|
KENYA'S MAJOR FILMING REGIONS
The country can be divided into these major filming regions:
THE NORTH RIFT
This is one of the Kenya's most remote and seldom visited regions but it is a hidden treasure, with breath taking views, rare wildlife, some Kenya's oldest fossil sites mostly around Lake Turkana and high altitude athletic training camps which attract athletics film makers are in plenty here. West of Lake Turkana, the scenery is devastatingly beautiful and mostly consists of wild Samburu country, little influenced by the outside world. One can access this region from Nanyuki or Iten just after Eldoret, through the Cherangani Hills, a place of spectacular views. One then joins the major highway near Kapenguria Town. It is an area of wide open plains, hills, high plateaus and the vast infinity of one of the hottest and driest places on earth, the Suguta Valley. The region also comprises of the Matthews Range, Maralal town and Lodwar.
Maralal: A frontier town in this arid north. It is a beautiful small town and home to the Samburu, relatives of the Maasai. It is surrounded by high mountains and hills. It is home also to the Derby Race which is organized annually.
The Lorroki Plateau lies in this region, just outside Maralal. It offers a most dramatic view of the Valley, full of peaks and hills. At 8,000 feet, the Rift Valley, with the late afternoon sun casting a soft light in the Valley, is a sight that will leaves any film maker spell bound.
Lodwar: A town of historical significance west of Lake Turkana. North of Marich Pass, it has the largest hydroelectric project in Kenya, the Turkwell Gorge, impressive by African standards.
Lokichoggio: A small dusty township located 25 km from the Kenya- Sudan border. It is a busy outpost in Northern Kenya that exists by way of aid for war victims in the drought ravaged Southern Sudan.
Most major organizations have an office or compound in the town. The ICRC's (Red Cross) Lopiding Field Hospital for war wounded located here is one of the largest of its kind in the world and the World Food Program uses the airbase in Lokichoggio to conduct its food drops over the border in Sudan. It is the point of entry for film makers into Southern Sudan and most of Northern Kenya.
 top
THE MID RIFT
The Great Rift Valley that stretches from Jordan to Mozambique is awe-inspiring seen from the various viewpoints. It is the dominant geological feature in Kenya, running from Ethiopia, through Lake Turkana, the Cherangani Hills, past the plains of Maasai Mara into Tanzania. It is about 50km wide and 300m deep. Its floor has a series of fresh water and soda lakes. These include:
- Lake Naivasha: a fresh water lake, with many species of fish, birds and plants. Crescent Island has herds of zebras and hippos.
- Lake Baringo: A big fresh water lake North of Marigat. It's famous for its fish. There are many species of plants and birds to be seen in the region. Flamingos visit seasonally.
- Lake Bogoria: This is a shallow soda lake North of Nakuru inhabited by flamingoes and other wildlife. There are many hot springs and geysers. The surrounding habitat though is a drab scrubland.
- Lake Elementaita: A shallow soda lake near lake Nakuru. It is frequented by flamingos from the neighbouring lake.
Towns crucial for filming activities are:
- Nakuru: A transportation hub and a major industrial town in the Rift valley. Herds of plain game are seen grazing on the vast plains as flamingos paint the lakes pink. The dormant volcanoes of Longonot and Suswa, and the Menengai Crater, just a few minutes drive from Nakuru, are a picturesque attraction. The town has the Lake Nakuru Game Reserve famous for its black and white rhinos, the great Rothschild giraffe and the great white pelicans.
- Eldoret: This is the 4th largest town, in the country. It has been rapidly growing of late and it has the third international airport in the country. It is a major transit town, with a beautiful climate and scenery.
- Kericho: This is a clean beautiful town in the Western Highlands of the Rift Valley. It is dominated by tea farming, with the town itself being surrounded by Tea plantations.
- Naivasha: A moderately sized town 100km North West of Nairobi. The town has numerous relaxation resorts on the banks of Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate National Park, the Longonot Crater and Mt. Eburru and its forest are easily accessible from here.
top
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
Central Kenya comprises of the Kenya Highlands, formerly known as the White Highlands during the British Colonial rule. The highlands start at about 1300m above sea level and consist of the forest reserve that is easily the richest extension of rainforest filled with game in the world, best seen from the world famous Tree Tops Lodge raised over water holes, where the animals gather to beat the equatorial sun. The largest patches are on Mt. Kenya the 17,054ft snow capped peak with its picturesque glaziers and rugged peaks.
