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ABOUT KENYA

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,
  • Nairobi, Robert Ruark,
  • 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.

"I usually spend the weekends with the other volunteers.  We either travel around, seeing the sights, or we go to the beach.  If it weren’t for the beach boys (harassing you for money) it would be idyllic – white sands, palm trees, clear blue sea. I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences so far, from seeing a whale and her calf, and snorkeling over a coral reef, to attending a “goat-party” (which involved slaughtering and skinning the goat before eating it!).  Future plans include going on a safari to Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara. I can’t wait!!"  Olivia Raven on her placement with Travellers.

To see what Support & Backup we provide in our countries, please click here

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About Kenya and the voluntary projects available in teaching, work experience, conservation, sports and care that you can do there
About Kenya and the excellent voluntary projects available in Care, Teaching, Work Experience, Sports and more

PROJECTS AVAILABLE IN KENYA

Care for Kids: Help poor children in Orphanages: Very worthwhile and satisfying project in the beautiful resort of Diani.!

Teaching: All types of teaching projects, from English to Music and Drama, Maths to IT. No qualifications required.

 Sports: There are different sports projects to choose from, including football, swimming, volleyball and Total Sports, where you can coach a variety of sports.

 Social Work with Orphanages and Street People: in the cosmopolitan sea port of Mombasa. Worthwhile and good for your personal development and your CV

 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 youir time in Kenya with a 1-week language course that will intensify your Kenyan adventure!

 Veterinary Work Experience: Work under the auspices of the Kenya Wildlife Service Veterinary Team

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.

Photos of Mombasa

ABOUT NAIROBI


Street sellers on the outskirts of Nairobi

Nairobi is Kenya's principal economic, administrative, and cultural centre and is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Africa. Currently population is just over a million and a half.

Walking around Nairobi is fascinating. It has an atmosphere of its own - cheerful, warm, and very African. The streets are pretty dusty and even in the heart of the city there are cattle and goats grazing on the grass verges ... it's disconcerting to a visitor initially, but it's all part of the city's character and you soon come to expect it.

The Kenyatta International Conference Centre is a symbol of modern progress in Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. Tourists can really take a walk on the wild side here. Right in the middle of the city is a 44-square mile park, the Nairobi National Park, filled with rhinos, cheetahs and other wild animals! The Park is a major tourist attraction.

Other points of interest include the National Museum of Kenya, known for a display on early humans in Africa; the Parliament buildings; the law courts; City Hall; McMillan Memorial Library; the busy Municipal Market and nearby bazaar; the Kenya National Theatre; and Sorsbie Art Gallery. There are numerous supermarkets and  several new shopping malls within the city centre as well as in the suburbs.

Located in an area once frequented by the pastoral Masai, Nairobi was founded in the late 1890s as a British railroad camp on the Mombasa-to-Uganda railroad. From 1899 to 1905 it served as a British provincial capital. In 1905 the city became the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate (called Kenya Colony from 1920 to 1963). In 1963 Nairobi became the capital of independent Kenya and annexed neighboring areas for future growth. Population (1990) 1,504,900.

Nairobi's most famous attraction is the Nairobi National Park with it's famous animal orphanage. Another fascinating place to visit that is very close to Nairobi is the Giraffe Centre and Giraffe Manor, where a herd of rare Rothschild's giraffe lives protected. The setting is in a beautiful garden and you can pat the animals from a raised platform - a rare experience!

Photos of Nairobi

THE MASAI MARA
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.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:


A Volunteer at the Giraffe Park

Another place you may want to visit in Kenya is Eldoret.

Eldoret is a lovely, typically African city of about 500,000 people, located on the Equator. The atmosphere in the town is quite special and a visit there would be well worth the trip. It's close to the Great Rift Valley as well, which makes it doubly attractive. Eldoret is approx. 6,900 feet above sea level, generally hot during the day and pleasantly cool in the evenings.

One of the more fascinating sights in Eldoret is the Jua Kali (means 'hot sun'). This is a 'workshop' area where entrepreneurial types recycle scrap metal, tyres (and anything else they can find) into usable equipment, such as watering cans, shoes, buckets, etc.  It's a bustling cacophony of sound and a great experience to walk around and chat to the locals while chewing on a stick of sugar cane! What these people can do with discarded junk is amazing.

  • Full country name: Republic of Kenya
  • Area: 583,000 sq km
  • Population: 30,339,770
  • Capital city: Nairobi
  • People: 22% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 12% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba, 6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 16% other
  • Languages: English, Swahili, indigenous.
  • Religion: 40% Protestant, 36% Roman Catholic, 16% Muslim, 6% Animist
  • Government: Republic (multiparty state)
  • President: Daniel arap Moi (but elections are being held at the time of writing (December 2002) and Kenya will have a new President.
  • GDP: US$43.9 billion
  • GDP per head: US$1550
  • Annual growth: 1.6%
  • Inflation: 2.5%
  • Major industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural processing, oil refining, cement, tourism
  • Major trading partners: Uganda, Tanzania, UK, Germany, UAE, South Africa

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