AFRICA: KENYA MOUNTAIN LODGE NATURE WALK

We arrived at the Serena Mountain Lodge in early afternoon (see previous post) and were given the afternoon to rest. For a not-so-small fee, the lodge offered a nature walk on their extensive grounds, and some of us decided to do that instead of taking a nap. Part of the draw was these awesomely chic rubber boots and trench coats, provided by the lodge.

They reminded us of a walk in the rain forest in the Amazon we had taken together five years earlier when similar attire had been provided for us.

Our guide was a knowledgeable young man who had studied environmentalism for three years before he got this job:

AFRICA: FROM NAIROBI TO KENYA MOUNTAIN LODGE

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, about 8% of Kenya's land is protected for wildlife conservation. With a total land mass of 224,080 square miles (about the size of Texas), that means approximately 18,000 square miles are game preserves. Kenya has 23 national parks (complete protection where the only activities are research and tourism) and 28 national reserves (some human activity allowed, such as fishing or wood collection). Conservation areas are a separate subdivision and can include both parks and reserves.

Our trip included the following national parks and reserves:

Mount Kenya National Reserve (Kenya)

Buffalo Springs National Reserve (Kenya)

Shaba National Reserve (Kenya)

Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya)

Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)

Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)

Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (Tanzania)

Nairobi National Park (Kenya)

Our route is shown below. We began in Nairobi and traveled counterclockwise until we arrived back in Nairobi.

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, was founded by the British in 1899 as a rail depot on the way to Mombasa, but it grew quickly and was named the capital in 1907. With a population today of over three million, it is the largest city in East Africa and 14th largest city in Africa. Unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures of Nairobi on that first day, but here is one of a roundabout near our hotel:

The slogan  is a bit awkward, don't you think? I get "Better" and "Simple" as single
word goals, but what is "Life"? With no periods, it still doesn't make sense.
"A better, simpler life" or even "better simple life" with no periods make a little more sense.

Our driver Steven told us a few interesting things about his country:

Kenya is still part of the British Commonwealth and recognizes the queen as the head of
     that commonwealth.
Unemployment in Kenya is 40%.
83% of Kenya is Christian and 11% is Muslim.
Del Monte owns the pineapple fields around Nairobi.
The most common meat eaten by Kenyans is goat. (We like goat, but unfortunately, we
     did not see goat on the menu anywhere we ate. I guess they keep the good stuff for
     the natives.)
School kids have only three or four weeks of vacation, and those weeks off are in April,
     August, and December.
Kenya has two official languages: English and Swahili.