Hallo,
Wij gaan in april, 2 weken naar Kenia. We willen dan vanuit Nairobi graag een 4 daagse safari gaan doen. We zijn met 2 volwassenen en 2 kinderen, 10 en 12 jaar oud.
Heeft er iemand tips, omtrent wie,wat of waar? We willen zowieso Masai Mara park gaan bezoeken, maar is het verstandig om er nog een park bij te bekijken, en zo ja, welke raden jullie aan??
Je kunt naast Masai Mara ook naar Nakurupark gaan, echter 3 nachten Masai Mara, blijven er 2 hele dagen over na aftrek van reistijd…
Wie: blader het forum even door en je vind een schat aan lokale touroperators die jullie professioneel verder zullen helpen en vriendelijk te woord zullen staan :slywink:
Vermeld de leeftijd van de kinderen erbij, sommige lodges zijn minder geschikt voor kinderen en ze krijgen korting.
Hebben jullie nog vragen, horen we vast nog van jullie …
Hallo,
Probeer www.bustaniafrika.com (in Nairobi). Gr. Helen - www.villakenya.info
Mijn tip: ga naar de Masai Mara en bezoek de Mara River, je ziet heel veel nijlpaarden en krokodillen, het is de oversteekplaats tijdens de migratie van de gnoes, zeer indrukwekkend! Verder zitten er zoveel soorten (roof)dieren zeker met kinderen, ze zullen niet weten wat ze gaan meemaken.
Bezoek ook eens de website van Kayoli Safaris, wij zijn 9 dagen met Roger op pad geweest, geweldige service en volledig betrouwbaar.
HELL’S GATE :
Hell’s Gate National Park is a tiny park located between Naivasha Lake and Longonot and Suswa volcanoes and it is an ideal venue for a weekend retreat far from the urban life of Nairobi.
The park provides a variety of wildlife, unusual flora and many species of birds and is one of the two only kenyan parks where climbing, walking and biking are allowed. Covered by ashes from the Longonot eruption which occured 100 years ago, the park is famous for its geothermal station, Lower Gorge and spectacular sceneries (cliffs, volcanoes, gorges, geothermal steam).
Also, the park has very good and well equipped camping sites and there is a large choice of accommodation around Naivasha lake which is popular for watersports, bird and game viewing in private ranches and walks at Crescent Island, Crater Lake and Mt Longonot
Altitude : 1,560 - 2,187 m (4,680 ft - 6,561 ft)
Area : 68 km2
Localisation : 10 km from Naivasha town - District of Nakuru (Rift Valley Province)
Distance : 100 km from Nairobi
Entrances : the park has one main entrance (Elsa Gate), two secondary gates (Ol Karia and Narasha gates). Note that at the main entrance, there is a retail outlet where you can purchase water, maps and souvenirs. For a sport circuit (biking, cliff climbing, hiking), you can get good information and hire bikes at the Elsa gate.
The Warden : P.O. Box 234 Naivasha. Tel: +254 (0)50 20284 - mail:hellsgatenp@africaonline.co.ke.
Attractions :
o Scenic landscape (lookouts, rocky towers).
o Unique bird viewing and nesting in cliffs.
o Spectacular excursion of the gorges and cliffs.
o Geothermal Power Station.
o Hot springs, steam jets, waterfalls and hot springs.
o Splendid views on the Longonot and Suswa volcanoes and Lake Naivasha.
o Possibility to go for walk, bike, horse riding and hiking in the park.
o Visit of the Lake Naivasha region.
How to go there :
There are two roads to go to Naivasha, the “truck” road which go down along the escarpment and continue towards Narok, or the A104 Uplands road which continue towards Nakuru. The first one is much shorter (20 km) but the final part (after Maai Mahiu town) has lots of potholes. The second road is in very good state and much faster.
Distance Nairobi-Naivasha : 90 km
HELL’S GATE NATIONAL PARK :
Despite its name, Hell’s Gate, given by the explorers Fisher and Thomson (1883) after their defeat against the hostile Maasai warriors, the park is a peaceful area where you can walk or do biking alongside towering cliffs and wild animals.
Few meters after the Elsa Gate, there is a spectacular view over the main cliff with Fisher Tower in the foreground. At the tower, you can turn left to go to the Central Tower through the Buffalo Circuit which is a two hours circuit offering magnificient view over the Kedong valley, the Naivasha lake and Longonot and Suswa volcanoes, and down to the gorges and their waterholes, waterfalls. Doing the Twiga Circuit (also on your left) and going to the Central Tower by the main road is a shorter alternative.
