Kenya

Events:

Kenya's most spectacular annual event is organized by an unlikely group - wilderbeasts. Literally millions of these ungainly antelopes move en masse in July and August from the Serengeti in search of lush grass. They head south again around October. The best place to see this phenomenon is at the Masai Mara National Reserve. Kenya's more orthodox annual events include public holidays such as Kenyatta Day (20 October) and Independence Day (12 December).

Currency:

Kenyan shilling (KSh), divided into 100 cents With the deregulation of the money supply, foreign-exchange bureaus are the best places to change money. Their rates are competitive and they don't charge commission. Banks will change money, but their commission can be steep. With such an active tourist industry, Kenya is a country where tipping is expected. In anything more than a basic eatery, 5-10% of the bill is the usual amount expected.

Beaten Track:

Kakamega Forest Reserve This is a superb slab of virgin tropical rainforest in the heart of an intensively cultivated agricultural area of Western Kenya. It's home to a huge variety of birds and animals and is well worth the minimal effort required to get to it. The forest area of the reserve is where you'll find a number of primate species including the red-tailed monkey, black & white colobus monkey and the blue monkey. The best way to appreciate the forest is to walk. Marsabit National Park & Reserve This northern park is home to Kenya's larger mammals including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, hyenas and gazelles. Because the area is thickly forested, you won't see much unless you spend quite some time here - preferably camping at Lake Paradise. Since this crater lake is aptly named, this shouldn't be a problem. It's an enchanting place to rough it and few camp sites in Kenya can rival it for scenery and tranquility.

History:

The first of many genuinely human footprints to be stamped on Kenyan soil were left way back in 2000 BC by nomadic Cushitic tribes from Ethiopia. A second group followed around 1000 BC and occupied much of central Kenya. The rest of the ancestors of the country's medley of tribes arrived from all over the continent between 500 BC and AD 500. The Bantu-speaking people (such as the Gusii, Kikuyu, Akamba and Meru) arrived from West Africa while the Nilotic speakers (Maasai, Luo, Samburu and Turkana) came from the Nile Valley in southern Sudan. As tribes migrated throughout the interior, Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula and Shirazis from Persia (now Iran) settled along the East African coast from the 8th century AD onwards. Drawn by the whiff of spices and money, the Portuguese started sniffing around in the 15th century. After venturing further and further down the western coast of Africa, Vasco da Gama finally rounded the Cape of Good Hope and headed up the continent's eastern coast in 1498. Seven years later, the Portuguese onslaught on the region began. By the 16th century, most of the indigenous Swahili trading towns, including Mombasa, had been either sacked or occupied by the Portuguese - marking the end of the Arab monopoly of the Indian Ocean trade. The Portuguese settled in for a long period of harsh colonial rule, playing one sultan off against another. But their grip on the coast was always tenuous because their outposts had to be supplied from Goa in India. Control of the coast was won back by the Arabs in 1720. The remainder of the 18th century saw the Omani dynasties from the Persian Gulf dug in along the East African coast. The depredations of the Portuguese era and constant quarrels among the Arab governors caused a decline in trade and prosperity, which meant that economic powerhouses such as Britain and Germany weren't interested in grabbing a slice of East Africa until about the mid-19th century. With Europeans suddenly tramping all over Africa in search of fame and fortune, even Kenya's intimidating interior was forced to give up its secrets to outsiders. Until the 1880s, the Rift Valley and the Aberdare highlands remained the heartland of the proud warrior tribe, the Maasai. By the late 19th century, years of civil war between the Maasai's two opposing factions had weakened the tribe. Disease and famine had also taken their toll. This opened the way for the English to negotiate a treaty with the Maasai laibon (chief, or spiritual leader) and begin work on the Mombasa-Uganda railway - which cut straight through the Maasai grazing lands. The halfway point of this railway is roughly where Nairobi stands today. It was downhill from here for the Maasai. As white settlers demanded more fertile land, the Maasai were herded into smaller reserves. The Kikuyu, a Bantu agricultural tribe from the highlands west of Mt Kenya, also had vast tracts of land ripped from under their feet. White settlement in the early 20th century was initially disastrous, but - once they bothered to learn a little about the land - the British succeeded in making their colony viable. Other European settlers soon established coffee plantations and by the 1950s the white-settler population had reached about 80,000. As opposition to colonial rule grew, the Kenya African Union (KAU) emerged and became strident in its demands. Other such societies soon added their voices to the cry for freedom, including the Mau Mau, whose members (mainly Kikuyu) vowed to drive white settlers out of Kenya. The ensuing Mau Mau Rebellion ended in 1956 with the defeat of the rebels. The death toll stood at over 13,500 Africans - Mau Mau guerrillas, civilians and troops - and just over 100 Europeans. Kenyatta spent years in jail or under house arrest but was freed in 1961 and became leader of the reincarnated KAU, the Kenya African National Union (KANU). He ushered in independence on 12 December 1963, and under his presidency the country developed into one of Africa's most stable and prosperous nations. With Kenyatta's death in 1978 came Daniel Arap Moi, a member of the Tugen tribe. Moi's rule was characterized by nepotism, rifts and dissension. He took criticism badly and as a result oversaw the disbanding of tribal societies, disrupted universities and harassed opposition politicians. A coup attempt by the Kenyan Air Force in 1982 was put down by forces loyal to Moi. With the winds of democratic pluralism sweeping Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s, international aid for Moi's Kenya was suspended. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and major aid donors demanded that repression cease and Moi's political stranglehold ease. He conceded ground, but much to his delight, the opposition in the 1993 election shot itself in the foot - The Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) was unable to agree on a leader. By splitting into three parties, FORD's much-vaunted cause became hopeless. Moi, the beneficiary of his opposition's vanity, won with just one-third of the vote. In 1995, a new party was launched in an attempt to unite the splintered opposition. The party was Safina, founded by Richard Leakey, famed anthropologist, elephant savior and political activist. Elections were held in Kenya at the end of 1997. Despite widespread allegations of vote rigging and considerable intimidation of opposition candidates, Moi and KANU once again scraped home with a little over 40% of the vote. Although Moi promised to rid the government of corruption this was met by an air of resignation in the country, with Kenyans sitting tight until the day when he retired. In 2002 Moi decided to retire on very generous retirement benefits. At the December 2002 elections, KANU was routed by the National Rainbow Coalition, led my Mwai Mbaki. This has brought about a feeling of new optimism in the country. Meanwhile, Kenya is struggling with a number of problems. Since 1997, Kenya has experienced major floods, cholera and malaria epidemics, ethnic fighting and a major drought. HIV remains as a major problem. In August 1998, terrorists bombed the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, killing over 250 people and injuring more than 5000, illustrating Kenya's vulnerability to increased social and political turmoil. Just as things were looking up, there was a suicide bomb blast at a hotel north of Mombasa in November 2002.

