Problems facing Masai Mara National reserve.

While the completion last year of the 87-kilometre Mai Mahiu- Narok road brought some relief, another 96 kilometres to the main gate is in a bad state. Tour drivers said they are forced to divert to people’s farms, a situation which they say have led to conflict between them and the local community.

It is a shame when tourists are blocked by weapon-wielding locals, who are rightfully protesting that tour vehicles are disturbing their livestock and trampling on their pasture,

Vice chairman of the National Tour Drivers and Guides Association Andrew Mungatana and the association’s chief executive Joseph Ole Parpai said the 40-kilometre section of the Narok-Sekenani stretch was almost unmotorable.

Narok and Trans Mara county councils get more than 80 per cent of their revenue from the wild life resort.

The local authorities gain from the reserve by charging gate entries, royalties in the lodges as well as balloon settings and airplane landings. Although Narok County Council announced it had switched to electronic ticketing in a bid to shore up its revenue and seal corruption loopholes.

Tour drivers are asking the government of Kenya to intervene and make sure the road is repaired.

‘Fly’ Camping – Experience nature at its best

“Fly” is the name of the upper sheet of a tent. A simple mobile camp is even today called a fly camp. Facilities at a fly camp are a bucket shower, a pit toilet tent, and a double tent with safari beds. Dining is under the stars.

It’s a rare opportunity to spend a night with basic comforts and in very close quarters with nature, fly camping favours those who choose light-weight camping.

Fly camps are the ideal end to a day’s walking safari or game drive, with many unexpected comforts – a canvas washbasin with hot water, fresh towels, hurricane lamps and delicious food cooked on the fire.

Fly camping is fast becoming the most popular option for luxury safari guests who want to experience the freedom and adventure of camping in the African bush without the encumbrances camping often entails.

Often while on fly camping, during day time you embark on hikes through the bush with private guides whereby you get the chance to see wild animals in close range, learn how to trek animals by using their footsteps and the finest thing is that your camp is set up each evening in a new locale.

Currently only a few game parks and reserves are offering this wild experience of african bush which is what makes Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve the climax of Tanzania safaris.

ETT– Kenya Safaris Desk

Etton Travel and Tours

Offficial annual Wildbeest Migration

Its June and its official the annual wildebeest migration has started in the Serengeti and the wildebeests are moving to the masai mara game reserve in Kenya. The view is stuning and its for this reason this  movement of the wildebeest is an eighth wonder of the world.

You can be among the ones who will have the chance to experience this migration in one of the luxurious camps in the masai mara in Kenya for some of the best prices. At Etton Travel and Tours we will organize for you all that, here is an itinerary for you:

Two nights fly package you get a third night for free.

Included in the package:

• Masai welcome dance upon arrival at the Ngerende lodge
• Return flights to Wilson airport in Nairobi ,Kenya
• Full board accommodation
• Full day game drives in the park
• Refreshments while on game drives
• Sundowners
• Guided bush walks
• A visit to the masai village
• Half hour complimentary massage per day
• Bush breakfast/lunch/dinner if the weather permits

Excluded are :

• Conservancy fees (mandatory) at 60 usd per person per night
• Anything not mentioned above.

ETT– Kenya Safaris Desk

Etton Travel and Tours

Problems facing Masai Mara National reserve.

While the completion last year of the 87-kilometre Mai Mahiu- Narok road brought some relief, another 96 kilometres to the main gate is in a bad state. Tour drivers said they are forced to divert to people’s farms, a situation which they say have led to conflict between them and the local community.

It is a shame when tourists are blocked by weapon-wielding locals, who are rightfully protesting that tour vehicles are disturbing their livestock and trampling on their pasture,

Vice chairman of the National Tour Drivers and Guides Association Andrew Mungatana and the association’s chief executive Joseph Ole Parpai said the 40-kilometre section of the Narok-Sekenani stretch was almost unmotorable.

Narok and Trans Mara county councils get more than 80 per cent of their revenue from the wild life resort.

The local authorities gain from the reserve by charging gate entries, royalties in the lodges as well as balloon settings and airplane landings. Although Narok County Council announced it had switched to electronic ticketing in a bid to shore up its revenue and seal corruption loopholes.

Tour drivers are asking the government of Kenya to intervene and make sure the road is repaired.

ETT– Kenya Safaris Desk

Etton Travel and Tours

Survival for the fittest- rule of the wild.

In the wild its survival for the fittest, I guess some are lucky. On a recent safari involving I and a few friends to the Maasai Mara, Kenya, we were lucky to have an experience of a female cheetah in action hunting form her young cubs. The tension was almost unbearable as we watched the mother raise herself slowly from her crouched position in the blonde grass. The small herd of gazelles paced jerkily about the clearing, dropping their snouts to nibble, and then bobbing their heads to sniff the breeze. They were no more than 100 metres apart. The wind was in the cheetah’s favour and she inhaled the scent of her favourite prey. Behind her, hidden at the base of a termite mound, her three little cubs were silent and motionless. The family hadn¹t eaten for three days.

Suddenly, a male gazelle snorted and stomped its foot. The group instantly stopped feeding and each animal went rigid, ready to bolt. Another snort and then we noticed that the gazelles were staring intently at a jackal slinking past. Seeing her quarry distracted, the cheetah decided to make her move. It was now or never, death or survival.

Like a sprung elastic band she propelled herself forward in a blur of spots and limbs. The gazelles were startled but jolted themselves to action, zigzagging across the plain in panic. The mother had identified one of the males and with her tail up and out like a rudder, she matched his every twist, and was gaining ground. This was it. At full stretch, the mother reached out with her front leg and managed to clip the ankle of the gazelle. He spun and toppled. She was onto him and clasped his throat. Dust and blood, the family would at last feed. As we proceeded with our safaris we were all amazed with the speed of the world fastest land animal, the cheetah.

ETT–Kenya safaris Desk

Etton Travel and Tours

Trouble in paradise

Mau forest is the largest in Kenya – the size of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya combined, 10 million people depend on its rivers which feed six lakes – Victoria, Turkana, Natron, Nakuru, Baringo and Magadi Plus eight wildlife reserves – including the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and Lake Nakuru, The rivers have potential for 518MW hydro electricity 41% of Kenya’s total. In all, the forest provides an economic benefit of 20 billion shillings (£166m) per year according to the United Nations Environmental Program, But already, a quarter of its 400,000 hectares have been destroyed by farmers and loggers

Wildlife tourism – another pillar of Kenya’s economy – is wilting in the heat. Lake Nakuru, the birdwatcher’s paradise, is disappearing. The rivers that feed it have run dry. They come from Mau, And in the Masai Mara, the river which hosts the world famous “crossing of the wildebeest” has fallen to its lowest ever level. Water scarcity has brought wild animals and farmers into conflict. Deaths, injuries and compensation claims are at record highs in Narok, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The fuse for all these disasters was lit in Mau. The Mau, in a sense, is the hen that lays the golden eggs, says Paul Udoto, of KWS. The eggs are Lake Nakuru, the Masai Mara, the tea plantations and many others, the farming that is being done by farmers, once you destroy the centre – the hen – that is the Mau – then by necessity you have to lose the golden eggs.

Chopping down the tree cover in Mau has removed a natural “pump” which keeps the ecosystem alive. The Kenyan eco-system. If the destruction of Mau shall continue I can assure you that a lot of people will suffer. When you consider that Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile, you begin to grasp the scale of trouble to come to Africa especially Egypt who fully rely on the Nile.

We must act now before the entire ecosystem is irreversibly damaged.

ETT–Kenya Safaris Desk

Etton Travel and Tours