At the Central Tower point, your excursion just starts as there is possibility to walk into the Ol Njorowa gorge (24 km) or continue driving towards the Ol Karia gate to visit the Ol Karia geothermal power station.
FISCHER TOWER : This 25 meters (75 ft) high rocky tower formed by semi-molten rock forced to a fissure, cooling and solidifying as it extruded is located near the main entrance of the park. Both the Fischer’s tower and the Central tower were formed the same way at the same time. The German explorer, Gustav Fischer, who was sent by the Hamburg Geographical Society to find a route going from Mombasa to Lake Victoria, gave his name to this high volcanic plug rising out of the valley. For Maasai community, the tower is a Maasai girl which has be turned to stone after disobeying the family before her wedding. Around the base and scuttling among the rocks are dassies (or rock hyrax), quite unperturbed by visitors. Picnic site available. For climbers, climbing the tower is great fun
OBSIDIAN CAVES : The Obsidian caves - and its distinctive black glass-like obsidian rock - are located on the Buffalo Circuit and have a track that take you to a lookout over the near Fisher Tower and Kedong plains around the Mt Longonot. Picnic site available. Obsidian is the result of rapid cooling of molten volcanic lava coming in contact with water while being poured into a lake or ocean. This resulting to the glassy texture of the rock. Iron and magnesium give the obsidian a dark green to black color. Obsidian can contain small air bubbles that are aligned along layers. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen, known as Sheen Obsidian or a rainbow sheen called Rainbow Obsidian. Small nuggets of obsidian that have been naturally rounded and smoothed by wind and water are called Apache Tears
CENTRAL TOWER : Also called “Embarta” (The Horse), this rocky tower is much larger than its predecessor the Fischer’s Tower. The Central tower is hardly seen along the road, it can be viewed from very far along the Buffalo Circuit. To access the tower, continue towards the Lower Gorge and park your car at the main parking - which marks the halfway point of the main road. Once at the parking, the tower is easily seen from benches of the picnic site and there is a track leading to the tower (see map of Lower Gorge below
OL KARIA GEOTHERMAL PROJECT : Located few kilometers after the Central Tower, this geothermal power station, standing over the lava flow of the Ol Karia extinct volcano, is exploiting the super-heated steam locked 1,500 meters (4,500 ft) below surface (one of the hottest sources of the world) and is providing 25 % of Kenyan’s electricity from its giant turbines. From the geothermal station, you can continue up to the Ol Karia Gate (exit which emerge in the Oserian and Elsamere farms near the lake) or continue the circuit to admire steam vents and recent lava flows around the Ol Karia and Hobley’s mounts.
HELL’S GATE CLIFFS : The main road from Elsa Gate sits between Hell’s Gate spectacular towering cliffs formed of columnar basalt. The best time to drive within the cliffs is late in the afternoon as the game comes out of cover and you may see herds of buffalo and eland drinking at the waterholes and hundreds of birds flying and nesting in the rocky walls. The large white droppings on the rocky cliffs indicate nests of vulture. The Naiburta or Ol Dubai campsites offers splendid views across the cliffs and the waterholes.
WILDLIFE IN THE PARK : The grassy plains guarded by the towering cliffs are safe places to walk alongside giraffe, eland, hartebeest, buffalo and other small gazelles and antelopes. Lion, leopard and cheetah are very rare. Note also the presence of small troops of klipspringer and rock hyrax, both living in rocky area. The rare Chanler’s mountain reedbuck is very hard to spot. The park counts 103 species of birds and the cliffs are home and nesting places for birds, which are abundant at Naivasha lake. The large white droppings on the rocks indicate nests of vulture, eagles and augur buzzard. Rare species are the Verreaux’s eagle and the Lammergeyer, Ruppel’s griffon and hooded vultures.
LOWER GORGE/OL NJOROWA GORGE : Located on the main road, the Lower Gorge is the main attraction of the park. Picnic sites, toilets, refreshment and local guides are available at the main parking. From this point, you can walk up to the Central Tower or go down to the Lower Gorge (slightly steep). The first ½ kilometer is the most difficult as you follow the spring and it is sometimes slippery. But once you arrive at the main junction, the walk is easy. Stout stick, non-slip shoes and clothes for wet conditions is recommended and you must keep an eye on the weather (specially during rain seasons) as there are risk of water flood. Nevertheless, walking in the gorge is an amazing experience as you will see during this 2 hours expedition water eroded walls, so narrow that they almost block out the sky, several hot and cold waterfalls, hot water springs and colorful strata and rock formations. The place is also popular for film production as the Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, King Solomon’s Mines and Mountains of the Moon used the gorge as backdrop of their movie.
