The pride of maasai mara

Nyumbu Camp

Nyumbu Camp is located in the Ngila plains at the edge of Maasai Mara National Reserve overlooking magnificent view of hills and plains in a prime wildlife area (near Talek Gate). Game viewing starts right from the camp itself and the location is ideal to experience the wildebeest migration.

Accommodation

13 spacious canvas – medium sized, fully equipped insect-proof custom designed tents. Bathrooms are en-suite and are equipped with hot shower and flushing toilets. The Nyumbu camp is fully hosted by trained professionals from local community.

Food

The camp provides fresh and wholesome high quality food.

Guides

Safaris are under the guidance of trained Maasai guides

Activities

Game viewing drives in safari equipped vehicles.
Bush picnics.
Sundowners.
Bush breakfast.
Nature Trail walks.
Day-long hikes.
Cultural visits to local Maasai Manyatta.
Hot-Air Balloon Safari.
Flight to Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria for fishing and bird watching and camp fire evenings.

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The charisma of indian ocean

Mombasa is Kenya’s second largest city. It has a long, rich history dating back over 1500 years when it started as a trading port. The Portuguese explorer, Vasco Da Gama, landed here in 1498 and established a Portuguese colony at the coast. Arabs from Oman later took control of the city and left their mark on the region. Mombasa has a rich, vibrant Swahili culture.

There are several 3, 4 and 5 star hotels just to the north and south of Mombasa, known as the north and south coast respectively. These Hotels provide for excellent accommodation, rich cuisine and a host of activities for holiday makers. Day trips around the city of Mombasa and a visit to Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593 are arranged. The town also has several nightclubs and restaurants. Airport: Mombasa’s international airport is known as Moi International Airport and is served by several European and other Regional Airlines.

These are some of our itineraries below ready to make one for you on request.

                         Mombasa Beach Holidays Excursions.

                        FULL-DAY MOMBASA TOWN  

 The day begins with a tour of Mombasa, including a visit to the famous Fort Jesus and the Akamba wood carvers. After lunch at a local restaurant, travel to Haller Park (formerly known as the Bamburi Nature Trail). The area was reclaimed from a coal quarry and turned into a nature trail. Hippos, buffalo, antelope and bird-life may be seen together with fish that is to be found on the Fish Farm within the park.

                        FULL - DAY WASINI ISLAND TOUR

Aday's excursion to one of the neighboring islands. Cross over to Wasini Island in a boat as you are greeted by a host of dolphins. A guided tour of the island follows before a seafood lunch. Afternoon is packed with water games, which include snorkeling, etc. Return to your hotel before sunset.

                      ONE - NIGHT TSAVO EAST - SALT LICK

Depart early for Tsavo East National Park. Arrive for morning game drive. Lunch at Voi Safari Lodge. Afternoon, depart for Taita Hills Lodge, located in a private game ranch. Retire to the stilt-erected Salt Lick Lodge. The watering hole adjacent to the lodge is a hive of activities, with the animals taking turns to drink water. Morning game-drive the following day. Depart for Mombasa after lunch.

                      3 NIGHTS TSAVO EAST - TSAVO WEST - AMBOSELI

Travel to Tsavo West National Park. After two hours from Mombasa, you are already on your morning game drive. Your meals and overnight will be at Kilaguni Lodge. Mzima Springs, the Chyulu Hills and the Shetani Lava Flow, coupled with game, will no doubt make it a worthwhile outing. On the second day you will cross over to the foot of the majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro. During our game drives, you are guaranteed seeing the biggest herds of elephants in the midst of a host of plains game. On the third day you will depart after breakfast and head south to the biggest national park, Tsavo East. Game drives and returns to Mombasa on the fourth day.

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The legend of kenya runners

Kalenjin is an ethnic group of Nilotic origin living in the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. The Kalenjin population is estimated at roughly 4.4 million. Kalenjin is a composite of 10 sub tribes namely: Elgeyo, Endorois, Kipsigis, Marakwet, Nandi, Pokot, Sabaot, Terik, Tugen and Sebei.They are pastoralists and are believed to have migrated to their present location from Sudan 2,000 years ago. 

The social structure of a Kalenjin village is based on the "age-set", like other tribes such as the Masai. Rites of passage, such as initiation and circumcision, take place every seven years. Young people tend to bond with others in their age-set, though the concept is not as important for Kalenjin who live in the cities. Polygamy, or marriages with more than one wife, is allowed in Kalenjin culture but many men find that paying more than one bride price is too costly for them.The Kalenjin have a very strong oral story-telling tradition, consisting of stories, proverbs, riddles and songs. Evenings would often be spent telling stories or singing as a form of both entertainment and education. 

Traditional Kalenjin beliefs are monotheistic, with a belief in a single Deity called Asis (symbolized by the sun). The spirits of dead ancestors were also an important part of Kalenjin religion, as was the practice of sacrifice to the spirits. Modern Kalenjin are almost exclusively Christian, with some being Muslim. Even so, many blend their old beliefs with their new ones. Scientists have long speculated that the Kalenjin people have some kind of genetic predisposition towards distance running, though no concrete evidence has been established. 

