KTF Statement on Outbreak of Ebola in West Africa

Following extensive news coverage in the international media about the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, we are advised by the medical authorities that the situation is as follows:
The current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and involves Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Kenya is not affected by the outbreak of Ebola as there has never been any recorded case of Ebola in this country.
The affected countries are on the extreme West of the African Continent, thousands of kilometres from Kenya and indeed Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are closer to Madrid, Paris and London than they are to Kenya in East Africa.
From Tuesday 18^th August Kenya Airways will suspend temporarily all its flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone on the advice of Kenya's Ministry of Health as a measure to prevent the spread of Ebola from those countries until the outbreak there has been brought under control. The Kenya government also announced other restrictions because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa and is temporarily suspending entry into Kenya of any passengers who have passed through Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Read more

George Adamson’s 25th Anniversary Memorial at Kora National Park

Kora National Park, popularly referred to as ‘the last wilderness’, will be hosting guests from diverse backgrounds to mark iconic conservationist George Adamson’s 25^th Anniversary Memorial.

George Adamson also known as “Baba wa Simba”, a British wildlife conservationist took care of orphaned lions and later released them to the wild. The George Adamson memorial is a fundraising event whose key objective is to help in the conservation of wildlife, mostly lions whose numbers continue to dwindle in the country due to various reasons, among them poaching.

“Plans are underway to make the Park a Lion Sanctuary to protect the king of the jungle, the event will also promote the park as a popular tourist destination”,  said the Assistant Director of Eastern Conservation Area, Mr. Simon Gitau during George Adamson media launch event at Kora National Park.

The event will take place from 29^th to 30^th August, 2014. Guests arrive on 29^th at the campsite and one is required to carry camping gear. The main event will be on 30th August at the graveside of George Adamson in the sprawling park. Lots of activities have been lined up for the two days in ‘the last wilderness’ Park , including beach Volleyball, treasure hunt, storytelling, watching George Adamson’s films and climbing the rock where George used to climb every morning  and shouts ‘who is the king of the jungle’. This is an adventure not worth missing. Read more on http://www.kws.org/info/news/2014/19august2014adamson.html.

www.soinafricasafaris.com

Kenya Wildlife ServiceTraining Instititute embraces Enterprise Resource Planning System

Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute (KWSTI) has officially launched a project to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for the institute to help manage its academic and management operations within the organization.

The institute in conjunction with KWS head office ICT department did the official project implementation launch of the ERP system at KWSTI in Naivasha on  July 31, 2014 at a ceremony witnessed by the Principal of KWSTI Prof. George Owiti, the Head KWS ICT department Mr. Michael Otieno Odhiambo, and IT Manager Mr Robinson Kagonia. A team from the vendor responsible for the implementation of the solution, Parity Consultants, led by the CEO Mr James Wangombe also attended the launch.

Kenya Wildlife Service IT system administrator Mr. Bernard Omware made a presentation on the potential benefits of the solution to KWSTI. It is expected that with the system in place, the college will be able to produce reports within minutes of their request as the users will be able to query the system to produce the same as opposed to manually compiling data to come up with reports. The system will also manage student records; this includes marks, fees statements, academic calendar management, and registrar module among others. Read more http://www.kws.org/info/news/2014/13augusterp2014.html

Rwanda - Uganda 6 days

Day 1

Met on arrival at airport and transfer to Kigali. Briefing on your safari. After lunch, depart for PNV at 2pm. The journey north goes through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterise much of Rwanda’s landscape, gradually climbing to the base of the awesome Virunga volcanoes, sometimes with as many as five peaks visible. O/N: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge .

 

Day 2

Go gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans (subject to permit availability at the time of booking). Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virungas is a magical experience. If you are lucky you can get to the gorillas, spend an hour with them, and be back at the base in time for a late lunch! Some gorilla families however are more elusive and tracking can take a full day, especially when it is wet and muddy. O/N: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/ La Palme Hotel  .

Gorilla Trekking

 

Day 3

Either go gorilla tracking again in Parc National des Volcans (on payment of supplement at time of booking), or visit the golden monkeys or drive to Gisenyi, visit Ross Carr’s orphanage and Lake Kivu or climb the Visoke/Muhavura volcanoes, or trek to Dian Fossey’s grave, or visit the local school, community projects or walk to Lake Bulera. O/N: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/ La Palme Hotel .