Mt. Kenya is a source of many rivers and streams with ice cold water. The volcanic peaks dominate the surroundings, slopes, valleys and gorges. Mountain elephants, black rhino, buffalo, antelope and giant forest hog roam the foothills.
top
ABERDARES RANGES
The Ranges have Kenya's 2nd and 3rd highest peaks, extraordinary waterfalls and some of the most scenic flora in the country. It also has one of the most beautiful forests in the world though the huge amounts of rainfall received during the rainy season turn the roads to mudslides, making access difficult. There are high alpine moors and primeval forests and the Ranges also have the Karuru waterfalls, the highest in Kenya.
The area is occupied by the Kikuyu, the most populous tribe in the country, the Embu and the Meru communities and covers towns such as:
- Nyeri: It is nestled between Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares. It is a very fertile region and is the centre of Kenya's coffee industry.
- Meru: A fairly big town North East of Mt. Kenya. Mostly famous for Miraa (khat) a stimulant, grown legally in large amounts here. The town also has a museum, which displays local culture & history.
- Chogoria: A small market town between Embu and Meru towns, it is a major entry route to Mt. Kenya.
- Embu: Located on South East Slopes of Mt. Kenya. It is the provincial headquarters of Eastern province.
- Nanyuki: A medium sized military town North West of Mt. Kenya. It has one of the most beautiful views of Mt. Kenya. The town also has many budget hotels and lodges and many cold trout filled streams.
- Nyahururu: One of the highest located towns at 2630m above sea level. Just outside the town is the Thompson Falls on the Ewaso Narok River, which falls to 72m, its mist feeding the dense forest below.
- Naromoru: A small town West of Mt. Kenya. It is also a key entry point to Mt. Kenya.
- Isiolo: Small town North of Meru in the more arid region of the North. The area has many cool retreats and entertainment spots among the sedentary tribes of the North, especially the Somali. It is on the way to Samburu/Buffalo Springs or the desert East of Lake Turkana.
Central Kenya also includes the Ol Donyo Sabuk and Mwea National Reserves.
top
EASTERN
This comprises mostly of the Savannah grassland and rolling plains. The region is dominated by Tsavo, a single national park larger than the island of Jamaica. Mzima Springs next to Kilaguni has a lot of hippos and crocodiles There is an underwater viewing chamber where one can check out the aquatic life in the Springs.
Voi: A town on the Mombasa, Nairobi Highway is the base for entering the Tsavo and the beautiful Taita Hills. These hills have some of the most scenic flora in Kenya and wildlife is plentiful in this area. The Chyulu and Shimba hills are also part of this range of mountains. Towns of interest are Kitui, Machakos, Mtiti Andei, Emali and Sultan Hamud.
Here you find the Kamba tribe, some of the most skilled wood carvers in the world and a few Maasai's with their herds and flocks especially around Emali and Sultan Hamud. The tree covered, rolling hills of Makueni are a place of heart rending beauty and the roads, winding down steep inclines are bound to leave one’s adrenaline levels rocking high.
One gets a chance to explore some of most diverse wildlife, bird life, lava flows and lagging rivers with solitude and peace in the vast wilderness.
The region is mainly savannah landscape and is a transition between rainforest and the arid steppe. It is mainly grassland, dominated by grasses and with a variable presence of trees and bush, especially acacia.
top
SOUTHERN
The south of Kenya is Maasai country. It encompasses the Amboseli National Park, home to the largest elephant herds in Africa. It is also from here that one also gets to see the most beautiful view of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and especially seen at dawn when the mountain is a dark hue of purple and the snow an ethereal pink, with the herds of elephants crossing the plains, the sight is something from another world.
The Maasai are a strongly independent people and still hold tradition and ritual as an integral part of their livelihood. They consider themselves part of the land, just like the wildlife and vegetation, and by nature are not hunters but depend on their livestock for their livelihood. To the West is the world famous Maasai Mara, which each year plays host to the Great Wildebeest Migration as more than 4 million Wildebeests move to Kenya from the Serengeti in Tanzania in search of green grass.
Lake Magadi lies in this region and is the source of soda ash. The region also has the Olorgesaille National Monument, a prehistoric campsite where the remains of tool-making man have been found recently.
Towns of note are Narok and Oloitoktok, a Maasai town at the Tanzanian border in the shadow of the Kilimanjaro, where the Manyatta and the Maasai Red Shukas are a way of life.
top
WESTERN
This includes the tropical forest of Kakamega and Mt. Elgon, the Lake Victoria Basin and the arid and semi arid regions in the Nasalot, the Saiwa Swamp, the area south of Turkana, Kamnarok, and the Kerio Valley.
