MAKINDU SIKH TEMPLE

The Makindu sikh temple has existed since 1926.  It is located on the Mombasa –

Nairobi Highway

.  From the main road, the Sikh temple looks like a Hindu or Islam mosque.  It origins stem from the early 1900s when many Sikhs come to Kenya to build the railway from Mombasa to Port Florence (Kisumu).

The Makindu Gurdwara  is one of the most beautiful outside India and the envy of many outside Kenya.  Opened 24 hours a day, it offers accommodation for approximately 350 people in full capacity, but only for a maximum of two nights.  They also offer food and drinks and wastage is frowned upon.  The place is run by 10 priests and 50 local people who assist in cooking and cleaning.  Located 200kms from Nairobi the Gurdwara is supported by donations.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday are prayer days.  The 1430 page Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Bible is read throughout the three days in shifts by the priests.

Unlike most religious texts the Granth is exclusively poetic.  Anyone interested in attending the prayer sessions can as long as the person follows their rules.   Shoes are not allowed in the prayer room and everyone has to cover their heads with a scarf, which is available on request.  Sikhchism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind, social justice and denounces superstitions and blind rituals.

TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

Some pleasures have no comparison,  No equal.  The Tsavo West National Park is one such place.  It has its own identity, a place of great contrasts.  You will see dome palms, expanses of rich ochre earth Savannah stretching to the distant horizon, vast plains, brush, and oases of acacia trees, scrub land, and lava basins and in the near distance the Chyulu range

Nestled within a surprisingly lush patch of emerald green acacia trees and centered on a clear spring fed pool is the Finch Hattons Safari camp. Named after the aristocrat who introduced royalty to the bush, Finch Hattons Tented Lodge is largely considered one of the classiest and most accomplished of Kenya's tented camps:  The camp lies amidst a woody, thorny acacia corpse blending in with the lava rock strewn surroundings.  The dining terrace overlooks grassy green grounds and a pool where hippos wallow by day and night.  Take a late afternoon game drive in one of the camps comfy land rovers.  On one of the river banks you will definitely see crocodiles laying basking.  Their unblinking cold reptilian eyes visibly assessing the possibility of a meal.  You will see small herds of antelope, zebra and gazelles.  Elephants drenched in the scarlet ochre dust toss over each other in an effort to keep cool in the searing sun.  Warthog families pass with their tails high in defense against the flies.

Terrace at Finch Hatton

 

In the early evening drive, for the summit known as poacher’s look out, where finch Hattons sets up wine and canopies sundowner for the guest.  The vast panorama of Tsavo is spread below, reaching as far as Mt. Kilimanjaro to the distance, the Mawenzi and Kibo peaks clearly visible.You will feel at loss having left behind, a rich enchantment, and modest but impeccable taste, the harmony of the nature that so deeply pleases the eye and frees the soul.

AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Amboseli is a place of stark contrast, in dry season volcanic dust churns into spectacular whirlwinds.  It is a park romanticized by travelers the world over as Kilimanjaro’s royal court.  Despite its sometimes dry and dusty appearance, it has an endless water supply filtered by thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Kilimanjaro’s ice cap.  These underground streams converge into two clear water springs in the heart of the park.  The park owes its magic to glistening glaciers of Kilimanjaro which melt and flow through parallel volcanic rocks to gush out pure and clean water in the Amboseli swamps

 

Because Amboseli’s swamps are the only permanent source of water in the basin, they are the nucleus of this relatively and ecosystem and the drinking pot for man, cattle and wild animals during the dry season.  Wild animals like cattle remain an integral part of the Maasai solid process and now bring in foreign currency.

 

In the wet season, wild animals make onto the drier and higher areas, which are inhibited by the Maasai.  It is little wonder that since the 80’s Amboseli has been designated as a ‘man and biosphere reserve’.  The ecosystem interlinked, that conservation here has been achieved through a history of sustainable land use practices.

 

It is also in this area that income generating projects such as Kimana wildlife sanctuary and community run campsites are located.  The park is vast, the expanse only interrupted by the occasional trumpeting of elephants.

 

 

MT. KENYA

Africa’s second highest mountain, after Mt. Kilimanjaro .  This extinct volcano is estimated to be 2.5 million years old, while Kilimanjaro is 75, 000 years old.  Time has taken its toll on the former reducing the peak from 6,500 metres to 5199 metres today, while nature’s untiring eroding agents long ago eroded the crater.

Mt. Kenya is located 180 kilometres North of Nairobi within the Mount Kenya National Park.  The park, a protected area 3,200 metres above sea level was established in 1949 and covers an area of 715 sq km.  Surrounded by the Mt. Kenya National Reserve, the park is simultaneously a world heritage site and international biosphere reserve.

Mt.  Kenya is considered more <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-9770610857642756"

     crossorigin="anonymous"></script> technically challenging than the higher Mt. Kilimanjaro (5894m) but those who make it to the top experience some of Africa ’s finest rock and ice climbing.  Halford Mackinder planned and led the first expedition on record to reach the summit in 1899.  His trip was successful and they discovered many animal and plant species then unknown in Europe .  A new species of eagle owl was first recorded by these climbers and subsequently named after Mackinder.

