Embark on an adventure…go on a Safari to Kenya in August 2025

Between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru lies another of Kenya’s alkaline lakes – Lake Elementaita. Set within the eastern portion of the Rift Valley, the lake was produced approximately 12 million years ago, and today much of the lake is part of the private Soysambu Conservancy. The area is much less visited than other natural attractions in the region, so you enjoy a sense of privacy and solitude in a wondrous volcanic landscape. Much of your activity-enriched trip to Kenya’s Lake Elementaita takes place within the 48,000-acre conservancy that serves as a sanctuary for nationally threatened colobus monkeys, endangered Rothschild giraffes, elusive predators, plains game, avi-fauna and many other species. The varied terrain offers volcanic hills, acacia woodlands, grassy plains and stands of Warburgia fever trees and Euphorbia candelabra. As you travel across the diverse landscape during your safari activities, you may come upon craters, lava flows, plugs and other remnants of the region’s rich volcanic history, as well as odd geometric patterns created by the process of erosion in the highly porous soil. Towards the southern end of the lake are the Kekopey hot springs, a location that is thought to be an ancient passage site involved in the yesteryear ivory and slave trades. As part of the UNESCO Kenya Lake System World Heritage Site, Lake Elementaita is globally-recognized as a natural treasure to be preserved, protected and appreciated.

Although the lake region has fewer mammalian species than other areas in East Africa, more than 15,000 animals roam the conservancy property. You may see Rothschild giraffes amongst the acacia trees removing tender leaves from branches while adeptly avoiding the treacherous thorns. Many species of plains game are commonly sighted, and you may have a fortuitous experience of sighting steinboks, duikers, bush pigs, bushbucks and also other elusive fauna. Lake Elementaita is also home to the tufted-eared caracal, golden and striped jackals and other smaller predators. Like other alkaline lakes, the ecology of Elementaita is greatly influenced by rain and water levels. Specific conditions must be maintained, or the levels of algae, fish and invertebrates declines. When the abundance of these food sources declines, birds and other species prefer other Kenyan soda lakes where food is easier to locate. As a result, the number of flamingos and pelicans fluctuates. Even in less-than-optimum conditions, though, the lake is a paradise for bird lovers, offering more than 450 species, including migratory birds from Europe and other locations.

The Maasai Mara is Kenya's greatest wildlife reserve, a large extension of open plain grasslands, woodlands and smooth hills rich in some of Africa's most thrilling wildlife. Occupying an area of 320 km² in south-western Kenya, within the Great Serengeti ecosystem, it's effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park and game reserve in Tanzania.

The Maasai Mara's quantity and variety of wildlife is breathtaking. The reserve is perhaps most famous for its lions, which are found in large numbers, and for the annual wildebeest migration, known as the Great Migration, largely considered one of World's most exceptional natural phenomena. Many other distinctive African wildlife are to be found in the Mara, from elephants, antelopes and giraffes to leopards and hyenas. Hippopotami and crocodiles are found in large groups all along the Mara and Talek Rivers. There is a reasonable population of the endangered black rhinoceros (in 2000 37 individuals were recorded) and of Cheetah, although their numbers are also threatened, chiefly due to tourist disruption of their day-time hunting.

Named for the Maasai people (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and the Mara River which divides it, the reserve is basically a mammal park, and although more than 450 bird species inhabit the area, birdwatchers could remain disappointed, as it’s much harder to spot one given bird species that, say, an elephant or, obviously, wildebeest.

And its the large antelope of the acacia savanna and short-grass plains, known also as gnu, the most numerous inhabitants of the Maasai Mara, with an estimated population of almost 2 million individuals living in the Great Serengeti ecosystem. Around July of each year, these social grazers migrate in a vast ensemble north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture and return to the south around October. This circular, clockwise migratory route, the Great Wildebeest Migration, is one of the world's greatest natural events. Each year the promise of rain and fresh grass brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest into a single massive herd, which makes an entrance on the southern plains of the Mara in a massive, surging column of wildlife.Numerous other antelope can be found, including Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, impala, topi and Coke's hartebeest. Large herds of zebra are found through the reserve. The plains are also home to the distinctive Maasai giraffe as well as the common giraffe. The Maasai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. Additionally, over 450 species of birdlife have been identified in the park.

The Mara river, the reserve's backbone, traverses north to south heading for its westbound way unto Lake Victoria, through the Tanzanian park. Its riverbanks (as well as those of the Mara's multiple tributary streams) are bordered by dense riverine forests where many the reserve's bird species are to be found. It's here, on the banks of the Mara River, where the migratory herds of the Great Migration make their mass crossing, that one of the most dramatic spectacles of nature is consumed. Live and death meet as the wildebeest, terrorized by the crocodile infested waters and churning currents yet obliged by their instinct, attempt to cross the river into the rich grasslands of the northern Maasai Mara.

The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the south-east region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 km from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.

Around July, the rainy season comes to an end and the Mara is carpeted in tall, rippling swathes of seeding grass. To the south, the oceans of Serengeti fodder have been denuded by over a million wildebeest that have been milling around, rutting, mating and feeding since late March and April. They are not alone. Over 200,000 zebra are part of the procession. Slowly but steadily, this tide of herbivores moves north.

It could be in the last week of July – perhaps sooner or later depending on rainfall – but eventually over half a million of these wildebeest and zebra cross the invisible border that demarcates Kenya from Tanzania, and the Mara from the Serengeti. Like any invasion, there are always frontrunners. Bands of wildebeest canter in loose columns, wide-eyed and alert to the dangers of awaiting predators. Beyond them, the rising clouds of dust betray the vast herds. Migratory wildebeest may enter through the eastern Mara but the herds that marched north through the Serengeti’s Western Corridor are programmed to overcome one last hurdle: to reach the pastures that will sustain them through the dry season, they must cross the Mara River.

No matter how high the river is, or how rapidly it is flowing, the wildebeest are not deterred. To cross, they must withstand the crash-landing of leaping off the embankment, avoid the jaws of crocodiles and lions that wait in ambush, paddle and thrash their way across the river, and finally they must hope that they do not get simply crushed in the commotion. A good many have their journey tragically ended at the crossing points, and in some years, piles of bloated carcasses accumulate to provide an ongoing banquet for crocodiles and vultures.

The Great Migration is a clockwise, round-trip journey of around 600km during which an estimated 250,000 wildebeest perish each year. Exhaustion, hunger, injury and predation are the main factors, with newborns within their first year and those older than fifteen being the most vulnerable.

As the star of the show, with its shoebox snout, spindly legs and tousled beard, the wildebeest looks a little less than elegant, and appears to have been put together by a committee. In addition to its ungainly appearance, it seems – even at the best of times – to be a somewhat confused and bewildered creature. But like everything else, it is built for a purpose, and that is to consume vast quantities of grass and have enough stamina to cover

great distances. Often simply called a gnu (which is a fairly good description of its singular vocal ability), in both of these roles, the wildebeest excels.