Aberdares National Park, Kenya The Aberdare mountain range provides a dramatic backdrop to this world famous national park. A favourite of the British Monarchy, it was here, in the original Treetops Lodge that the then Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne upon the death of her father. The current Treetops Lodge while much larger, remains a superb location for wildlife viewing. I managed to secure rooms with less than a week's notice, but as a result ended up deep in the bowels of Treetops, since they fill from the top down. Having now explored the entire building though, I think I prefer the lower viewing areas since although they are more cramped and less luxurious, they provide views on a level with the wildlife outside. The following day we headed back into the National Park and explored the highlands. Despite being in the depths of Kenya these bear a startling resemblance to the Yorkshire Moors in England, although the waterfalls here are much more spectacular.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania The former capital of Tanzania, is still its busiest and most vibrant metropolis. Large numbers of tourists pass through Dar every year and there are a wealth of hotels and restaurants to cater for them. I wasn't there by choice, but rather because of the complicated booking procedures for LAM, the Mozambique national carrier, that required me to pick up my tickets in person four days in advance of my flight. Following the advice of a couple I'd met in Arusha, I booked initially into a small hotel located in an area of downtown Dar that my Rough Guide advised against tourists entering. It proved an interesting choice for all that the hotel itself was rather drab, for it meant I had to walk through some of the busiest parts of town to get anywhere and experienced an intensity of city life almost unrecognisable to a Westerner. After two days however I opted for a change of scene and relocated to the Osterbay district to the North of Central Dar. This coastal suburb is home to big hotels, expensive villas and diplomatic residences, although I was warned against straying onto the public beaches. I booked into the Oysterbay Hotel which retains a distinct grandeur despite having clearly seen better days. The grounds have gone to seed, but the rooms are the largest and most richly furnished of any hotel I've encountered.

Inhaca Island and Catembe, Mozambique Catembe is the region facing Maputo across the waters of the bay. It is surprisingly quiet and peaceful despite it's proximity to Mozambique's capital and is reached by a variety of frequent ferry services taking only a few minutes to cross. There are few facilities for toursists to be found there, but it does boast one excellant hotel and restaurant, plus many miles of totally unspoilt and largely deserted sandy beaches. The Marisol Restaurant, attached to the Catembe Gallery Hotel, has been famous for decades as one of Maputo's finest fish restaurants, while the hotel itself, although small, is extremely comfortable. If you walk far enough along the beach you'll find lush mangrove swamps by the sea, and on the cliff above, mud hut villages. Inhaca Island (pronounced Inyaka) is two hours away by fast catermaran and fits easily the description of island paradise. Clear blue/green waters surround sandy palm tree lined beaches. A single hotel caters to those with a desire to stay, and also provides facilities for a number of watersports and other activities. Much of the island however is simply a peaceful haven of tranquility.

Lamu Island, Kenya Lamu Island off the coast of Kenya has retained much of the feel of a tradidtional medieval Swahili settlement. It's people are predominently Moslem and the architecture has a strong Arabic flavour. The only cars are owned by the island's governer, and the range of these is limited by the simple fact that less than a handful of roads within the major settlements exist that are wide enough to take them. The remaining streets are designed for use by people and donkeys, and on most of them you'd be hard pressed to find space to over-take a well laden animal. Once you leave the shores however it is a very different matter. Here are to be found a myriad of boats jostling for position and trade. Most common are the wooden dhows, both purely sailing types and those fitted additionally with diesal engines, but there are also modern yachts and a few speedboats. Local boatsmen vie for passing tourist trade, offering lifts between the settlements of Shela and Lamu, or tours of the islands. Few understood my desire simply to walk, but they accepted my refusals with good grace. I stayed at the luxurious Peponi Hotel, the haunt (or so I've been told) of the rich and famous. Personally, I'm hopeless with faces and to be honest neither knew nor cared if any 'names' were in residence at the time. I loved the place and would go again, although I did seem to face a running battle to avoid the attentions of the hotel's tours organiser who was constantly trying to persuade me to go on this trip or that trip and desperately trying to stop me from having any contact with the locals except through him. While I did allow him to organise an outing to the ruins of Takwa, a 16C Swahili settlement on neighbouring Manda island, he failed miserably in his second aim. I got talking, in broken Swahili, to a local who then took me around the back streets of Shela and showed me the real town away from the tourists. In Lamu too I picked up a local, this time an artist and had him show me around in return for buying a couple of his paintings.

Maputo, Mozambique Formerly known as Lourenço Marques, the city of Maputo is surprisingly modern, with European style shops and high-rise buildings. Little evidence remains of the devastating civil war that ravaged the country until as recently as 1992. Look deeper though and the remaining poverty is evident, with poorly maintained back streets and pavements that in places have collapsed altogether into chasms beneath. Formerly a haven for tourists from South Africa, its popularity is slowly growing once again, although Europeans are still few and far between. More and more expensive hotels are beginning to sprout however and there have always been ample good restaurants, especially if you've a taste for prawns. There are several museums to be found, although the Geological Museum, housed in a former synagogue, was closed for renovation while I was there. In the centre of town rises the bright white stones of the Catholic Cathedral. Despite the distinctly repellant recruitment techniques of its builders, wherein teenage girls living on the streets were forced into the construction gangs, it remains a spectacular sight. Access to the interior is unfortunately limited. Out towards the airport can be found the city's zoo. This place should be on every visitor's itinerary, although the taxi driver I used hadn't even heard of it and had to ask a friend for directions! It is not a particularly good zoo, and admission these days is around £0.10, but that is not why I think people should visit. The keepers have clearly worked miracles over the years with extremely limited funding to keep it going at all, but the end result is, alas, almost a chamber of horrors for the poor animals remaining. Most of the cages are small and many are falling into disrepair, while the animals appear depressed and stressed. I have no idea how to help these animals, but maybe someone reading this does. The place either needs a massive cash injection or it should be closed down. I spent quite a bit of time wandering the streets of Maputo and it felt safe. I certainly wouldn't want to openly carry an expensive camera here, but I only once encountered an agressive beggar, and the curio sellers were much less pushy than their cousens in East Africa.

