sirikwa

Barnley’s Guest House lies on small hill just off the kitale Kapengura Road.  Once a large farm the house and grounds now comprise two hectares including attractive campsite adjoining the house.  A family business run by Jane, Julia and Richard Barnley, it operates as Sirikwa Safaris. <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-9770610857642756"

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Guests can go on guided ornithological outings to the nearby Saiwa Swamp, the imposing Cherangani Hills above them, and down into the hot Kerio Valley 900 metres below.  The farmhouse 50 years old has two double guest bedrooms, while the grounds hold one single and two double fully equipped tents.  The campsite has flush toilets, hot water showers and ample washing facilities.  An open-sided dining Banda seats 15 easily.

 

Catering is normally for in-house guests and optional for campers.  With prior notice, campers can be served breakfast and dinner in the band (cottage).  A large variety of soft and alcoholic drinks are available. It is a lovely place to stay, compact and comfortable with striking birdlife in the garden.  By a warm evening fire in the homely sitting room, you can relax and enjoy the delicious food. If you camp, wake to an exceptional morning chorus of bird song. Saiwa Swamp National Park 12 kms back towards Kitale is one of the main attractions in this area.  The park is home to some 307 species of birds and offers a chance to sight the rare sitatunga antelope, the endangered de Brassa monkey and many smaller mammals such as otters serval cat and duiker live there.

MERU NATIONAL PARK

As you skirt your way through Mount Kenya to the East via Embu and Meru, you will come across a hidden gem, tucked away in Meru and known to the adventurers few.  It is a lovely place to visit in these mountains.  Meru National Park is one of Africa’s most beautiful parks though little visited due to a history of insecurity.  Spirited rehabilitation by the Kenya Wildlife Service and partners over the last couple of years has seen the park become more accessible.

The environment is secure, several wildlife species have been restocked, and it is a favorite safari destination for discerning travelers and wildlife for professionals.  Meru Park vegetation is magnificent.  It is typical Savannah, hot and dry but with plenty of water in the form of fourteen permanent rivers flowing through the park.  This combination breeds a unique vegetation formation that makes the park a haven for photographic safaris. <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-9770610857642756"

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The park also boasts the Big Five.  It also hosts other northern range wildlife like the Grevy zebra, Beisa oryx, the reticulated giraffe and the lesser kudu.  Hippos and Nile crocodiles  also inhibit the rivers.  Meru’s landscape is made even more spectacular by the numerous rocky outcrops that form habitats for pythons, baboons and leopards.  It is here where Joy and George Adamson released their most famous lioness, Elsa, back into the wild.  The tales are told in the book and film Born Free.  Accommodation ranges form the posh Elsa Kopje tented camp; KWS managed Bandas to several campsites.

ELSA KOPJE COTTAGE

TIMBALI SWAZILAND

Timbali Lodge was founded by the late Pat Forsyth Thompson and his wife, Joy in 1968. Having spent many years as a prisoner of war in World War II, Pat’s indomitable spirit held fast to the mindset of always finding the good in a difficult situation. After the,war,Pat dedicated his life to serving the Swazi nation which he deeply loved and respected.Inaddition to undertaking a number of assignments for the late, great King Sobhusa II,hewas also instrumental in the creation of Malolotja Nature Reserve and the establishment of the Swaziland National Trust.  In the early 1970’s Timbali was a humble caravan park, but over time it has grown to a sunny haven for tourists, visiting business people and local alike.

Timbali lodge is set in a lush garden of indigenous trees and shrubs and the accommodation options range form luxury rooms with showers to executive suites with showers and spa baths.  All the rooms are furnished with fridges and modernities like telephones, internet links and DSTV.  A new multi functional thatched boma, which can take up to 200 people, is open adding an exciting dimension to the lodge. The boma hosts a variety of functions cabaret, theatre, dance, weddings and lavish feasts.  The chef at Timbali specializes in Afro/middle Eastern fusion and traditional dishes and meals for special needs may be ordered. The creation of the Boma restaurant is dedicated to this remarkable man and the inspiration he brought to those fotunate enough to cross his path. For those keen on discovering Swaziland, the chef can prepare a picnic basket or stock up on treats from the on-side coffee shop and delicatessen make a point of visiting the tantalizing Timbali.

MT. KILIMANJARO

 

Tanzania has some of the most spectacular wildlife in the world.  From the great migration to buffalo grazing at the base of the Ngorongoro crater, no one who has been on safari in Tanzania will ever forget it. Tanzania is also the land of pristine rainforest, spectacular mountains and unspoilt coral reefs.  There is more to discover in the heartbeat of Africa than large carnivores.

 

Like large mountains, for instance, Kilimanjaro rises 5,896m above sea level and is Africa ’s highest peak.  In 2 AD Ptolemy, the Greek astronomer wrote of a mysterious lands to the south of Somalia that contained ‘man eating barbarians’ and ‘ a great snow capped mountain’  The man eating barbarians were unaccounted for, but the local Chagga people called the cloud shrouded mountain ‘ Kilema Kyaro’ meaning ‘that which cannot be conquered’ or ‘that which makes a journey impossible’.