The Kakamega Rainforest is a little patch of virgin forest in Western Kenya. It has dense vegetation, and the gigantic indigenous trees are spectacular and one of a kind in Kenya. There are many different birds and monkey species. Mt. Elgon on the Kenya-Uganda border is an extinct volcano, with its highest Wagagai peak (4321m) on the Ugandan side. There are spectacular saline caves on the slopes where one is likely to see elephants coming to get their daily lick of salt. The region has incredible flora, number of tarns, and the Suam hot springs. It is usually quite cold and rainy.
The Saiwa swamp with its national park is a beautiful place with a prolific birdlife and so is the Ndere Island. Kerio Valley is a place of breath taking views and is part of the Rift Valley and so are the Cherangani Hills and Lake Bogoria with its steam geysers.
Other interesting places in the region are the Ruma National Park, Homabay with its volcano on Mt. Homa, Kendu Bay, Rusinga and Mfangano islands, the Simbi Nyaima, Thimlich Oninga and the Crying Stone near Kakamega.
There is a whole mixture of cultures here, the Luo, Kisii,Turkana, Kalenjin, Pokot and Luhya. The region has typical Highlands Vegetation especially on the slopes of Mt. Elgon where there are patches of tropical rainforest. The climate is modulated by altitude, which is around 1,200m, and by moist winds from the lake.
- Kakamega: A small town in Western province about 65km North of Kisumu. It is the base for trips to Kakamega forest reserve.
- Kisumu: A pleasant vibrant town on the shores of Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world and Africa's largest covering 70,000 sq km. It is the focal point of an area of intensive agriculture, green valleys and hills and occasional thick forests. It is hot and humid and one finds the pace more leisurely like that of Mombasa. It has wide range of accommodation for any budget and has a huge market near the bus stage where soapstone carvings are sold. The lake is a very integral part of the lives of the Kenyans who live around the lake, the famous Luo fishermen. The Hippo Point is an exceptional vantage point to watch the sun sink into the lake as hippos wade in the water closeby.
- Kitale: A good-sized town North of Kakamega in the Western Highlands. It is ususally used as a base for travelling to Mt. Elgon in the West and Lodwar in the North. It is very productive agriculturally. There's a museum within the town.
- Webuye: A small town North of Kakamega. It is an area of manmade forests, which are used for paper making in the paper mills.
top
NORTHERN (NYIKA)
A vast, sparsely populated desert in the North of Kenya. The dry shrubland and rocky wasteland is home to some of the most culturally interesting people; the Samburu, Turkana, Marakwet, Pokot and E-lmolo tribes.
These people have had very little influence from the West and very little contact with tourists, unlike the Maasai. They live by herding and fishing. The waters of the Ewaso Nyiro leading through Samburu, Shaba and Bufallo Springs and Marsabit, create a spectacular country full of game.
The landscape is made up of mountains and hills lying low in the arid land where survival is for the fittest. The Buffalo Springs (128sq km), Samburu (165 sq km) and Shaba 280 sq km) Game Reserves form one eco-system. They are about 320 kilometers North of Nairobi.
The Uaso Nyiro courses its way from the Aberdares, down into the dry, arid and patched lands, where it is the life line of the land, finally ending in the Lorian swamp. The Samburu are probably some of the most smartly dressed Kenyans, drapped in Red Shukas, spear in hand, all tough and lean muscled. Also part of this region is the Sibiloi, Lesai, Marsabit and the beautiful Chalbi Desert with its nomadic Boranas.
The region has the roughest climate and this is reflected in the arid landscape. Rainfall is scarce, with annual levels around 350mm. Temperatures are high all year round, rising to 37°c during the day in the hottest months. Night temperatures do not fall below 21°c.
top
NORTH EASTERN
This is a seldom visited, remote area, but which is slowly opening up. This means that the area has a lot of undiscovered and unspoilt potential.
In this area is the Meru National Park, a lush green Eden on the streams that branch out from the Tana. The thick forests, tall grasses and stands of Doum Palm surrounded by rolling hills and stark kopjes create an isolated unspoilt wilderness.
This is the wild country where the world famous lioness Elsa of 'Born Free' film fame, was returned in the 1950's by George and Joy Adamson. The Lorian Swamp, Bisinadi, Rahole, Kora and Kitui National reserves are easily accessed from this area.
