throw paint
around, we managed to make chainmen, paper mache, cards, and envelopes.
I mixed up two bowls of paint and got everyone to dip their hands in and
leave a handprint on the poster - even the adults joined in and now
they're proudly displaying their work."
Kayshani Gibbon
To see what Support
& Backup we provide in our countries,
please click here
.
Care for Kids: Help poor children in Orphanages:
Very worthwhile and satisfying project, plus good for your personal
development and your CV Teaching: to children
from poorer communities. No qualifications required. Sports:
Coach swimming to children who, surprisingly, rarely get the opportunity
to learn how to swim! Medical
Work Experience: An excellent project in a poor hospital that caters
for a very poor community. You'll gain good work experience here. 1-Week
Swahili Language Course: Start your time in Kenya with a 1-week
language course that will intensify your Kenyan adventure!
OPTIONAL EXTRA ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ABOUT MOMBASA
Mombassa's beaches are amongst some of the most picturesque in the
world Street Vendors offering freshly
picked exotic fruits are plentiful in Mombassa
Mombasa is an
island connected to the mainland by bridges and ferries
and the town itself overlooks a fascinating harbour of traditional sailing
dhows alongside commercial shipping. To most
people, Mombasa is a wonderful place, a combination of a tourist resort and
a working city with a throbbing heart and laid-back attitude.
This
sultry area offers interesting things to see, beaches to relax on and
beautiful nature reserves to visit. Mombasa is a bustling city with a
history stretching back to the 12th century. There is a vibrant mixture of
cultures, architecture and entertainment.
The true heart of Mombasa is the exotic old town.
Here the streets are narrow and winding and filled with the heady scent of
spices. Amongst the Arab architecture you'll find women wearing the
traditional bui bui and busy markets
that throb with life and colour, all added to by the wrap-around cloth of
the traditional coastal khanga and kikoy that is
worn by both men and women.
Fort Jesus lies at the edge of the water. This is
an imposing fort that stands watch over the harbor. It
was built in the 16th century and has high gun turrets, battlements
and underground passages.
Modern Mombasa is a city of great diversity and life. This is a town were
all are welcomed and quickly absorbed into this great coastal melting pot.
Mosques, Hindu Temples and Christian churches surround streets that thrive
with a world of cultures.
Outside Mombasa, at the Shimba Hills National
Reserve, you will encounter a lovely forest setting with elephant, leopard
and the rare, sable antelope.
Towards the south, there are a number of beaches and resort hotels. The
beaches are white and sandy with coral reefs which are
heaven to scuba and skin divers. Further south,
on Shimoni and Wasini islands, authentic
Swahili culture survives and you can also visit the
protected marine reserve. North of Mombasa there are also several
beaches like Nyali, Bamburi, Shanzu, Kikambala and Vipingo.
The Maasai Mara is Kenya's
finest wildlife sanctuary. Everything about this reserve is outstanding.
The wildlife is abundant and the gentle rolling grassland ensures that
animals are never out of sight. Birds too are prolific, including migrant
birds and 57 species of birds of prey.The climate is gentle, rarely too hot and well spread rainfall year round.
When it rains, its is almost always in the late afternoon or night.
Between July and October, when the great wildebeest migration is in the
Mara the sensation is unparalleled.
The wildlife is far from being confined within the Reserve boundaries and
an even larger area, generally referred to as the 'dispersal area' extends
north and east of the game Reserve. Maasai live within the dispersal area
with their stock but centuries of close association with the wildlife has
resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and people
live in peace with one another.
The first sight of this park is breathtaking. Here the great herds of
shuffling elephants browse among the rich tree-studded grasslands with an
occasional sighting of a solitary and ill-tempered rhino, Thompson's and
Grant's gazelle, topi and eland and many more species of plains' game
offer a rich choice of food for the dominant predators; lion, leopard and
cheetah which hunt in this pristine wilderness.
In the Mara River, hippo submerge at the approach of a vehicle only to
surface seconds later to snort and grumble their displeasure. But this
richness of fauna, this profusion of winged beauty and the untouched
fragility of the landscape, are all subordinate to the Mara's foremost
attraction, the march of the wildebeest.
Apart from the better known species, there are also other rare ones that
can be added to the visitor's checklist. These include the roan antelope,
the Bat-eared foxes and thousands of topi.The combination of a gentle climate, scenic splendour and untold numbers
of wildlife makes the Masai Mara National Reserve Kenya's most popular
inland destination.
Volunteers with tribal villagers on a
weekend excursion
THE WILDEBEEST
MIGRATION
Kenya's most spectacular annual event is
staged by ........ wildebeests.
Literally millions of these ungainly antelopes
(about 2 million) move en masse in July and August from the Serengeti in
search of fresh grasslands. They head south again
around October. The animals spend the rainy season (March – April) widely
scattered in the area around Ngorongoro in the southern part of the
Serengeti Park (Tanzania). By March this area usually
dries up and huge herds form and the animals start moving north towards Masai
Mara in Kenya. The herds arrive in Masai Mara around
August – September and stay there until November. The
calving starts with the normal time for the rainy season. If the rain is delayed
a large percentage of the calves will die due to lack of food.
The best place to see this
migration is at the Masai Mara National Reserve in
Kenya.Certainly one of nature's greatest
spectacles, the great wildebeest migration can be an awesome sight.Another good time to view the wildebeest is
during the calving season in February.
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