Well, Well ... I didn't expect it to be so easy to upload this many photos to Blogger!!
We returned to Kenya last month and spent 10 nights at 3 different Porini (Gamewatchers) camps. I love the company because they are pioneers in eco-tourism. They combine environmental/wildlife protection with cultural preservation by working with local Maasai communities on conservation projects.
The Porini Camps are situated on Maasai owned land within exclusive wildlife conservancies in Selenkay, Laikipia and the Mara. The camps are staffed by Maasai men.
The tents are large with 'colonial style' beds and furniture and en suite shower/toilet facilities. Showers are 'on demand' as the hot water has to be carried to the tent by the Maasai and hoisted up into a huge 'bucket'. It comes through a conventional style shower head though with a simple on/off switch.
Each camp has between 6 and 9 tents so they are quite small. There are no swimming pools/hot tubs or brick built buildings on the Porini sites. Their eco-friendly design ensures that if the camps were dismantled for any reason, the site would return to its natural state within a Season.
The biggest attraction for us is that the Maasai limit the number of tent sites and trucks on their land. They are able to go 'off piste' to get the best photo opportunities but they are very sympathetic to the wildlife and don't harrass them. In the Govt owned National Reserves, tourist vehicles have to stick to the designated tracks or face huge fines. We went to the National Maasi Mara Reserve one day to check the wildebeest migration but hated the fact that each time we saw one of the 'big five' the word went out and up to 20 trucks crowded around, jostling for space and distressing the animals. Not for us!
Anyway, I took 6000 photos and David took around 3000. I've culled mine down by 2/3rds but haven't yet had time to sort them into groups as I did last year (separate folders for cats, birds, elephants, zebra etc). This is a random assortment I posted on FB a couple of days back but I've downsized them to suit Blogger and posting them here for any friends who don't have FB accounts.
I have a couple of commissions to crack on with now so I won't do any more photo sorting till after they are finished.
We returned to Kenya last month and spent 10 nights at 3 different Porini (Gamewatchers) camps. I love the company because they are pioneers in eco-tourism. They combine environmental/wildlife protection with cultural preservation by working with local Maasai communities on conservation projects.
The Porini Camps are situated on Maasai owned land within exclusive wildlife conservancies in Selenkay, Laikipia and the Mara. The camps are staffed by Maasai men.
The tents are large with 'colonial style' beds and furniture and en suite shower/toilet facilities. Showers are 'on demand' as the hot water has to be carried to the tent by the Maasai and hoisted up into a huge 'bucket'. It comes through a conventional style shower head though with a simple on/off switch.
Each camp has between 6 and 9 tents so they are quite small. There are no swimming pools/hot tubs or brick built buildings on the Porini sites. Their eco-friendly design ensures that if the camps were dismantled for any reason, the site would return to its natural state within a Season.
The biggest attraction for us is that the Maasai limit the number of tent sites and trucks on their land. They are able to go 'off piste' to get the best photo opportunities but they are very sympathetic to the wildlife and don't harrass them. In the Govt owned National Reserves, tourist vehicles have to stick to the designated tracks or face huge fines. We went to the National Maasi Mara Reserve one day to check the wildebeest migration but hated the fact that each time we saw one of the 'big five' the word went out and up to 20 trucks crowded around, jostling for space and distressing the animals. Not for us!
Anyway, I took 6000 photos and David took around 3000. I've culled mine down by 2/3rds but haven't yet had time to sort them into groups as I did last year (separate folders for cats, birds, elephants, zebra etc). This is a random assortment I posted on FB a couple of days back but I've downsized them to suit Blogger and posting them here for any friends who don't have FB accounts.
I have a couple of commissions to crack on with now so I won't do any more photo sorting till after they are finished.
awww angry looking Hyrax :)
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