Kenya!

Wow. My Africa trip is already over. I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, I didn't feel like I had the appropriate energy to do so. I kind of just slid into bed and laid there. I had a short day today because I still have to pack all my things since I am leaving early tomorrow morning. Also I had to drive all the way from Amboseli to Nairobi, which is about 160 miles away. So, I unfortunately did not have very much time in Kenya. Next time I'll be sure to plan my time better.

In Kenya, I didn't do very much city roaming as I did in Uganda and especially Ethiopia. Here, I just mainly looked around some of the National Parks here in Nairobi and Kenya.

Yesterday, I woke up and I slept very soundly. I woke up pretty early, because I knew that my schedule was going to be tight if I desired to see a lot of animals and other wildlife in these national parks.

I checked out of the hotel, and I drove around until I got near some of the tribes. In Kenya, there are about forty-two tribes, and all tribes have their strict but separate rules/regulations. Examples of these are the Kikuyu, Masai, Swahili, Kamba, and Luo tribes. I briefly visited the Luo tribe, but there is a diverse culture among all of the tribes.

When I got to one of their villages, they were in the middle of a song. A young boy who could speak comprehendable English patiently explained to me that they were singing a style of music called Benga music. I cannot really describe it, but it's like sub singing with and electric bass guitar, originally an eight-stringed lyrce called the nyatiti. I can't tell if I like it or not, its just not appealing to me. Here are some of the children that I saw there!


I applauded when they finished, and I left. Onto my next stop, Lake Nakuru National Park!

I had to drive about one hundred miles to get there. When I got there, the scene was fabulous. I saw hundreds and hundreds of pink flamingos all literally standing on the water.


Pretty amazing, huh? Lake Nakuru National Park (declared a National Park in 1961) is about 180 square kilometers. Besides flamingos, I also saw warthogs, waterbuck, and impala. This place has also been one of the world's "most spectacular sites."

I spent a really long time at the places just staring around at the wildlife. It was just incredible.

Finally, I left and drove toward Amboseli, until I got to the Amboseli Serena Lodge, when it was getting really late so I just hopped into bed and slept, which is why I didn't update yesterday. The hotel was average, I'd say it was my least favorite hotel out of the four. However, it gave me a pretty strong wildlife feel of the Amboseli area.

The next morning I woke up at around nine, and got at the Amboseli National Park at around 10:30. We went on a tour, looking at the animals surrounding us. The Amboseli National park is in the Loitoktok district, Rift Valley. Mainly dried-up savannah grasslands, it is 151 sq miles just the park alone. The whole ecosystem is over three thousand square miles. It has also been "voted" the best place in Africa to view elephants close-up, and is the third most visited game area in Kenya.

After I left the Amboseli National Park, I drove about 160 miles to Nairobi. During this time, I looked up some of the history for this country.

It is believed that people first lived in Kenya two million years ago. In the 700s, Arab seafarers established settlements near Kenya. In the 1500s, the land was re-controlled by the Portuguese, and in 1890, Britain took over Kenya.

As you can see, Kenya, like Uganda, was a country that was picked on more than the other countries because of how weak it was. Finally, in 1963, they regained their independence. A man named Jomo Kenyatta became the first president of Kenya.

A man named Daniel arap Moi took over. He was a poor country leader and Kenya did not flourish with him as president. Riots and demonstrations were given to allow more than one party elections to occur.

In 1995, Moi began arresting anyone who insulted him in any way. This shows how much he wanted to be ruler of the country, instead of what was best for the country itself. Several years later, severe flooding destroyed much, so diseases such as malaria and cholera were extremely powerful. In 2002, a new president was elected named Mwai Kibaki.

That's about all the information that I got, but I'm sure many more things happened. This just kind of shows the nation's political struggle with their leaders.

Anyway, after I got to Nairobi, I rechecked into the Hilton, and now, here I am, typing this up and packing for my early flight tomorrow.

I think I'll have one more post like tomorrow or something and that'll be it for this safari experience.