Mountains of many spurs

Mount Longonot is a dormant stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Its name is derived from the Masai word oloonong'ot, meaning "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges".
Mount Longonot is protected by the Kenya Wildlife Service as part of Mount Longonot National Park. A trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a loop encircling the crater. The whole tour is only about 8–9 km long but very steep, so that the round trip of park gate - Longonot Peak - park gate takes around 5 hrs hiking. The gate is around 2150 m asl and the peak at 2780 m asl but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 m vertical difference.
A forest of small trees covers the crater floor, and small steam vents are found spaced around the walls of the crater. The mountain is home to various species of wildlife, notably zebra and giraffe and buffaloes (droppings on the rim) and hartebeest. Leopards have also been reported but are extremely difficult to spot.
Mount Longonot is 60 kilometers northwest of Nairobi and may be reached from there by a tarmac road. The road was re-done by the EU and is now excellent, reducing travel time from Nairobi to around an hour. A nearby town is also named Longonot. The Longonot satellite earth station is located south of the mountain.
On March 21, 2009 Brush Fires burned up the side of the mountain and descended into the crater, trapping wildlife and feeding on drought ravaged bush.

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THE BARABAIG PEOPLE:

Violence between the Barabaig people and their traditional enemies, the Maasai, has ceased along with the purely pastoral way of life both once enjoyed. Ritual murders are now as rare as gardens used to be.  The Barabaig grow maize and beans, which ties them to the land in a way they once shunned.

Forty thousand Barabaig, a people closely related to the Datoga, who moved south from the Nile Valley into Tanzania about 200 years ago, once lived exclusively on the Zebu cattle they herded around Mt. Hanang.  Their semi-nomadic lives took them among homesteads they built on the Basotu Plains, which cover 2,400 square miles of land south of Lake Eyasi.  (The Hadza people live east of the lake.)
Traditionally, the Barabaig, like their enemies, the Maasai, lived exclusively on the milk, blood and meat of their cattle and, occasionally, other animals.  Sparse rainfall in their homeland prompted them to keep moving to find suitable grazing.  They started to become farmers when Barabaig men married Iraqw women who cultivated fields of maize north of Lake Eyasi.  Today, Barabaig homesteads often include plots of land that grow corn and beans.  Especially during the dry season, when milk is scarce, the people rely on ugali, a bread or porridge made from dried corn.
Honey plays a part in nearly all ceremonies.  It supplies energy, and it is the stuff of honey beer.  To make honey beer, or kishoda, the Barabaig take honey from hives in hollow trees.  They put it in specially treated gourds, after shaking out any cockroaches that may be inside, and add the root of a plant which catalyzes fermentation. 
When the honey brew loses its sweetness, it is ready to drink.  It is then imbibed in the course of ceremonies that involve facial scarring, a mark of beauty among the Barabaig that makes them easy to distinguish from the Maasai. Only men may drink the beer, a dubious privilege that extends to bulls.  When a bull has sired many calves and grows old, it is led to the corral of its owner and fed huge quantities of honey beer.  It becomes intoxicated and, eventually, passes out.  The bull's honor culminates in its strangulation by young men with ropes, butchering by women, and joyful consumption by all.
One thing the Barabaig have never eaten is wheat, so there is much controversy about a Canadian project to grow wheat on the Basotu Plains.  After the government of Tanzania claimed this land in the 1970s and opened it to wheat production by a Canadian-sponsored organization, tensions developed between the Barabaig and the Hadza as well as between all indigenous people the Canadian wheat growers.  The nomadic Barabaig and Hadza had to compete for smaller and smaller amounts of land to graze and hunt. Many Barabaig have also witnessed the ploughing of their burial mounds.  Although numerous Barabaig have moved to villages and cities, many remain near Lake Eyasi and practice their traditions.  The land they inhabit makes difficult and capricious demands, but it offers opportunities for celebration and intoxication as well.

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Home away from home

House of Waine - Nairobi Hotels

House of Waine is a unique boutique hotel on Masai Lane in the Karen suburb of Nairobi, Kenya.