Culture:

There are more than 70 tribal groups among the Africans in Kenya. Distinctions between many of them are blurred - western cultural values are becoming more ingrained and traditional values are disintegrating. English and Swahili are the languages taught throughout the country, but there are many other tribal languages. These include Kikuyu, Luhia, Luo and Kikamba as well as a plethora of minor tribal tongues. Most Kenyans outside the coastal and eastern provinces are Christians of one sort or another, while most of those on the coast and in the eastern part of the country are Muslim - they make up around 30% of the population. In the more remote tribal areas you'll find a mixture of Muslims, Christians and those who follow their ancestral tribal beliefs. Kenyans love to party, and the music style known as benga is the contemporary dance music that rules. It originated among the Luo people of western Kenya and became popular in the area in the 1950s. Some well-known exponents of benga include Shirati Jazz, Victoria Kings, Globestyle and the Ambira Boys. Kenyan cuisine generally consists of stodge filler with beans or a meat sauce. It's really just survival fodder for the locals - maximum filling-up potential at minimum cost. If you had to name a national dish in Kenya, nyama choma (barbecued meat, usually goat), would probably be it. Kenyan food is not exactly designed for gourmets - or vegetarians. Beer drinkers, on the other hand, are well supplied.

Environment:

On Africa's east coast, Kenya straddles the equator and shares a border with Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Its coast is lapped by the Indian Ocean and it shares the vast waters of Lake Victoria with its western and southern neighbors. The Rift Valley and Central Highlands area form the backbone of the country, and this is where Kenya's scenery is at its most spectacular. The Kenya's flora and fauna defies easy description. The vast plains of the south are dotted with flat-topped acacia trees, thorn bushes and the distinctive bottle-shaped baobab tree. On the rarified slopes of Mt Elgon and Mt Kenya, bamboo forests sprout and even higher up is the bizarre groundsel tree, with its huge cabbage-like flowers, and giant lobelias with long spikes. If you're more into fur and feathers, then head for the teeming wildlife parks. Lions, buffalos, elephants, leopards and rhinos all cavort openly in at least two of the major parks. Endangered animals such as the black rhino are slowly making a comeback and sanctuaries for these creatures can be visited in Tsavo and Lake Nakuru national parks. Kenya's climate varies enormously from place to place. The Rift Valley offers the most agreeable weather, while the arid bushlands and semi-desert regions can range from daytime highs of up to 40