Camel Derby will take place from the 17th – 19th August 2012

Kenya's Camel Classic - Maralal Camel Derby The Annual Maralal Camel Derby takes place in the month of August in Maralal, a remote desert outpost in Samburu county.

The quiet town of Maralal, about 348 kms North of Nairobi, is considered the gateway to Kenya’s wild and arid North, and is a mecca for adventurers, nomads and camels.

Maralal Camel Derby will take place from the 17th – 19th August 2012 at Yare Camel Camp in Maralal.

This is real camel country, and the single humped dromedary camel is a vital part of life for many of Northern Kenya’s nomadic people.

Each year, the Camel Derby brings colour and action to the streets of Maralal as the finest Camels in the North gather for the big race.

While most of Kenya’s camel rearing communities do not ride them- using them as pack animals- they are excellent handlers and judges of an animals strength and potential for speed.

Winning the Derby is a great local honour, and each year the title is hotly contested. But this by no means a purely local event.

Maralal is a haven for nomadic cultures, and that includes travellers from all over the globe.

The Town is a popular stopover for travellers looking for adventure in Kenya’s Northern Frontier District - one of Africa’s last great unspoilt wilderness areas.

For anyone visiting the area around this time, attending the Derby is a must. The three day race event is a chance to experience culture, colour, action and adventure first hand.

This is not just a spectator sport - if you are going to attend the derby, why not saddle up and join in? 

The derby this year will include: Camel ride competition for amateurs and experts as well, Tricamalon, 10km fun run, 5 km fun run for the physically challenged and bike races.

Verreaux's Eagle-owl

Verreaux's Eagle-owl -also known as the Milky Eagle Owl, Giant Eagle Owl- is a member of the family Strigidae and is the largest African owl. This owl is claimed to be the world's third largest owl; after the Blakiston's Fish Owl and Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Verreaux's Eagle-owl ranges from 66–75 cm (26-30 in) in length. This species can attain a wingspan 2 m (6.5 ft) and weighs from 1600 to 3115 grams (equal to 3.5 to 7 pounds). In appearance, they are distinguished by a whitish oval disk face with a black border, pink eyelids, orange eyes and two feather tufts on their ears. Their feathers are dark brown on top and light grey below.

It is a nocturnal bird; it can be seen perching on exposed branches during the day. It often hunts in early evening and will wade into water to catch fish. Particularly partial to hedgehogs when nesting, it will take a wide variety of prey from moths to Great White Egrets, Grey Herons and apparently even Secretary Birds. At Lake Baringo Club the resident family has driven the White-faced Scops Owl from the grounds, having preyed on their chicks. They have also decimated the hotel's domestic cat population, the remaining cats are very cautious. Above all Verreaux's Eagle-Owls are opportunistic feeders which are quite happy scavenging for leftovers. You should watch out for them at lodges that engage in daily crocodile feeding.

Kilima Camp: one of the best safari holidays camp

Kilima Camp

Kilima Camp has a fantastic location overviewing the Masai Mara River and Plains. The intimate eco-lodge is an ideal base to enjoy the real African wildlife experience in comfort and style.

The camp has 12 Standard classic safari tents as well as 2 Deluxe tents which are ideal for honeymooners and families.
The camp manager together with his highly professional team will give you an African experience to remember and can propose several bush activities to make your stay at Kilima Camp even more interesting, enjoyable and rewarding. 
Game viewing is superb all year and the camp is surrounded by wildlife. You will be sure to have memories for a lifetime during our safari game drives and we guarantee you to see amazing wildlife.
Kilima Camp is an intimate eco-lodge with 12 standard tents and 2 Deluxe Tents. Kilima Camp is a friendly safari holidays camp located in the Masai Mara (Maasai Mara) in Kenya. Kilima Camp is an ideal African safari camp and has a perfect location for those who wish to enjoy unforgettable safari holidays in Africa.
Kilima means “mountains or little hill” in Swahili. Kilima Camp is located in Kenya in the Maasai Mara (Maasai Mara) area at 1,800 metres above sea level.
The safari holidays camp is situated on the edge of the Siria escarpment, overlooking the Mara River (1,500 metres) with a phenomenal view, “the Gods’ window”. Hence Kilima Camp has a fantastic location in the Masai Mara (Maasai Mara), bordering the official perimeter of the game reserve.
Surrounded by an abundance of wildlife, Kilima Camp offers a true African adventure in style and comfort, it makes Kilima Camp a perfect safari holidays camp.
Game viewing in the Masai Mara (Maasai Mara), whether by car or on foot, around Kilima Camp is superb all year round. There is no doubt that your safari holidays will be wonderful and unforgettable.
From July to October, Kilima Camp is an ideal safari camp to witness the Great Migration where more than one million wildebeests and zebras cross the Mara River, an event which happens nowhere else in Africa but in the Masai Mara (Maasai Mara). This is a safari holiday of a lifetime!
At Kilima Camp, we do not only strive to offer our guests an unforgettable safari holiday in the African bush in one of the best wildlife areas in the world, but we also want to contribute to the conservation of the Masai Mara Ecosystem as well as to the well-being of the local Masai communities.(Maasai). We are proud to have been rewarded a bronze medal by Ecotourism Kenya.

Bird Migration

"The stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed time; and the turtledove, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of their coming.”- These are not just any words but are words written in the bible by Job about migration of birds.

In our backyards, most of us won't see anything like the migrating Whooping Crane, but there's a tiny possibility we might, in certain neighborhood wildlife refuges and parks. Sometimes a bird species that's present in our neighborhood the whole year can also be migratory.

Birds do not migrate because they figure out that they need to. It's been shown that, at least in some birds, changes in day length cause glands in the birds' bodies to produce hormones that produce profound changes inside the birds, changes that prepare them for the flight south. In the fall, as days grow shorter, fat accumulates under the skin. This fat contains energy needed for those coming days when the birds will be spending more energy flying than they'll be eating during their occasional rests. Weather changes sometimes trigger a migration's start, but by then the birds are already prepared. The urge to migrate must be very powerful. Starlings caged as their migration time approaches become extremely fidgety and point their bodies in the direction they want to fly toward.

Watching bird migration take place is one of the most exciting and interesting things a birder can do, and it's something you can see in your own backyard but it is wonderful if watched in the wild while on a safari. Especially in the spring when birds are in their bright courtship plumage and males are lustily singing, it's a pure joy to walk around taking note of which species have arrived. In the fall, as Northern-Hemisphere migrants head back and they are much quieter and their plumage is more drab. They're harder to identify, too. Nonetheless, their passage is still a majestic event to behold.

Birds fly at varying altitudes during migration. An expedition to Mt. Everest found skeletons of Pintail and Black-tailed Godwit at 5000 m (16,400 ft) on the Khumbu Glacier. Bar-headed Geese have been seen flying over the highest peaks of the Himalayas above 8000 m (29000 ft) even when low passes of 3000 m (10000 ft) were nearby. Seabirds fly low over water but gain altitude when crossing land, and the reverse pattern is seen in landbirds. However most bird migration is in the range of 150 m (500 ft) to 600 m (2000 ft). However birds too have their destinations and they just don’t go anywhere.