News from Gamewatchers Safaris

We are now coming to the end of our busy summer peak season and have had some great feedback from our many visitors who have been on safari with us in the last three months. The wildebeest migration in the Mara and adjacent Conservancies has been truly spectacular this year and guests staying at our Porini Mara Camp and Porini Lion Camp have been amazed at the large variety of wildlife to be seen, in addition to the huge numbers of wildebeest, especially lions and the other big cats! Our resident prides of lions in Olare Motorogi and Ol Kinyei Conservancies have had months of easy living with the abundance of prey available in the form of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest present in the Mara Reserve and adjacent conservancies.

Guests at our other Porini Camps also had wonderful wildlife viewing in the last few weeks and here are just a couple of highlights:

In Selenkay Conservancy, guests staying at our Gamewatchers Adventure Camp were on a game drive with our guide Wilson ole Kasaine when they saw a demonstration of who was the real King of the Jungle. The Selenkay lion pride was lazing around in the shade when an elephant bull came along and attracted their attention. When he saw them and stepped forward they all beat a hasty and rather undignified retreat!

While at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, our guests at Porini Rhino Camp have enjoyed watching the puppies recently born to the Alpha female in the pack of Wild Dogs which have a den nearby. Photographer Paolo Torchio sent us these pictures taken earlier this month:

At our Nairobi Tented Camp we are pleased to say that we have added an extra tent taking the number of guest tents up from 8 to 9. This now allows us to take up to 18 guests, still keeping the camp small, cozy and intimate. The Nairobi National Park is Kenya’s oldest National Park and is teeming with wildlife. Rolling plains, riverine woodlands and thick bush-lined valleys are just some of the park’s varied habitats. The park is easily accessible from all of Nairobi whether arriving into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, from Wilson airport or travelling South, and from the city itself. There is no better way to start your holiday than by spending your first day at the Nairobi Tented Camp. It’s romantic, away from the bustle of staying in a city hotel, and very safe.

Safety and Security of Visitors to Kenya

On a more sombre note, for some time now Kenya has featured in negative reports in the international media following a number of isolated incidents of terrorism in some parts of the country in the recent past and the incident at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi a year ago, resulting in travel warnings being issued by several countries. This has caused people to worry that all of Kenya may be unsafe when the reality is that nearly all such incidents have been in places far away from any areas where we send tourists such as near the border with Somalia or in the back street slum areas of Mombasa or the suburb of Eastleigh in Nairobi.

The present travel advice on places to avoid is as follows and we adhere to this strictly:

• Avoid travel within 60 kms of the border with Somalia and avoid Garissa District – note: these are remote areas, with no tourism and we do not go anywhere near there.
• Avoid Lamu County on the northern stretch of Kenya’s coast.
• At the present time avoid Mombasa island and its environs between Mtwapa and Tiwi.
• Avoid the suburb of Eastleigh in Nairobi.

The British government is giving support to Kenyan government efforts to ensure heightened security at airports in Kenya by providing equipment and training to assist in broadening aviation security detection capability at airports across Kenya. The British High Commissioner commented, "Aviation security is another vital element in protecting all our citizens from acts of terrorism. Security is a priority for us all, so I am delighted that the UK Government continues to work closely with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority in order to further strengthen the existing aviation security regime in Kenya."