The Kalenjin tribe have the unusual notoriety as having a great number of members who excel at marathons and other running competitions. Since Kip Keino won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics for the 1500m race, Kenya has won many  gold medals in distance running. And 75 percent of all top runners in Kenya are from the Kalenjin tribe, including Kip Keino.

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The voice of Africa

African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus Vocifer)

The African Fish Eagle is a large bird; with the female weighing 3.2-3.6 kg (7-8 lbs) is larger than the male, which weighs at 2-2.5 kg (4.4-5.5 lbs). Males usually have a wingspan of about 2 m (6 feet), while females have wingspans of 2.4 m (8 feet). The body length is 63–75 cm (25–30 in). The adult is very distinctive in appearance with a mostly brown body and large, powerful, black wings. The head, breast, and tail of African Fish Eagles are snow white, with the exception of the featherless face, which is yellow. The eyes are dark brown in colour. 

The hook-shaped beak, ideal for a carnivorous lifestyle, is yellow with a black tip. Breeding season for African Fish Eagles is during the dry season, when water levels are low. African Fish Eagles are believed to be monogamous - in other words, they mate for life. Pairs will often maintain two or more nests, which they will frequently re-use. Because nests are re-used and built upon over the years the nests can grow to be quite large, some reaching 2m (six feet) across and 1.2 m (4 feet) deep. The nests are placed in a large tree and built mostly of sticks and other pieces of wood. 

The female lays 1 to 3 eggs, which are primarily white with a few reddish speckles. Incubation is mostly done by the female, but the male will incubate when the female leaves to hunt. Incubation lasts for 42 to 45 days before the chicks hatch. Like other sea eagles, the African Fish Eagle has structures on its toes called spiricules that allows it to grasp fish and other slippery prey.The African Fish Eagle is most frequently seen by the rivers, lakes and coasts of Africa south of the Sahara. It is most frequently seen sitting high in a tall tree from where it has a good view of the stretch of river, lakeshore or coastline which is its territory. 

Near a lake with an abundant food supply, a pair may require less than a km² of water to find enough food, whereas next to a small river, they may require a stretch of 25km or more. The breeding display consists of much soaring and calling with very occasional claw-grappling. Their main food is fish, sometimes dead, but mostly caught live. Catfish and lungfish are among the most frequent. They also catch and eat some water birds, including their young. The birds most frequently taken include ibis, waterfowl such as ducks, small turtles and terrapins, baby crocodiles, Greater Flamingos and Lesser Flamingos, lizards such as Nile Monitors, frogs storks, herons and spoonbills. 

They also eat some carrion. Live caught fish account for about 90% of their diet. Widespread in South Africa, the African Fish Eagle is particularly common in and around some of the Rift Valley lakes. The African Fish Eagle has two distinct calls. When near the nest its call is more of a "quock" sound - the female being, in all cases, a little shriller and less mellow than the male.

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Kenya most attractive bird

The African Jacana (Actophilornis africana). The jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are 30cm long, their dramatic markings include dark, chestnut brown feathers at their wings, and yellow-orange breast feathers. 

The front of the neck is white and the back of the neck and head is glossy black. The bill is bluish-gray, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs and toes are long in relation to the bird’s body size. Eggs are brown in color, glossy, with black scribble-like markings. The African Jacana's feeds on insects, aquatic larvae, small crabs, snails, and seeds and other invertebrates picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface. It lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating nest.

African Jacana prefers lagoons, stagnant pools, weed-fringed dams, swamps, and calm rivers, where there are lily pads and other types of floating vegetation. They are found throughout Zimbabwe, Mozambique, northern Namibia, northern Botswana, and eastern South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.  African Jacanas are sociable birds, often gathering together near swamp-like habitats. African Jacanas are not known to be monogomous in their mating patterns. A mating pair can have up to 30 clutches of eggs each season, resulting from either the same partner or various partners. This species of birds are known as ‘lily walkers’ because their slender legs and toes give them the gracefulness to walk on the lily pads that blanket their wetlands. Due to their smaller size, males are more graceful ‘lily walkers’ than females. The female African Jacana lays several clutches of eggs between December and April, The clutches may be from a variety of mates or only one mate, depending on the circumstances.

The male African Jacana is the main caretaker of the offspring, incubating the eggs and carrying the baby chicks under his wings to keep them warm and dry until the chicks are approximately 18 days old. Snakes, otters, water mongooses and other birds are predators of the African Jacana’s eggs. Since African Jacana’s eggs and young chicks are often preyed upon, the survival of this species is largely dependent on the mother’s ability to lay several clutches of eggs in one season.  

These graceful birds are good divers and strong flyers. They squawk during flight and carry a pitch that resembles a loud, mournful, whining sound. Like most birds, the African Jacana has a keen sense of sight and hearing and relies little on its sense of smell.