 

Well  should you decide to ascend the mountain you will keep having flashbacks of the Lord of the Rings where Frodo and Sam were climbing Mount Doom .  You will imagine, look and smell like those struggling hobbits, equally small and with feet as equally large and cumbersome.  Adding to a growing sense of surrealism is the rapid change of scenery.  Kilimanjaro has five ecosystems from foothill to summit.  After farmland you enter into rainforest.  The rich damp smell gives way to a drier, earthier fragrance as you pass into heath.  Low lying shrub is interspersed with towering plants like the yellow Senecio flower which grows to five meters!

LAKE NAKURU

Lake Nakuru

requires less introduction as it yields you with one of Kenya’s best known images.  It is perhaps Kenya’s most popular lake internationally and has variously been described as the most fabulous ornithological spectacle in the world.  The lake is within the most nationally visited park; the Lake Nakuru National Park.  So popular is the park that perhaps we forget it owes its existence to the lake and not the other way round.

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Lake Nakuru is a shallow, strongly alkaline lake and was gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960.  It is reputed to have the highest densities and diversity of bird species in the world, the foremost being the flamingo.  The lake can support up to 1.5 million flamingos during the prime season.

The average flamingo population has been between 500,000 to 900,000 birds, which is a breathtaking sight for visitors.  They move back and forth feeding and occasionally take to flight, filling the sky with colour.  Other common birds include the pelicans, plovers, and gulls that make a tour along the shoreline quite relaxing.  Over 400 migratory birds from around the world stop by at the lake.

Zebras, white rhinos and gazelles browse on the lake fringes.  Other common species are the water bucks mostly found on the eastern shoreline.  A visit to the lake early in the morning is advisable, as you are likely to see hippos and hyenas that prey on weak birds along the shoreline.   It is a spectacular view to be remembered.

Nairobi

Nairobi is  a modern commercial center and  Kenya’s capital which  is home to a fascinating variety of people the stimulating mix of cultures means that there is a buzz about the place. The city is the financial and business center of East Africa, is an often frantic mix of businessmen, diplomats, tourists and locals. The word Nairobi is from the Masai word “Nyarobe” meaning a place of cool waters.  Nairobi is the only city in the world to have a national park.  The famous, Nairobi National Park .  Should one decide to visit this city, it has a lot to offer. Off the Langata Road you find Bomas of Kenya where traditional dances of every tribe in Kenya are show cased every day, 2 kilometers ahead lies the Mamba Village and Ostrich Park .  Mamba is a Swahili term for crocodile.  Feeding time is quite a spectacle as you watch the professional attendants walk into the crocodile’s enclosures to toss chunks of meat into the reptiles eagerly awaiting open jaws.

Visitors can also go fishing in the man made lake and any boat rider who catches fish in the lake is allowed to keep them.  A walk across the bridge over the lake leads you to the ostrich resort where the tall feathered creatures approach the wooden fence to gape at visitors with curious large eyes.  There is also a lounge and restaurant at the Mamba Village is open every day from 10 am until 5.30 pm and charges for the crocodile farm and ostrich farm are separate.  This is one place that children and grown ups are always thrilled to watch the families of crocodiles languidly while away the day beside their shallow pools.

 

Nightlife in Nairobi is vibrant. This city  has a number of lively venues for drinking and dancing and include some of East Africa’s busiest clubs and best bars.

Tourists must also experience the exotic cuisine of the city. The residents of Nairobi are quite fun-loving and they love to attend mid-night parties. Nairobi Nightlife has something for everybody theaters, casinos, restaurants, clubs and bars. Several hotels have clubs and bars on their premises making it easy for their guests to enjoy the nightlife. Some famous Nairobi clubs and bars are: Florida 2000 Discotheque, Casablanca, New Florida Nightclub, Pango F3, Simba Saloon,  Tamasha, Rafikis ,Zanze Bar Red Tape and Black Diamond in Westlands. Girls And prostitutes are all over in the bars and clubs. New Florida club in downtown Nairobi is guaranteed to send you off with a smile. In this club you will even find Nairobi girls from rich families that just looking for a good time.Best place to look for a Nairobi prostitutes is Nairobi streets at night. Drive along koinange street in downtown you will see a parade of all sizes.

LAKE SIDE TOURIST LODGE

Started in 1994 as a private enterprise, lake side tourist lodge is one of the most prestigious hotels located 15 km from Naivasha town, along Moi Avenue, Nakuru, Maai-Mahiu Highway.  It is easily accessible by a cab or to the locals, a motorbike.

The physical outlook of the hotel is one to leave you amazed.  Naivasha is known for its aridity, but this atmosphere changes once you get to the entrance o the hotel.  The beautiful tall palm trees provide an oceanic atmosphere while carvings of a lion and a cheetah give that Jurassic feeling.

The hotel hosts conference facilities with two conference halls ranging from the number of participants.  They also offer accommodation for single,twin and double rooms.

While staying at Lakeside, either as a visitor or on official business, one can visit an art gallery which is right next to it, or even work out in the gymnasium which is intact with the hotel.

For adventure, one can catch a great view of the train which comes from the metropolitan station in the neighbouring towns, and passes right in front of the hotel at different time intervals.

Spending nights at the hotel gives you the pleasure of enjoying ala carte services form a well set dinner table, and also grab a drink and kick back to a game of soccer form the D.S.T.V.  After which one is booked into the clean  self contained rooms,  with balconies to catch some fresh air, or to even glare at the  lit town. 

http://lakesidetouristlodge.com