Nairobi, Kenya Kenya's capital is a city of contrasts. Modern apartment buildings and well manicured lawns exist just minutes away from huge sprawing slums of poorly constructed shacks. In the centre, huge office blocks tower over open air markets and endless streets of curio sellers. Not entirely unjustly nicknamed "Nairobbery" it nonetheless boasts a variety of attractions for passing tourists and is certainly a key transport hub. Walking the streets alone is not for the unwary and at night is downright suicidal, but nonetheless it was my first port of call in Africa and retains a special place in my heart. The National Museum, shortly to be closed for a major renovation, has extremely informative displays on Kenyan history, natural history and anthropology. A small but servicable cafe is situated in the grounds although they've never yet had my first choice of dish... whatever I ask for. Further from the centre is a sanctuary for the rare Rothschild Giraffe, where visitors are invited to hand-feed the animals. A fascinating treat for children and adults alike. In the suberb of Karen can be found the presrved home of Karen Blixen, author of "Out of Africa" and the location for the film version of her book. Much of the original furniture, sold off by her when she left Kenya, has been tracked down and returned. The remainder is as close a match as the owners can get, aided as they have been by her former servants.

Northern Tanzania Arusha is described as the safari capital of the world and while I suspect a few South African towns may dispute this, it certainly is the gateway to some of the finest game reserves in Africa. I was there to join a safari organised by a small friendly Anglo-African company called IntoAfrica UK Ltd. Unusually amongst the myriad of operators in East Africa, IntoAfrica have a mixed wildlife and cultural program that takes its customers into both internationally famous animal reserves and tiny local villages. It proved to be a fascinating combination. From Arusha we headed north, first to Ngorongoro Crater and from there into the Serengeti. The Serengeti National Park spans some two hundred kilometres from north to south and is home to a cycle of vast seasonal migrations. The name, taken from the Maasai term for 'endless plain', is entirely appropriate. There are a number of campsites within the Serengeti and we were lulled to sleep by the sounds of night-time predators roaming just out of sight. Returning south, we paused at Olduvai Gorge, where the earliest known remains of mankind have been found, before returning to the suspiciously named Mto wa Mbu, which translates to "River of Mosquitoes". Despite the name it's a pleasant little town, although I never ventured far from my tent with soaking myself and my clothes in DEET (insect repellant). Here the cultural part of the trip begun with visits to a number of local tribes and the weekly Maasai Market. The last night on the road was spent on the slopes of Mt. Longido near the Kenyan border. We stayed in a tiny campsite, guarded by local Maasai who shared our fire with us. The following morning we were escorted to local tribal training grounds and one of their villages. It was a simply amazing experience. Back in Arusha I visited the small Arusha National Park. There are few predators here, but the result is a far more relaxed herbivore population and I even got to see a couple of giraffe sitting down.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy The Ol Pejeta Conservancy comprises the former Ol Pejeta Ranch and Sweetwaters Rhino reserve which are in the process of being combined. When complete this will form the largest Black Rhino Reserve in East Africa. Located close to the town of Nanyuki and in close proximity to the heights of Mt. Kenya, the reserve boasts an impressive array of African mammals, including all of the 'Big Five', i.e. Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Elephant. I have also seen a half dozen different species of Antelope, Jackals, Zebra (both the plains variety and much rarer Grevy's Zebra) and even a Cheetah. One section of the reserve has also been turned into a Chimpanzee Sanctuary for abused and orphaned chimps. Tourists can self-drive in the reserve for day trips, or choose to stay within it's boundary at one of two lodges. The Ol Pejeta Lodge house was formerly a hunting lodge for the Saudi Arabian millionaire Adnan Khashoggi and retains much of the luxury he imported. It also boasts two outdoor swimming pools and a pair of tennis courts. Alternatively there is a Tented Camp situated next to a well lit waterhole. The fixed tents are all en-suite and the main building boasts a restaurant and bar. Day and night safaris can be arranged. A third option is available for people with a desire to get more deeply involved in the conservation process, as I was. The environmental charity Earthwatch funds a research project in the reserve and sends five teams of volunteers to work there each year. In 2005 I returned for my second year and spent another fascinating fortnight living and working at the research centre in the lodge house's former stables. The closest town is Nanyuki, accessible from Nairobi either by road (three hours) or air (forty-five minutes). The local airstrip is also home to various small charter aircraft, one of which I arranged to hire (along with a pilot) for a flight over the local area. I'd expected it to be purely a pleasure flight, and indeed it was certainly pleasureful, but I also got roped into the search for a missing rhino at Ol Pejeta. It was a happy chance for me as it meant we were granted permission to make a great many low passes over the reserve. It worked out well for them too, as the ground parties saw us circling and were able to home in on their missing animal.

Webpage design ©2006 Robert Thomson.