Mt.  Kenya lies on the equator; you will find snow, ice and even glaciers on it.  However, a century since Mackinder’s conquest, the number of glaciers has dropped from 18 to only seven today.  Lewis glacier, the largest is at 4,600m.  The continued retreat of the glaciers is expected to affect downstream ecosystems and the mountain scenic appeal.  Mt. Kenya is the source of River Tana and was formerly regarded as an inexhaustible water fountain.  Not any more thanks to loss of glaciers and forest cover.  How to save the forest encircling Mount Kenya has long engaged environmentalist Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel peace prize winner, who was born on the mountains lower slopes.

NORFOLK HOTEL KENYA

What does the former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan have in common with the emperor of Japan, the British Royal Family, former U.S.A president Teddy Roosevelt, Mick Jagger, Denzel Washington, Harry Belafonte and Ernest Hemingway?  Well the answer is simple.  They all at one point in the last 100 years stayed at the famous Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi.  Also on that list is Hollywood Star Ralph Fiennes and his crew who recently shot the movie constant Garderner.

Since Christmas Day in 1904, in the new vast and arid lands of Kenya, the Norfolk Hotel, with its cool resting rooms and hot and cold running water, had been civilization in the bush.  With nothing in front of it except the Papyrus Swamp full of frogs and barren open land behind it, the white railings of hotel’s perimeter spelt civilization and comfort for those early arrivals.  One of the most memorable Patrons, former U.S President Teddy Roosevelt launched his first great safari at the Norfolk in 1909.   Legend has it he stepped off the front steps of the hotel and into marshy swamp, where he and his passé stuck for hours. 

The Norfolk has come of age and is opposite the famous Kenya National Theatre, University of Nairobi and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.  It is a few minutes walk to the city centre, the museum and the famous Maasai Market.  With the metropolitan setting the menu is sprinkled with international foods.   The Norfolk is one of the few places in the world that has cheated time and remained for over a century to host another generation of Hollywood stars, presidents, music legends, royalty and authors.

NORFORK AFTER RENOVATIONS

Serengeti shall never Die

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara within Tanzania's famed Northern Safari Circuit. It is home to the famous volcanic Ngorongoro Crater, which is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The Crater (610 metres deep and 260 km squared) is a microcosm of Tanzania's safari scenery, big game viewing and the world famous flamingos in Ngorongoro.

Ngorongoro, an 8,300 sq km stretch that boasts a wonderful blend of landscape, wildlife, people and archaeological sites.  With magical setting and abundant wildlife, the Ngorongoro crater is a spectacle to behold.

 There are more than 30,000 animals and 350 bird species.  Lions, black rhinos, wild beasts, elephants, hyenas and jackals comb the wild as hippos and pink flamingoes take the pride of place in the countless parks and small lakes.  On the floor of the crater more than 100 bird species reside and hippos graze gracefully around the soda lake.  The visit cannot be complete without a visit to the grave of Michael Grzimck whose plane crashed in the crater in January 1959.  On the fateful day, Michael had been flying alone when he struck a vulture in mid flight With the ailerons and flaps jammed, the plane went into a dive. He was buried on the lip of the crater.  The epitaph on his gravestone reads “11.4.1934 to 10.1.1959 "He gave all he possessed for the wild animals of Africa, including his life." 

LEGENDS OF WASINI ISLANDS KENYA

The islands of Wasini Stands like an open book on the waters.  From the islands one can see the faint outline of the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania.  History has it, that five centuries ago the Shirazi sailed across the Red Sea in Seven dhows led by Hassan Bin Ali from Persia today known as Iran.  Some sailed further north to Lamu while others sailed to Zanzibar and one dhow sailed to Mombasa.

Mkwiro means “the stick that beat the drum” and there’s a legend to it.  On the dhow that docked at Mombasa was a king’s daughter who settled in the Diani., Msambweni area on the south coast.  All this is documented in a mosque near the village of  Tumbe.  Later the Shirazi moved along the Coast and reached Wasini Island.  However the Vumbe were jealous of their new neighbors, who were master drum beaters and possessed magical drum beats.

The Vumbe decided to attack the Shirazi and steal their drums.  The best attack plan was to marry a Shirazi girl and used  her to “cry wolf”.  Mwauzi Tumbe agreed to this plan and on the first day she screamed war! War! And the Shirazi came out but nothing.  Second time she tried it the Shirazi came out but nothing.  On the third time however the Vumbe did indeed attack the Shirazi carrying away the drums.  The story goes on to say that Mwauzi Tumbe was ostracized by both tribes and died making the gods unhappy.

The tiny island of Kisite where no one lives but happens to be the largest breeding colony of Terns the two Mpunguti Islands are also uninhabited.  Not far from Wasini is the Islands of  Funzi island with turtle nestling beaches.