O.A.
is eens iets anders en veeeeeeeeeel minder duur.
Simon kan je zeker helpen :
Daar moet ik je gelijk in geven Mwende, de Masai Mara is prijzig, maar wel heel mooi, leuk alternatief heb je aangeboden. Ga op zoek naar meer info. Bedankt!
Dit is ook mooi :
Mount Suswa, a massive double volcanic crater, is one of Kenya’s least known mountains and conservation areas.
http://www.wereldwijzer.nl/209326-albums3990-picture26959.png
Only 50 km from Nairobi, it is described by many as the best day trip from Kenya’s capital, this little known yet massive double cratered volcano is located very close to it’s well known sister, Mt. Longonot. Though unimpressive from the outside or main Narok road Mt. Suswa is one of the most spectacular mountains of the Rift Valley as it comprises a 12 km across double crater system, a vast network of obsidian caves and a variety of wild animals and plants.
http://www.wereldwijzer.nl/209326-albums3990-picture26961.png
Suswa is a magnificent extinct volcano in the Rift Valley. It is famed for the many caves on its E slopes. All are easy to access, none are too long or complex and no special gear or knowledge is required explore these systems.
Getting there
Access: Take the old road from Nairobi to Naivasha (the more westerly). After 58 km, just before reaching Longonot, turn left at Mai Mahiu onto a good tarmac road leading to Narok. After 10 km a satellite station is passed on the left; in another 6.5 km along this road a dirt road leads S towards Suswa. Now go 6 km across plains to a Maasai manyatta. Just beyond this a track leads 55W up the slopes of Suswa; it is very rough and fairly steep.
Altitude 2356 m 7,730 feet
Latitude: 1.175°S 1°10’30″S
Longitude: 36.35°E 36°21’0″E
To get to caves
Perhaps the main attraction to Suswa are the volcanic caves – there are over 30 cave entrances that simply plunge into the ground. Caves are located on the outer edge of the outer crater. You may need to ask directions to find them
http://www.wereldwijzer.nl/209326-albums3990-picture26960.png
Hiking
After driving across the vast outer crater floor on a good road, the inner crater drops off a few hundred feet. It is a massive crater about 5 km wide and in the center is a massive central plug. The entire area can be hiked, including the inner crater rim and you can hike to the bottom of the inner crater to hot springs – there are tracks but you may need a guide. The summit of the inner crater is called Ol Doinyo Nyokie (the red mountain) at 7,222 ft. Just park at the road head and follow the paths sticking as close as possible to the crater rim. You do not need a guide for this.
The walk up to the main summit starts from the viewpoint. A steep section leads to grassy ridges with occasional trees. Where convenient keep to the ridge and reach the first summit (2250m) in about 1h. The ridge leading to the main top from here is rough and the going is slow (1h). It is best to return the same way as the complete circumnavigation takes about half a day and involves some very tedious blocky lava crossings in the south-east section of the crater.
http://www.wereldwijzer.nl/209326-albums3990-picture26962.png
Ook leuke korte trips.
Doe ze de groeten van Mwende
Ik zou masa mara en sweetwaters doen is de moeite :cheer:
Bedankt allemaal voor de info…
We zijn er inmiddels uit, we gaan voor Lake Nakuru en Masai Mara.
Mijn dochter is deze vakantie in Hell’s gate gaan fietsen en heeft Mount Longonot beklommen. ALles met het openbaar vervoer en ze hebben (haar vriend was mee) ervan genoten. Het zijn ook machtig mooie foto’s. Je moet wel fit zijn om dit te doen ! Aanrader !
Mijn dochter is deze vakantie in Hell’s gate gaan fietsen en heeft Mount Longonot beklommen. ALles met het openbaar vervoer en ze hebben (haar vriend was mee) ervan genoten. Het zijn ook machtig mooie foto’s. Je moet wel fit zijn om dit te doen ! Aanrader !
Hallo,
Ik en mijn vriend zijn naar Masai Mara gegaan en daar hebben we alle wildlife gezien.
Voor ons dus geen andere parken meer 
Hells gate is ook de moeite omdat je met de fiets kan (wel zelf niet gedaan).
Mocht je meer info willen mail me gerust (heb weinig tijd nu) ik en mijn vriend rijden door Afrika, knn je wat tips van toeroperators en locaties geven enzo.
Groetjes,
Eef!
www.waarisworteltje.be is onze website maar we zijn nog niet up to date
En ? hoe was het Maud ?