Accommodation Information
The Stanley Hotel
As Kenya’s first luxury hotel, The Sarova Stanley has always occupied a special place in Nairobi’s heart. From the day it opened its doors in 1902, it has been making history – hosting royal safaris, groundbreaking business events and a long line of legendary personalities such as Edward Prince of Wales, novelist Ernest Hemingway and Ava Gardner to name just a few. From the moment you pass through the century old revolving doors, you leave the heat and bustle of modern Nairobi for a world of cool Victorian elegance. From the grandeur of the presidential suite, to the chic and sophistication of the club-rooms or the contemporary functionality of the deluxe rooms, The Sarova Stanley has a fine range of accommodation to choose from and an eclectic mix of Dining and entertainment options. Today, as The Sarova Stanley enters its second century, it continues to make history, providing state-of-the-art services and facilities for business and leisure travelers including private meeting rooms, WIFI, executive ladies rooms, health and fitness facilities and a shopping arcade in an elegant old world setting. The attentive yet unobtrusive staff looks after guests in a way that only a century of experience allows.
The hotel has 217 individually air-conditioned rooms on 8 floors including; 160 Deluxe, 2 Courier Single beds, 32 Club Rooms, 16 Executive Suites, 3 junior suites, 2 State Suites. Thai Chi restaurant on the 1st floor, is one of the citys most elegant dining establishments, The Thai Chi Restaurant boasts the finest in authentic Thai cuisine. Other restaurants are Thorn Tree Café on a bistro style featuring great food and entertainment and Pool Deck Restaurant.
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Ashnil Samburu Camp
Ashnil Samburu Camp, the latest in guest accommodation opened in November 2008 is located in Buffalo Springs Game Reserve, Samburu. The entirely new 24 exclusive comfortable deluxe tents spread out along the shady banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River under a thick stand of Doum Palms and acacia trees that are a feature of the area. The camp is surrounded by a 24 hour electric fence.
Generally hot and dry fanned by a cool breeze. Long rains are anticipated from mid April to May and the short rains from November to early December. The camp has a Swimming Pool with outdoor shower and washrooms. Conferencing facilities available.
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The Ark
Tucked away at the heart of one of Kenya’s greatest national parks, this intriguing tree lodge is an ark of discovery, from the drawbridge entrance to a choice of terraces overlooking the floodlit Yasabara waterhole. The rustic environment offers a charming retreat for overnight visitors eager to view the local wildlife at close range. Accommodation 60 en-suite rooms. Clothing only a lightweight overnight bag and camera equipment allowed. Excess luggage can be safely stored at the Aberdare Country Club. Children under the age of 7 are not permitted at The Ark unless on special “Children’s Nights”. Noise should be limited. Photographic flashlights not permitted. Access for disabled persons.
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Lake Nakuru Lodge
Lake Nakuru Lodge lies in the south-east of Lake Nakuru National Park. Situated above the lake and ringed by forests of Euphorbia Candelabra and acacia, the lodge commands a stunning view over the lake and beyond to the Menengai Crater and the Aberdare range. The lodge offers a total of 68 rooms and cottages (mosquito nets, telephones, in-room safe, and veranda with a panoramic view of Lake Naivasha). There is a central restaurant with bar and cocktail bar. Meals are typically presented in African buffet style. Bush BBQs are also featured as are African nights.
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The lodge has a charming pool deck with sun loungers. Game drives around the park can be arranged with picnic lunches (at the hippo pools or Baharini Springs) as can ‘sundowner trips’. The resident naturalist also leads nature walks or bird-spotting tours in the immediate vicinity of the lodge – or in the park as a whole. Horse-back riding can also be arranged.
Ashnil Mara Camp
Ashnil Mara Camp, offers 30 luxury tents, while being located in the Maasai Mara National Reserve and close to the Mara River famous for the wildebeest migration.
Each with private veranda and ensuite bathroom (with hot and cold running water and flushed WC). At night, the winding paths between the widely-spaced tents are lit by hurricane lanterns imparting a uniquely magical feel to this unique tented camp.
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The camp offers a central dining area and bar. The Ashnil Mara Camp menu will typically include a wide selection of typically East African Safari or Kenya favourites as well as numerous international choices (vegetarian options always available).
