Kenya Safari Travel

A Kenyan safari evokes images of open savannah plains choking full with wildlife. There are lions on a kill in Masai Mara, wildebeest migration across the Mara River, elephants against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro in Amboseli and countless other safari highlights that are found in each of the the Kenya national parks.

When planning your Kenyan safari it is important that you work with facts and not myths, which will not add value to your Kenyan travel experience. With so many "Kenya safari experts" giving all manner of information, some myths have been perpetuated for so long until they are now viewed as safari facts.

To make informed decisions about your Kenyan safari, first know where the expert is coming from; is he an internet consultant, a one time safari traveler or someone who claims some lineage to a Kenyan and therefore passes himself an expert on all matters of Kenyan travel.

Consider that it may not be possible to change your safari itinerary once you are in Kenya, so you need to get the right and credible information before booking a tour.

Here are 4 commo
Kenyan safari myths and their corresponding facts:

1. If you miss the wildebeest migration in Masai Mara, your safari is incomplete.

Just where did this one come from? No doubt the migration is a great event but wildlife viewing in Masai Mara is an all year round affair. There are resident herds of wildebeests, zebras, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and other plains game. Lions, leopards and cheetahs are territorial and they defend their corners throughout the year with or without the migration.

Therefore you can enjoy a great safari in Masai Mara throughout the year but the extent of your wildlife viewing experience will depend on the time you allocate in the park, the experience of your Kenya safari guides and their willingness to make your safari complete.

2. Kenya Safari game drives have to be at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. prompt. The rest of the day, there is no activity.

Makers of wildlife documentaries must consider this as one of the most transparent safari myths. These guys are out in the field all day capturing amazing wildlife images that have kept us glued to our TVs. If all day works for them, not forgetting that they have months to do their filming, why can't it work for you with only 10 days of safari?

Besides, the 6 a.m. & 4 p.m. safari game drives create the herd mentality with all safari mini buses going in the park to surround one lion.

3. The more National parks you visit on your Kenyan safari the greater your wildlife viewing experience.

This is a straight forward issue of quality wildlife viewing versus quantity parks. Should your 10 days Kenyan holiday be a whistle stop safari in Amboseli, Masai Mara, Nakuru, Aberdares and Samburu national parks? Consider all these parks are over 100 km apart on rough roads, so putting in a lot of parks means that you will spend most of your productive time (daylight hours) on the road rather than viewing wildlife.

The only way to a quality wildlife viewing experience is by selecting a few national parks that are in close circuit and spending longer time in each for a thorough exploration.

Your Kenyan safari like all holidays should be a time of rest and recuperation, which you can't have if you are daily out on exhausting long drives.

4. That a Kenyan safari is an adventure vacation.

An adventure vacation means that on your body power, you propel yourself to do some activity. The modern safari is in most cases a passive vehicle bound affair. You sit in the minibus, move around the park looking at wildlife and clicking on your camera may be the only physical thing that you may be called to do. Does this qualify for adventure?

Adventure activities like walking safaris can be included in your Kenya safari by prior planning and allocating enough time for them.

Now that we have demystified the commo
Kenyan safari myths, hit the keyboard and plan your safari based on facts.