Images of Kenya's Interior

Continuing a series on Kenya images that began two issues ago, with two slideshows on Kenya’s coast in each issue, (slideshows 1 and 2 and slideshows 3 and 4), this issue’s slideshow offers imagery from Kenya’s interior.

Many of the wildlife images are from the Maasai Mara region that includes excellent tented camps like Porini Lion Camp, www.porini.com and Kicheche, www.kicheche.com. The Maasai clans have lived in this area for centuries, and provide many of the guides and staff for area camps. A long hike with Maasai tribesmen is a Kenya pleasure.

One of the best experiences in Kenya is Il Ngwesi Lodge in northern Kenya, adjacent to the Ngare Ndare River on the edge of the Mukogodo Hills. The six bandas, or cottages, are on Maasai territory and represent the Kenya prototype for a lodge run by a local Maasai community. Offerings include visiting the Cultural Boma and exploring the traditional tribal livelihoods, including startling hunting techniques, which convey an authenticity that will resonate with travelers. www.lewa.org

A few snaps are also from Larsens Tented Camp, in the Samburu National Reserve, an easy-going slice of luxury on the bank of the Uaso Nyiro River. The couple that runs the camp are entertaining in the feisty colonialist style one hopes to encounter during a travel.

Kenya remains a wonderful country with quality offerings. Exercise appropriate cautions but consider some of the country's unique experiences, accompanied by reliable guides and safari operations, before the tourists roll back in larger numbers. The tourist industry has the red carptet out, and one can shop for excellent pricing. There are always places in Kenya where one can escape the crowds that have gotten in the way of fully enjoying some locales, but now one can experience all of the country without worries of too many tourists. And hope for the emergence of reliable statesmanship and governance.

Up to date info from the US embassy can be seen at http://nairobi.usembassy.gov

An excellent booking operation for African tours is the Africa Adventure Company, www.africa-adventure.com

Camera Corner

Two interesting cameras went along on this trip.

Most images, particularly of the wildlife, were taken by the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. If you’re seeking a good consumer camera for travelers, this is a very worthy contender. It’s particularly helpful for a trip involving outings like safaris. This light, optically stabilized camera, small enough to rest on your hand, has an 18x zoom lens with the 35 mm equivalent range of 28, which is a decent wide angle, to 504. That length lens on a single lens reflex camera would generally be very long and heavy, and other lenses would be required to fill out the range. No, the FZ18, which can be found for under three hundred dollars, isn’t going to produce consistent images of the quality of a set up costing thousands. But in good light, the results can be pretty darn good. I didn’t use a tripod and seldom fiddled with settings. The camera is very user-friendly. if you don’t want to lug a load of expensive equipment, which can often get between the traveler and experience, take a good look at this camera and at others in the Panasonic point and shoot line, such as the earlier FZ50, with a manual zoom ring, which would also be great on safari. This is a good product line to keep an eye on.

The other camera I took is one that fits in a shirt pocket, the Olympus Stylus 790 SW. It’s rugged, shockproof to a five foot fall and waterproof to thirty-three feet underwater. 35 mm lens equivalent is 38-114. It’s a great backup camera for conditions or risks you don’t want to expose your main camera to, such as getting down to water surface level to photograph a boat’s reflection, or taking a long hike down a beach where you might not want to leave things on land while you’re in the water. Very handy for snorkeling and river rafting. Street price of about $25O. A newer version, the Stylus 1030 SW, costing a hundred more, has a more useful wide angle, with a range of 28-102.

Most snaps of the Maasai cultural presentation, taken at dusk, were done with an old standby, the Olympus C-8080, over four years old and still one of the most reliable point and shoots. If you find one on the cheap, grab it for a backup.