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge itself s an architectural marvel built on the rim of the collapsed volcano that can boast the most magnifcent views over the crater foor, home to vast herds of buffalo, wildebeest and zebra, the rare and endangered black rhino, mighty bull elephant, cheetah, leopard, lion and herds of gazelle and hartebeest. Most of the wildlife is found on the crater foor, a short drive from the lodge. High on the crater rim it can be a little chilly in the lodge n the evenings and, during the colder times of the year, log fres blaze gloriously in the restaurant and bar and central heating and hot water bottles in the bedrooms ensure a cosy stay.
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A popular venue for conferences, due to its ncomparable location, easy accessibility, size and acilities, the lodge has a very romantic setting, ideal or weddings and special occasions, with the crater foor providing a very special experience for bush breakfasts, picnics and lunches. Within an area which has been inhabited by man and beast for over three million years, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge offers calm and tranquility, allowing its guests to soak up the sensations of viewing the spectacular whilst enjoying the highest levels of service and attention.
Location and park information
Samburu Game Reserves
Lying in the lower curve of the dry northern Kenya region, the three reserves of Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba make up a combined area of over 235sq. kms, and are well worth a visit to view an ecosystem that spans arid terrains, hills, shrubland and grassland. The main water source, the Uaso Nyiro River, feeds the riverine forest and swamp. The patches of forest and doum palm dotting the landscape provide an ideal setting for exuberant primates, sombre hippo and sedate crocodile. Elephant families visit the river’s shallows to give themselves a shower or immerse themselves totally in the invigorating, cool water.
The exciting animal life also includes game only seen north of the equator, namely grevy’s zebra, beisa oryx and reticulated giraffe. Other residents are gerenuk gazelle, the Somali ostrich, ‘big five’, and more common savannah game. As the name implies, this is Samburu land. The Samburu are a colourful tribal people who have lived in harmonious accord with nature over the years, maintaining cultural conservation practices based on a deep respect for the ecosystem.
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Aberdares
The Aberdares are an isolated volcanic range that forms the eastern wall of the rift valley, running roughly 100km north south between Nairobi and Thomsons Falls. Soils are red and of volcanic origin, but rich in organic matter. There are two main peaks, Ol Donyo Lesatima (3,999m) and Kinangop (3,906m) separated by a long saddle of alpine moorland at over 3,000m. The topography is diverse with deep ravines that cut through the forested eastern and western slopes and there are many clear streams and waterfalls. The Aberdares are an important water catchment area providing water to the Tana and Athi rivers and part of Central Rift and Northern drainage basins. The National Park lies mainly above the tree line running along the 10,000ft contour with some forest and scrub at lower altitude in the ‘salient’ area near Nyeri with the boundary running down to the 7000ft contour the unusual vegetation, rugged terrain, streams and waterfalls combine to create an area of great scenic beauty in the National Park. The park is surrounded by a predominantly indigenous forest, whose management is under a MoU between KWS and the Forest Department. Mist and rain occur throughout much of the year, with precipitation varying from around 1000mm yearly on the north western slopes to as much as 3000mm in the south east. Heavy rainfall occurs through most of the year. Attractions are Lesatima peak, Kinangop peak, waterfalls, walks in the moorlands, Twin hills, Elephant hills and Table mountains, Elephants, Second largest population of black rhinos in Salient and Northern Aberdares, Queen Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne at Tree-tops, The Kimathi Hideout, Night viewing of wildlife at the Ark & Treetops.
Nakuru
The most famous of the Great Rift Valley lakes, Lake Nakuru is renowned for its magnificent birdlife, especially the flamingos which seasonally flock there in their thousands. This 188sq. kms. park is a paradise for those who are particularly interested in ornithology and also offers the opportunity of seeing white rhino, the rare Rothchild’s giraffe, large herds of buffalo and an abundance of various plains game. Sightings of leopard resting in the branches of acacia trees are very common.
The 40sq. kms. alkaline Lake Nakuru lies within the park and has been given the conservation world’s Ramsar Site designation. As you move further afield into the woods, you find black and white colobus monkey and closer to the escarpment walls and rocky ridges, mountain reedbuck, dik dik, rock hyrax and klipspringer, making game viewing well worth while.
Masai Mara
Justifiably one of the most famous reserves in Africa, its’ dominant feature are the great rolling plains of savannah grasslands, which sustain the greatest variety of wildlife in Africa and indeed in the world. The concentration of game is at its highest from July through October when the Mara is host to the annual migration of more than a million wildebeest.