House of Waine is an 11-bedroom property on 2.5 acres that blends the elegance of gracious living with the spirit of modern Africa in an exclusive and serene setting.  House of Waine's aim is to provide AfricanMecca guests with an experience that exceeds all their expectations of city hotels and is punctuated by personalized, friendly and excellent service and cuisine in beautiful surroundings.

Tell Me More About House Of Waine Located in Nairobi Suburbs as a Nairobi and On Safari Hotel In Kenya

• In addition to the advantage of House of Waine's small size, AfricanMecca guests can be assured that they will enjoy the same standard of facilities in their room as they would in a larger city hotel.  These include:

o Televisions in each room with local and satellite channels.
o Direct dial telephones.
o Complimentary mini bar (please note that this does not include alcoholic beverages).
o Mini safe.
o Tea and coffee making facilities with fresh milk and freshly ground coffee delivered daily.
O Complimentary pastries daily.

• The 11 bedrooms are all individually styled and then named to reflect their different themes ensuring that no two are exactly alike.
• 9 of House of Waine's bedrooms can be single, double or twin rooms.
• Each bedroom features a large marble bathroom with plenty of natural light through the large windows. 
• Most bathrooms have a separate shower and bath (with the exception of 2 which feature only a bath) and all have a complete range of toiletries, hairdryers and bathroom telephone.

luminary and Dining Experience At The House Of Waine Located in Nairobi Suburbs as a Nairobi and On Safari Hotel In Kenya

• The menu is varied and reflects the diversity to be found in Nairobi today, which ensures that most guests will find something they will enjoy.  It is a set menu that gives guests two options for each course and changes daily.
• Meals are served in various locations on the property, which allows House of Waine to make each meal a slightly different experience.  These areas are:

o The Breakfast Terrace
o The Dining Terrace
o The Dining Room
o The Pool Pavilion
o The Lounge
o Or simply in the garden

• There are two bars which are exclusively for the use of guests staying at the hotel:

o The Main Bar
o The Pool Bar

Facilities at House of Waine Located in Nairobi Suburbs as a Nairobi and on Safari Hotel in Kenya

• Heated swimming pool.
• Two meeting rooms

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A "blackleg" among lions

Perhaps we shouldn’t call him Blackleg. He is certainly no con artist or trickster. But he is a marked lion nonetheless. From the day he was born the fur over the entire length of his inner right foreleg from under the chest to paw, has been uniformly pitch black.

She is one of the four cubs raised on the eastern fringes of Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. At first it was thought to be a plastering of mud on her leg or an unimaginable injury sustained as a result of fighting.

Blackleg though has never shown any sign being inconvenienced by this puzzling anomaly. Indeed he was-from the outset- the dominant cub always boisterous and spoiling for a fight with his siblings.

The latter comprising of two females and one other male has no such distinguishing black marks.

After all Blackleg’s peculiarity must simply be a birthmark. 

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An Island in the Tropics of Africa

Crescent Island

A little crater lake at the bottom of a small volcano at the western side of Lake Naivasha and the wildlife sanctuary on Crescent Island can be visited. Crescent Island is a peninsula or island, depending on the lake level, joined to the mainland by a causeway. In 1988, the lake level dropped sufficiently to allow Crescent Island to become part of the mainland.

On the eastern end of the island sailing is possible at a private boating club. Sunday regattas are an incongruous sight on the bottom of the Rift Valley and the view of the Rift Valley walls from the lake is an altogether exhilarating experience.

Among the resident birds are fish eagles, ospreys, lily-trotters, black crakes and a variety of herons. Hippo also live in the lake. A number of mammals can be seen grazing in the surrounding lake environs, such as zebra, impala, buffalo, giraffe, Kongoni and, at night, hippos.

Lake Naivasha is 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Nairobi on the main Nairobi-Kisumu road. The old road, tracking an ancient elephant trail, snakes down the eastern Rift Valley Wall Escarpment and is to be avoided except by the bravest: it has been relegated to the lorry transport category. The newer road skirts along the top of the escarpment from Limuru, only dropping down into the Rift just south of Naivasha. From either, there is a magnificent view of Lake Naivasha and the extinct volcanoes, Suswa and Longonot, in the valley bottom.