Vegetation is mainly thornbush and acacias, but there is more diverse and abundant vegetation in river valleys especially the Ewaso Nyiro and Tana and their tributaries.
Temperatures are high, with 32 degrees in the hottest months. There are many rocky hills that come alive with an array of vegetation especially after the rains.
The biggest part of Kenya's land consists of desert or semi-desert steppes.
top
NAIROBI
Nairobi has developed into one of the most beautiful international cities of the world.
It is the cosmopolitan highland capital of Kenya famous for its National Park barely 10 minutes from the city centre and which is the only city national park in the world.
There are many cultural centres, world-class hotels, lively markets, throbbing shopping malls, museums, snake parks, wildlife sanctuaries and parks, stadiums and golf courses of world standards.
It has a population of more than 2 million people and is a modern commercial centre with interesting high-rise buildings and lots of bustle, nice theatres and movie cinemas showing the latest films, expensive restaurants and all sorts of modern technology. Places of interest are the City Market, the National Museum, Arboretum with a most amazing collection of East African flora, the Kenya Railways Museum, National Archives, casinos, sunday afternoon horse racing, the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Ostrich farms and the Karen Blixen Museum.
Its high altitude, warm climate and fertile soil promote the growth of both tropical and temperate plants all over the area. Jacaranda trees gracefully shade the city's streets and Bougainvillea brightens the avenues. Nairobi temperatures are around 26-27°c (70°F average) and in the boreal winter months 23°c.
top
COAST
The Kenyan Coast is a place with a long and exotic history and a first glimpse of the town sets it apart from the rest of Kenya, with its distinctive Swahili Culture stemming from Arab influence at the coast. By the 14th century, intermarriage between the Arabs who traded spices and slaves with the local Bantu tribes resulted in the Swahili people and the Swahili language as the lingua franca for trade.
A coastline lined with sandy expanses of tropical beaches, coral reefs and sheltered waters perfect for swimming, sailing and water sports. Off the coast one finds game filled mangrove forests along the river deltas. Of interest are the Swahili and Mijikenda cultures and the many monuments and istorical sites steeping from the occupancy by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Mombasa Island: Mombasa is the 2nd largest city in the country.
The city is hot and humid and has a laid back atmosphere, with locals dressed in traditional garb moving as slowly as possible in the blistering heat. Arabic influence is evident in the architecture, dress and food.
The city has some of the most vibrant nightlife in the country.
- Lamu: This is the oldest town in Kenya. It lies on Lamu Island 265km North of Mombasa. 95% of the locals are Moslems and one is likely to hear Arabic/Kiswahili being spoken. Dating back to the 12th century, Lamu is the only remaining Swahili living settlement in East Africa, a parallel to Timbouktou in West Africa and Kathmadu in Nepal. There is a museum.
- Malindi: A town 100km North of Mombasa on the coral coast, with an abundance of protected coral reefs and beaches. There is a reserve with protected fine beaches and very colorful fish. Kilifi: This is the first town North of Mombasa, halfway to Malindi. It has nice beaches and the well-preserved Mnarani ruins overlooking the Kilifi creek are a point of interest.
- Watamu: 20km South of Malindi is the Watamu National Reserve. It has the best snorkeling on the East Coast. South of Mombasa: There are several white sand beaches; eg Shelly Beach, Tiwi Beach, the Diani Beach and others.
- Shimoni and Wasini Island: Shimoni is 80km South of Mombasa near the Tanzanian border. Kisite Marine National Park is offshore the Wasini Island off the Shimoni Peninsular. It is an area of unblemished, unspoiled beauty. Other places of interest are the Shimoni Caves, the Shimba Hills National Reserve in the South of Mombasa and the Arabuko Sokoke Forest North of Mombasa. The Coast is simply an irresistible, must go zone. The coral reefs brimming with fish are a kaleidoscope of colour and like the Indian Ocean with its clam waters, blue as the sky, the scent of spice in the air, freshest seafood, deep history and a rich culture.... its plainly exotic. From the Arab and Portuguese forts, old towns, deserted ruins of Swahili out posts, the South Coast beaches, the small coastal village of Kwale, the bustling dhow docks of Mombasa, ghostly ruins of Gedi, the tropical island of Lamu where life is lived at its own rhythm, its all a perfect blend of the real Kenya. The average annual temperatures are around 28°c. The region is warm and humid. Storms are frequent. Mangroves and coconut palm trees grow along the shores and there are patches of tropical rainforest.
 |
|