However, game viewing is excellent year round with giraffe, buffalo, zebra, eland, hartebeest and Thompson’s gazelle offering a rich choice for the predators lion, leopard and cheetah. It should be noted, however, that during the rainy season, the grass is fairly tall in some areas, which may affect visibility and restrict game drives slightly.
The Maasai people, after whom the park is named, are nomadic. While on game drives, you will often notice young tribesmen herding their cattle amongst the plains game. They are colourfully attired, usually wrapped in bright red cloths, and armed with spears.
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Serengeti
The name comes from the Maasai word “siringet” meaning ‘endless plain’. This 14,763sq. kms. park encompasses lakes, savannah grassland, wooded hills, rivers, swamps, and volcanic massifs. Due to this diverse ecosystem it is undoubtedly one of the world’s last great wildlife refuges.
Serengeti is home to over 2 million wildebeest, half a million Thomson’s gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra, giraffe, eland, topi, kongoni, impala and other antelope. The predators are also well represented by lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena. In total, there are nearly 35 species of savannah animals and almost 500 species of birds including lilac-breasted rollers, barbets, and ring-necked doves living in this animal kingdom.
Ngorongoro
In the Great Rift Valley, that great schism in the earth’s crust, lies the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater, one of the wonders of the natural world. It is an extinct volcano that collapsed in on itself around 25 million years ago thus forming a vast superbowl where the largest permanent concentration of African game is on display.
The central bowl, the caldera, has sides roughly 1,950 feet high and a flattish centre with a diameter of about ten miles. The views from the top of the crater wall are absolutely breathtaking. The crater walls are forested but four wheel drive vehicles will take you down into this primeval paradise of woodland, lake, river, swamp and plain that shelters around 20,000 animals. Many of these are the large grazing animals such as wildebeest, buffalo, gazelle and zebra who depend on the open grasslands in the crater. These attract the attendant predators, the black-maned lion, the leopard and hyena. The elephant found within the caldera tend to be the lone males who have left the herds in the forested crater rim. When the water stocks are low elsewhere the animals within this micro-world turn to the swamps for fresh water and food. Elephants feed on the giant sedges and hippo wallow in the pools. The Fever Tree forests shelter monkeys, bushbuck and waterbuck and the few black rhino that have taken refuge here. A soda lake, fed by the Munge river attracts water birds, including flamingos and is a favourite place for predators to make their kill. Wildly beautiful as it is, it is not surprising that Ngorongoro Crater has been called a Garden of Eden.The conservation area also encompasses several other volcanos, one of which, Oldonyo Lengai, is still live. You may struggle to the top, if you wish, to gaze into its open and sulphurous maw but many prefer to admire from afar. One of the most fascinating attractions in the area is the Olduvai Gorge, where an old river has carved away the rock to expose layer upon layer of volcanic soil. This is where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey found the remains of hominids “Nutcracker Man” and “Toolmaking Man”. The “Cradle of Mankind” now has a visitor centre where you may hear a short lecture on the the work of the Leakeys and their successors and a small museum where you may see some of their finds, including a giant giraffe – it is hard to believe that they were once even taller!
Amboseli
Towered over by the magnificent bulk of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,896 m), Africa’s highest mountain, Amboseli is one of Kenya’s oldest, famous and most-visited parks. Endlessly panoramic, yet comparatively compact, it is dotted with emerald green swamps in which great herds of elephant wallow; half submerged in the papyrus grasses. The permanent marshlands also provide a potent draw to hippos and buffaloes, while offering a haven for the abundant water birds. An International Biosphere Reserve, the park largely constitutes the usually dried-out lakebed of Lake Amboseli, which is surrounded by flat grasslands relieved by very few trees. On the plains are numerous antelopes, spotted hyenas, jackals, warthogs, olive baboons and vervet monkeys. Lions are rare. Observation Hill, a conical peak, which is easily climbed, offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro. Amboseli is world-famous for its populations of large mammals. The swamps are a centre of activity for elephants, hippos, buffaloes and abundant water birds. The surrounding flat grasslands are home to grazing antelopes. Spotted hyenas are plentiful, as are jackals, warthogs, olive baboons and vervet monkeys. No longer present in their original numbers, lions can still be found in Amboseli though the famous black-maned lions have long since disappeared, as have the black rhinos that were once so plentiful.
Wildlife highlights: lion, cheetah, leopard, elephant, zebra, hippo, spotted and striped hyena, giraffe, oryx, wildebeest, gerenuk, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Birds: 425 recorded species.