Maasai Mara is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya. It is home to the big five and also famous for the annual migration of the wildebeest. It covers an area of about 531m2 on the southern part of Kenya. This park is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area). Their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara,” which is Maasai language for “spotted,” an apt description for the circles of trees, scrubs, savanna, and cloud shadows that marking the area. The terrain of the reserve is primarily grassland with seasonal river lets. Being a grassland savannah it receives an average rainfall of 83mm/month, with an altitude of 1500-2180m and temperatures of 12-30℃. The animals found in Mara include the big five (lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and buffalo). Aside from the big five the other animals one can see in Maasai Mara include hippos, giraffes, hyenas and a high number of antelopes including the Topi a breed of antelope not common to other parks, the bush duiker, klipspringer, oribi, bohor reedbuck, bush babies, the Nile crocodiles, crested porcupine, springhare, pangolins etc.
Approximately 1,500,000 Wildebeest and 200,000 Zebra seasonally move from Serengeti to Masai Mara. The migration will begin in June 2018 and will remain in Maasai Mara until the end of October, 2018 when then start the reverse journey back to Serengeti begins.
Located at about 3 hour drive northwest of Nairobi, Lake Nakuru national Park is one of the two premium parks in Kenya. It is classified as dry sub-humid to semi-arid ecosystem. Lake Nakuru National Park boasts itself as bird lover’s paradise hosting over 400 species of birds, most common being the lesser and greater flamingoes as well as over 500 species of flora with Acacia being among the most dominant trees. Lake Nakuru is highly saline, therefore surrounded by grassland of highly adaptable alkaline grasses.
This park also has many hills with established viewpoints from which the lake, the woodlands, and often times herds of buffalo can be seen.
The most common wildlife that can be spotted in Nakuru include Black and White rhinos, waterbucks, lion, eland and high number of leopard sightings, and the rare Rothschild giraffe.
Nakuru also is endowed with a high number of terrestrial birds including pelican, kingfishers, hawks and eagles, common ostrich, white faced whistling bird, cape teal, helmeted guinea fowl, hildebrandt’s francolin, marabou stork, yellow-billed stork, comorants, hammerkop, herons egrets, ibis bustards and cranes, baglafecht weaver, starlings, etc.
Lying South East of Nairobi, Located in Kajiado County lies Amboseli National Park. It is formerly known as Maasai Amboseli National reserve. This is the second most popular park in Kenya after the Maasai Mara. It is governed by the Kenya wildlife services. It covers an area of about 392 km2.
It is a low rainfall area with one of the best wildlife viewing experiences in the world as well as spectacular views of the Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world.
It harbors 400 species of birds including the globally threatened Madagascar Pond-heron, lesser flamingo, lesser Kestrel, Africas most sought after shoebill, pelicans,crakes, hammerkops kingfishers, and 47 types of raptors.
The park is famous for being the best place in the world to get close to free-ranging elephants. Normatior(observation hill), is an interesting section of this national park. This is the only area within the park where you can get out of your car and walk. This pyramid shaped hill provides an ideal lookout from which to orientate with the plains and roads below as well as the wildlife which are usually far off but the views here put them in their context. Other attractions of the park include opportunities to meet Maasai and visit a Maasai village. It is also home to large Cape buffaloes, impala, lions, Cheetah, spotted hyenas, giraffes, zebras, bat eared fox, jackals and blue wildebeest etc.
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