News from Gamewatchers Safaris

2014 is gone and 2015 is here
We hope your festive season was all in gear
With the falling snow, and continuous carols
Home-cooked meals with cinnamon rolls
And for those who instead had a dashing summer
We hope you had a splendid December

The Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Safari Camps Team want to wish you a happy new year and hope that you all had a wonderful festive season over the Christmas period. We want to thank you all for your loyalty and continuous support.

Our commercial director, Dr. Mohanjeet Brar with the Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Safari Camps team wishing you a wonderful start to 2015

2015 brings with it renewed hope as we see an increase in guest enquiries. I want to share with you some fun facts about Kenya and why it should be on your list of "places I must visit before I die".

FUN FACT #1: Kenya is the world’s 47th largest country – about the size of Texas and features 23 terrestrial National Parks, 28 terrestrial National Reserves, 4 marine National Parks, 6 marine National Reserves and 4 national sanctuaries.

FUN FACT #2: Coffee is the biggest income generator for the country as an export product – if you have not tried Kenyan coffee – don’t wait any longer. Tourism is the next biggest income generator.

FUN FACT #3: Some of the oldest records of man’s history in palaeontology were discovered in Kenya.

FUN FACT #4: 20 million years ago, when the Earth’s crust split – it formed the famous Great Rift Valley that thousands of visitors visit annually.

FUN FACT #5: Kenyan environmentalist Professor Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She was the first African woman to do so.

A 2014 visitor from California returned to Kenya for her second visit. She started off in Nairobi and stayed with us at the Nairobi Tented Camp – "I was very pleased to find this tented camp open on my second safari to Kenya. It was a perfect start to my wildlife adventures. It has all the great amenities, service, and excellent features of the Porini Tented Camps and is a welcome initiation to the safari experience directly from the plane to the wilds."

And so we say,

Karibuni Kenya, we are waiting for you our Rafikis.

Aleema

Aleema Noormohamed
Marketing Executive

Gamewatchers Safaris
Porini Blog

If the December season has emptied your pockets but you have that ticket to Kenya on standby just in case you see a good deal, why don’t you check out our Adventure Camping – It is "real camping" in two man dome tents complete with a mattress (sleeping bags available at a supplement) and here is the kicker – each tent is en-suite! You will experience fantastic game drives in our open sided 4×4 safari vehicles in conservancies where there is more game than people. You will enjoy delicious meals that will remind you of home and you will experience a night under the African sky – this is your moment of truth – there is nothing quite like being in the African wilderness of Kenya. Our great value 7 Day adventure camping safari by air is only $1995 per person sharing. Visit out website for more information on the Gamewatchers Adventure Camps in Selenkay and Ol Kinyei Conservancies in Amboseli and Maasai Mara respectively.

Photographed by Julie Roggow in Rwanda

As I lay in my bed in my lodge in Bwindi, looking through the black of the night sky, I could see red explosions of color illuminating the horizon. As the Virunga volcano was spewing fiery lava into the dark sky, it back-lit the clouds with a kaleidoscope-type light show of red splashes of light. Imagine falling asleep to that! Read more.

With the donations from many of our clients, we are pleased to announce that we raised approximately USD$ 15,000 in 2014 towards our Porini Community Outreach Projects. We want to thank you for your generous contributions as these funds are making a difference in thousands of lives. A reminder of our projects include:

1) The Ol Kinyei Bursary Fund: This fund assists students in covering essential education-related costs and ensures that they are able to complete important stages in their education, which is a crucial step in guaranteeing a solid career path.

2) Koiyaki Guiding School Scholarship Fund: Your donation allows for a student to be enrolled in a certificate course in Tour Guiding and Operations by the Kenya National Examination Council. Your donation assists with payments for tuition, meals, school trips, excursions and accommodation.

3) Porini Boma Strengthening Programme: This programme involves reinforcing the traditionally constructed boma (enclosures) with chain-link fencing, treated wooden posts and secured gates so as to prevent predators from entering the Maasai village and livestock enclosures. This ensures that predators who target their natural prey are no longer threats to the community.

4) Porini Conservancies Rangers Programme: Donating towards this programme assists with payments for equipment, wages, uniforms, rations and training, which enable the rangers to be more effective in their day to day activities. An expansion of this programme means that the community sees a direct rise in their employment levels as we employ 100% of our rangers from within our partner communities.

5) Provision of Water to Selenkay Villages: Due to increased drought caused by unpredictable rains patterns in the last few years, access to water for community members in the Selenkay Conservancy has become increasingly difficult. We are assisting 2 villages located near to the Selenkay Consercvancy and have provided each of the villages with one 2,000 litre water tank and organised for water to be delivered to them twice a week. You can sponsor one week or more of water deliveries to one of the villages with this programme at a cost of $50 per week for two villages in Selenkay.

6) St Lazarus Community School: Gamewatchers Safaris supports the school in Kibera (Africa’s largest slum), which provides nutrition and education for disadvantaged children.

For more information on our projects please visit the info

Julie has led photography workshops and wildlife photo shoot tours in Alaska and Africa. Her photos have been published in "Nature Photographer Magazine" and "Currents Magazine". Julie’s photos have also been published by "African Geographic" and "Safari Interactive". She has also been a finalist in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Julie is based in Michigan, USA and responds to guest enquiries who are based in the United States of America. You can contact her directly by email at julie or by phone toll free at 1-877-710-3014

This includes your gorilla permit worth USD$ 750!

Click here for details

SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED DURING A GORILLA SIGHTING

– Picturesque surroundings

– Misty, dense forest

– Observation of gorillas at close range

– Exhilarating scenery

– Stunning landscape

– Come Face to Face with Gorillas