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Uganda |
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South Africa |
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Namibia |
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Botswana |
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Zimbabwe |
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Zambia |
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Mozambique |
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Arabia |
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Aberdares, Sweetwaters Nature Reserve, Mt Kenya & Meru National Park |
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Aberdare National Park
Aberdare national park is located in the range of the same name, described by Joseph Thomson in 1883 during his journey through the Maasai Land. Kikuyu people still use the range's traditional name, Nyandarua. From 1947 to 1956, the misty and rainy forests in the range served as a hide for the Mau-Mau guerrilla. The park was gazetted in 1950 with an extension of 584 km², but was afterwards enlarged to 770 km², making it the third largest park in the country.
The Aberdare range, 160 km long, is located in the Central Highlands, Central Province, west of Mount Kenya and north of Nairobi, serving as the Kenyan Rift Valley's east wall. The national park comprises a longitudinal strip from south to north, with a projection toward the east denominated The Salient, which runs down to an altitude of 2,130 m, near the town of Nyeri. The Salient has its origin in an ancient migratory route of elephants between the range and Mount Kenya. |
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Sweetwaters Nature Reserve
This 24-000 acre reserve saddling the Equator enjoys magnificent views across the plains to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya, and has an abundance of wildlife and tropical vegetation.
The reserve boasts a plethora of wildlife - over 400 species of birds, lion, elephant, rhino and cheetah to name just a few. Morani, a black rhino, was rescued as a baby after he was found wandering near his mother who had been killed by poachers in Amboseli National Park. After having been taken to three or four other locations where unfortunately his safety was put at risk by both the presence of poachers and attacks by other rhinos, Morani came to Sweetwaters where he lives in his own 100-acre enclosure, protected 24-hours by armed guards.
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Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya plays a crucial role in the life of the country being Kenya's single most important permanent watershed and her largest forest reserve. The fertile soils of its lower slopes also sustain the growth of the nation's richest farmlands whilst much of its vegetation is globally unique. In recent years, however, the Mountain has suffered greatly from the adverse effects of deforestation, resulting in large tracts of its lower slopes being entirely denuded of trees and occupied by squatters. And, although much of the vast forest cover remains intact, the growing demand for timber
(Kenya's staple construction and fuel source) threatens to lead to even more serious deforestation and subsequent soil erosion.
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Meru National Park
Meru National Park is located on the equator, near Mount Kenya and is part of a vast conservation area along the Tana River encompassing Meru and Kora National Parks and the adjacent National Reserves of Bisanadi and Mwingi, with a total area of over 4,000 sq. kilometres.
Meru National Park contains numerous rivers and waterways including the mighty Tana river and varied habitats of swamp, riverine forest, savannah and dry bush country. Meru's proximity to Mount Kenya and the Nyambeni Hills ensures reasonable rainfall in the western half of the park, but in the eastern part it is generally dry and can be extremely hot.
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, 
& 
merchants.