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The Cheetah’s most appetizing meal

Thomson Gazelle Gazella thomsonii: named after explorer Joseph Thomson. Thomson gazelle weighs up to 18-27 kilogram’s (35-55) pounds and reaches a height of about 22 to 26 inches at the shoulder is a browser and mostly inhabits the open plains and grassland, Thomson gazelle have a gestation period of about 6 months and  have a longestivity of 11 years in wild. One of the most common gazelles in Africa's savannas and grassland habitats, particularly the Serengeti region of Kenya and Tanzania, the graceful "tommie" is distinguished from the similarly colored.


Grant's gazelle by the dark stripe that runs from the shoulder to the flank and the white patch on the rump as well as its smaller size. Male tommies are larger than females and have strongly ridged horns that curve backwards with the tips curving forward. Female tommies have short, smooth, pencil-slim horns or none at all. The face is accented by a black stripe running down from the eye, a dark marking on the nose and a light patch on the forehead.The strongest tommie males set up territories in home ranges using an exaggerated display posture and marking boundaries with scent gland secretions. 

The females and their immature offspring form groups of 5 to 50 that wander through male territories. A male gazelle will follow a female and sniff their urine to find out if she is in estrous, a process known as flehmen.
If so, he will continue to court and mount her. Female Thomson's gazelles will leave the herd to give birth to single fawns after a 5–6 month gestation period. The relatively silent tommies rely on visual awareness of one another to stay in contact. Tommies breed twice a year. Although births occur throughout the year, they peak right after rainy seasons. After giving birth the mother hides the newborn in the grass, returning several times a day to nurse it. 

With their tawny coloring and ability to remain motionless for long periods, the young are surprisingly invisible when hidden in open country. Tommies congregate with Grant's gazelle and with larger ungulates such as wildebeest and zebra and even cattle, which trample and graze on tall grass, making it easier for the tommie to feed on short grass. Although grasses make up about 90% of the tommie's diet in dry season, it also eats seeds and browses on shrubs. When the tiny new green shoots of grass begin to grow in areas that have been burned, tommies often gather in large numbers to feed. 

The Thomson gazelle is exceptionally alert to sounds and movements, and its fine senses of hearing, sight and smell balance its vulnerability on the open plains.Males vigorously defend their territories. If challenged, the defending male and his rival clash horns with the winner claiming the territory. Tommies are often found on ranches and farmlands after many animals have left, subsisting on the short grasses exposed by the cattle. There, they are often shot or snared for the pot. with the most predators being lions, cheetahs, baboons, leopard, hunting dog and hyenas.

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The most dreamy mammal on earth

The warthog Scientific Name: Phacochoerus aethiopicus: swahili : Ngiri Weighs about 60- 120 kilos (120 to 250 pounds) and have a gestation period of 175 days ,attaining a height of about 30 inches at the shoulder, is a grazer . The warthog is neither graceful nor beautiful, warthogs are nonetheless remarkable animals. They are found in most of Africa south of the Sahara and are widely distributed in Ethiopia, Somalia, kenya Uganda and tanzania. They are the only pigs able to live in areas without water for several months of the year. 

The warthog is a tough, sturdy animal. Males weigh 20 to 50 pounds more than females, but both are distinguished by disproportionately large heads and “warts”—thick protective pads that appear on both sides of the head. The warthog's large tusks are unusual: The two upper ones emerge from the sides of the snout to form a semicircle; the lower tusks at the base of the uppers are worn to a sharp cutting edge.

The long tail ends with a tuft of bristles. 

The warthog characteristically carries its tail upright when it runs, the tuft waving like a tiny flag. Warthogs are not territorial but instead occupy a home range.Warthogs live in groups called sounders. Females live in sounders with their young and with other females. Sometimes two families, often of related females, will join together. Warthogs sleep and rest in holes.

Although they can excavate, warthogs normally use those dug by other animals, like aardvarks. Before giving birth to a new litter, the female chases away the litter she has been raising and secludes herself. These juveniles may join up with another solitary female for a short time before they go on their own. Female warthogs only have four teats, so litter sizes usually are confined to four young. 

Each piglet has its "own" teat and suckles exclusively from it. Even if one piglet dies, the others do not suckle from the available teat. The warthog is mainly a grazer and has adapted an interesting practice of kneeling on its calloused, hairy, padded knees to eat short grass. Using its snout and tusks, it also digs for bulbs, tubers and roots during the dry season. They may eat earthworms and other small invertebrates during the wet season.

The warthog has poor vision (though better than most other African wild pigs), but its senses of smell and hearing are good.When alarmed, the warthog grunts or snorts, lowers its mane, flattens its ears and bolts for underground cover. Warthogs are  omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, eggs and carrion.the diet is seasonably variable, depending on availability of different food items. 

During the wet seasons warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry seasons they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes and nutritious root. Although capable of fighting, with males aggressively fighting each other during mating season, a primary defence is to flee by means of fast sprinting. The main warthog predators are humans, lions, leopards, crocodiles, and hyenas. Cheetahs are also capable of catching small warthogs.

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