Accommodation is available at Lake Naivasha Hotel or Safari land Lodge. The resplendent traditional Kenya Sunday Lunch at Lake Naivasha Hotel is recommended, even if you are not staying there. The view over the lake, from the well-manicured lawn, in the shade of yellow-barked fever trees, will not be soon forgotten.

There are a series of campsites on the southern side of the lake, probably the best known being Fisherman’s Camp, where bandas can be rented or you can pitch your own tent. Bandas are also available at YMCA Camp and at Top Camp. If you have camping gear, Safari land Lodge also has a campsite.

Going to Hell: Hell’s Gate National Park, a dramatically beautiful slice through the volcanic ridge south of Lake Naivasha, has only been recently created. It lies some 13 kilometres (eight miles) south-east of Naivasha and is about 68 square kilometres (27 square miles) in area.

The park is an impressive gorge with towering cliffs. Close to the entrance is Fisher’s Tower, a lone 25-metre- (82-foot-) high rock. Powerful geysers, which gave the park its name, have been harnessed with foreign aid to generate electricity. The geothermal electricity project has been carefully executed so that it does not affect the beauty of the park.

Among the birds to be seen are a colony of Ruppell’s vulture and a pair of resident lammergeyers that breed on the cliffs. The lammergeyers have developed the habit of scavenging bones, flying them to considerable heights and dropping them onto and reveal the bone several "dropping Gate. There are also the largest of the invariably seen many other notable birds of prey including Secretary birds. have taken low acacia tree near up through the gorge in the park include antelope, zebra leopard.

Camping is the only available accommodation. It might be wise to enter into a private arrangement with a Maasai warrior to guard your vehicle for the night.

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ANIMAL FACTS

Animals Interesting Facts part one;

·         Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 liter bottles.

·         Cows can have regional accents

·         A domestic cat can frighten a black bear to climb a tree.

·         Bonobos are the only non human primates that engage in oral sex, tongue kissing, and face-to-face genital sex.

·         In a fight between a polar bear and a lion, the polar bear would win.

·         US Secret Service sniffer dogs are put up in five-star hotels during overseas presidential visits.

·         Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

·         Bulls are color blind.

·         A cow's only sweat glands are in its nose.

·         Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.

·         The Poison Arrow frog has enough poison to kill 2,200 people.

·         Emus can't walk backwards.

·         A group of unicorns is called a blessing.

·         A group of kangaroos is called a mob.

·         A group of owls is called a parliament.

·         A group of ravens is called a murder.

·         A group of bears is called a sleuth.

·         Twelve or more cows is called a flink.

·         A baby oyster is called a spat.

·         Some fleas have split penises like a Y shape

·         An elephant can be pregnant for up to 2 years

·         Chickens can't swallow while they are upside down.

·         The average garden-variety caterpillar has 248 muscles in its head.

·         A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds.

·         A mule won't sink in quicksand but a donkey will.

·         More people are killed annually by donkeys than in airplane crashes.

·         Animal breeders in Russia once claimed to have bred sheep with blue wool.

·         Penguins are the only bird that can leap into the air like porpoises.

·         India has 50 million monkeys.

·         By some unknown means, an iguana can end its own life.

·         Americans spend around $3 billion for cat and dog food a year.

·         Pigs can cover a mile in 7.5 minutes when running at top speed.

·         The shell constitutes 12 percent of an egg's weight.

·         A squid has 10 tentacles.

·         A snail's reproductive organs are in its head.

·         When a horned toad is angry, it squirts blood from its eyes.

·         The typical hen lays 19 dozen eggs a year.

·         The ostrich has a 46-foot long small intestine.

·         A scallop has 35 blue eyes.

·         A swan is the only bird with a penis

·         The left leg of a chicken in more tender than the right one.

·         The only dog that doesn't have a pink tongue is the chow.

·         Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostates.

·         The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal.

·         Zebras can't see the color orange.

·         There are more insects in ten square feet of a rain forest than there are people in Manhattan.

·         It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.

·         The smartest dogs are the Jack Russell Terrier and Scottish Border collie. Dumbest: Afgan hound.

·         A rat can go without water longer than a camel can.

·         Chocolate kills dogs! . A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue! 

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