 

Day 4

In the morning either relax or walk near the Lodge, visit the golden monkeys or trek to Dian Fossey’s grave. After lunch transfer to Uganda [Clocks go forward one hour]. O/N: Clouds Lodge.

 

Day 5

Either go gorilla tracking again, this time in Nkuringo (on payment of supplement at time of booking), or go Bird watching. O/N Clouds Lodge.

 

Day 6

Leave for Kigali in Rwanda. [Clocks go back one hour]. Time permitting, go for a tour of the city including a visit to the market, pottery project, handicraft shops, the Franco-Rwandan cultural centre and the genocide memorial. Transfer to the airport.

 

End of safari

www.soinasfricasafaris.com

Sharon C

Kenya Dream Destination

Nairobi National Park is the only city in the world which neighbors a natural game protection area, harboring more than 100 species of mammals. The park borders the traditional South Kapiti Plains and Kitengela Migration Corridor and attracts a range of exciting game. It is a seasonal park but most of the game, like the indigenous Black Rhino, lives in the park all year round. Herds of plains zebra, wildebeest and eland enter the park during the great migration in July and August to enjoy the rich grazing until the next rains come.

However in recent years a unique trend has been recorded with increasing frequency. A cheetah has successfully raised seven cubs in the park to the delight of local and international visitors. The park is an ideal starting point for ornithological safaris, with more than 400 species of birds that suite your dream safari in Kenya.
 

Nairobi National Park was Kenya's first ever national park. Its golden anniversary occurs in 1997. It is here that Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi's torched ivory worth Kshs. 60 million, in a dramatic display of Kenya's commitment to curbing the slaughter of Africa's elephants for their tusks. The site is near the main gate of the park and bears a commemorative plaque with the striking words "Great objectives often require great sacrifices." Since then, the great bonfire has been lit twice to banish confiscated stocks of poached rhino horn and ivory.

There is no accommodation within the park, but Nairobi offers a wide selection of excellent accommodation to suit all visitor preferences and pockets. Many other tourist attractions are located close to the park, making it an ideal one-day trip venue.

 www.soinafricasafaris.com

Sharon C

Masai Mara Wildlife Updates!

The wildebeests makes a dramatic come-back in the Mara The wildebeest have made another dramatic come back into Masai Mara. For sometimes, earlier in the month we were uncertain of their movement since most had started going back into northern Serengeti. The current dry spell experienced in the region is widespread therefore all plains in the Mara and Serengeti are dry. This made the wildebeests to start  heading north into the Mara again, where though still dry, still has some fresh water which is a commodity lacking in most of Serengeti. Right now all the plains south of the Talek River are full of wildebeests and zebras. The crossing points on the Mara River just below lookout hill are places to be now as many animals cross the River west into the Mara triangle. In just a few days, the concentration in the south of the reserve swelled to an enormous number. Most of these herds have made a complete cycle in the past two weeks. They moved from the eastern part of the river, crossed west onto the Mara Triangle, then south into northern Serengeti and east from there before re-entering the Mara around the Sand River gate exactly as they did in July when they first came. In fact everything now is just like at the beginning. There is a higher concentration on Burrungat, central and Metaplains. The westward bound herds have spread out on the central plains again and some herds have started crossing the Mara Rivernear look out hill. The animals are crossing over into the Mara triangle just as before and others heading north with the first ones now around central plains. Most of the herds here have settled temporarily on the plains in these areas, even though the grass is dry. On Saturday, we had some rains have played a crucial role in the sprouting of the grass. The crossing points in the north around paradise plains have been teeming with activities, with the animals crossing over the Mara triangle. looking back, the current migration scenario is similar to what I documented in October 2006, when the wildebeests delayed going back to Serengeti due to drought. They kept going back and forth between the Mara and north Serengeti NB: I still have places for the photographic safari to south Serengeti as per details on my previous post below. If you are interested, kindly get in touch by mid next month since we have to firmly reserve accommodation due to high demand in the camps in south Serengeti. http://paul-kirui.blogspot.com/2014/07/wildebeests-calving-season-photographic.html The wildebeests making a come back to the Mara last week. The map of the Mara showing the recent movement of the wildebeests between the Mara and Serengeti. www.soinafricasafaris.com