kenya
Operators offering hikes up Mount Kenya include Exodus and KE Adventures, which also twins it with Kilimanjaro on a 15day tour. Somak Holidays’ comprehensive offering even includes packages around the annual Tusk Safaricom Marathon at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
Perfect ten Be flexible: Perfect your downward dog and sun salutations while on a ‘yoga safari’ in the Masai Mara. Get high: Float above the Mara unnoticed as you observe the wildlife at the break of day from a hot air balloon. Get higher: Gaze out over the plains during a guided hike ascending Mount Kenya having enjoyed wildlife encounters in the forests encircling its lower reaches. Astral sleeps: Ogle the wildlife by day and the spectacular dark skies by night from your ‘glamptastic’ star bed. Savour sun down: Celebrate the remains of the day with a classic
sundowner such as a refreshing G&T or traditional Dawa cocktail (vodka, honey and lemon served over ice) high on a scenic bluff. Migrate timing: Catch the annual Great Migration by booking July to October. This ‘buket list’ sight is one of the great marvels of nature and definitely one of my most enduring wildlife encounters. Take your best shot: Go in pursuit of the perfect wildlife snap and perfect your technique on a guided photographic safari. Mix it up: Take in other interesting wildlife havens such as Kakamega Forest or diverse watery habitats such as Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru, which are great for birdlife. Life’s a beach: Kick back aftr time in the bush and swap memorable safari stories in a Kenyan coastal resort such as Lamu, Mombasa or Watamu. More is, well, more: Operators such as Intrepid Travel and Exodus twin Kenyan safari adventures with Tanzania or fuse it with Uganda and Rwanda, gorillas being the big added draw.
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What’s new �Hotels and resorts: Sixteen new hotels are scheduled for the next five years, adding 2,900 rooms and expanding the accommodation capacity by 14%. Garden Inn Hotel (hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com), Hilton’s second Nairobi property, opened earlier this year near the airport. The recently opened Loisaba Tented Camp (loisaba.com/star_beds.php) now offers its ‘star beds’ in two locations, with a new four-hour guided night-time ‘star safari’ available on foot or horseback. The currently-closed Hemingways Watamu (hemingways-watamu.com) will open as a 39-room luxury boutique property in late 2017. Tour operators: Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk) clients can witness its new initiative to provide local students with e-readers packed with learning materials. Sanctuary Retreats (sanctuaryretreats.com) is offering year-round discounted long-stay rates of up to 40% at its riverside Olonana camp, with no single supplements in January, April, May or June.