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PORINI CAMP - AMBOSELI:
Porini Camp is located in the Selenkay Conservation Area, a 15,000-acre private game reserve on a vast tract of land of over 300,000 acres owned by the Kisonko clan of the Maasai people and bordering the northern boundary of Amboseli, overlooking Kilimanjaro.
The Conservation Area is an important dispersal area for wildlife moving in and out of Amboseli and actually holds a wider diversity of species than is found inside the park. In addition to the better-known big game like elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe and zebra, there are several less common species such as caracal, African wildcat, civet, gerenuk, lesser kudu and striped hyena.
Our private four-wheel-drive track links the Selenkay Conservation Area to the Amboseli National Park so that we have the advantage of game drives in the park as well as in our own exclusive reserve. The Selenkay Conservation Area is 100 miles from Nairobi and a three-hour drive, mostly on tarmac down the Mombasa road. The camp operates a transfer by minibus from Nairobi every Monday, Thursday and Saturday for a 2-night safari and every Wednesday for a 1-night safari. The Amboseli airstrip can also be used, with daily flights from Nairobi operated by Air Kenya. A surcharge is applicable for airstrip transfers as well as pickup or drop-off to Namanga.
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Accommodation:
Porini Camp consists of six spacious tents, sited among shady Acacia Tortilis trees, in a spot once favoured by big game hunters. The camp is small and exclusive, accommodating a maximum of 12 guests. It is set up along the lines of the traditional hunting safari bush camp, so there are no permanent structures like bar or restaurant or swimming pool – this is real camping in the bush, but with much more comfortable bathroom arrangements than were available to the hunters of earlier years!
The tents are large and comfortably furnished, each with a double and a single bed, solar-powered electric lights, and en suite bathroom with shower, washbasin and flush toilet.
Meals are taken under the shade of an Acacia tree and after dinner we can sit around the campfire and listen to the sounds of the African night. The camp is staffed by members of the local Maasai community and managed by a young South African couple, Ryan and Tania, who are experienced safari guides and act as your hosts throughout your stay.
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Typical Daily Programme:
During your stay there will be a two-day programme as follows:
Day 1: Transfer from Nairobi by road arriving for lunch. In the afternoon you will go on a game drive to explore the Conservation Area ending with a sundowner on Olosinkiran Hill. Return to camp for a shower, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: After an early breakfast, we drive through the bush on our private track into Amboseli National Park for a full morning, returning for lunch. In the afternoon you will be escorted on a walk by Maasai trackers and a guide, who will give you an insight into their fascinating culture and way of life. Return to camp for dinner followed by a night game drive to view nocturnal animals such as aardvarks, serval cats, caracals, bat-eared foxes, African wild cats, and maybe even the elusive leopard.
Day 3: Early morning game drive in the Conservation Area followed by a late breakfast and then depart for the transfer to Nairobi, arriving around 2 pm.
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Ecotourism:
The local Maasai community has set aside the Selenkay Conservation Area as a reserve for wildlife and in return is receiving an income from tourism activities. This is used to fund community projects such as schools and water supplies. Employment opportunities have also been provided for the local Maasai people as game rangers, trackers, and camp staff.
Apart from the management couple and Head Cook, all other staff in the camp and Conservation Area are members of the local community. The 70 kms of roads in the Conservation Area were constructed using local labour so that members of the community gained employment. As a result of the establishment of the Conservation Area, wildlife numbers have recovered significantly in recent years.
Elephants are now seen frequently after an absence of nearly 20 years. Selenkay Conservation Area lies in the heart of Maasailand, well off the beaten track, and has not been visited by tourists until very recently. The animals are truly wild and tend to behave more naturally than those in the parks, which are often habituated to the presence of vehicles.
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Facilities and Activities:
* Spacious insect-proof tents comfortably furnished with proper beds.
* En suite bathrooms with showers, washbasins and flush toilets.
* All meals.
* Free mineral water, soft drinks.
* Custom-built four-wheel-drive safari vehicles for all game drives.
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* Experienced driver-guides.
* Morning and evening game drives in Selenkay.
* Night game drive.
* Escorted walk with Maasai trackers and guide.
* Sundowner on Olosinkiran Hill.
* Picnic lunch in a tree platform.
* Full morning in Amboseli National Park.
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Reservations and Enquiries |
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AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK:
The Amboseli national park offers one of the most classic and breathtaking views of Kenya, the gigantic Kilimanjaro mountain, with its 5,985 m dominating the plains like a powerful god ruling the world from his silver throne. Before the discovery of the mountain for the western world by the missionary Johannes Rebmann in 1848, ancient swahili and arab legends used to tell about a great inland mountain, in the summit of which lived a terrible god who punished those who dared to approach his dwelling by paralysing their hands and feet. In this very poetic way the inhabitants of the tropical shores described a phenomenon that was alien to them: freezing.
Long a favourite of Hollywood film makers, Amboseli National Park's 392 square kilometres form the perfect auditorium for scenic views of Afica's highest mountian, Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The image of elephants wandering across grass plains with the snowy peak of Mt Kilimanjaro in the background is one known even to armchair travellers. This epitomises Amboseli National Park and highlights the stark contrasts Africa has to offer.
In Amboseli's case it is big skies and far horizons combined with swampy springs and dry and dusty earth trammelled by hundreds of animals. Amboseli has an endless underground water supply filtered through thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Kilimanjaro's ice cap, which funnel into two clear water springs in the heart of the park. However, the climatic pendulum can swing from drought to flood, and in the early 1990's ceaseless rain changed Amboseli into a swamp. A few years later the rains failed and the grass-covered plains turned to dust.
Amboseli's dust is ancient volcanic ash, whose salt crystals shimmer on the surface of the parched lakebed during the dry season. This creates hazy mirages which make you question just what is real.
Surrounding Amboseli are ranch areas where the Maasai share the land with the wildlife. Wild animals tends to avoid the village areas as there are far too many people and the grazing has already been eaten by the Maasai's all-important cattle.
Animals & Birds:
This park is renowned for its elephants, which may be seen in herds over 100 strong drinking from the surface springs. There are so many of them that their penchant for pushing down trees is destroying the habitat that sustains them. Big old bull elephants carry some of the largest tusks to be seen anywhere in Africa and is a renowned feature of this park.
Also happily roaming the grasslands are buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, impala and warthog. Attendant carnivores include lion, leopard, caracal, cheetah, jackal, hyena and serval cat. Unfortunately any rhino are long gone from this area after intensive poaching.
Birdlife is extremely good and you can expect to see pelicans, bee-eaters, kingfishers and many types of eagles.
Seasons:
Rainy Season: The long hot and humid rainy period starts around April and lasts until June, then the short rains come during the warm months of November and December.
Dry Season: January through to March are hot and dry, while July to October are warm and dry. The warm dry season is the best for game viewing and for personal comfort.
Amboseli Specialities:
· Majestic Mt Kilimanjaro backdrop
· Large herds of elephants
· Big old tuskers
· Contemporary Maasai Culture |
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merchants.