A Reason To Tour Turkana... and it is not because of the Oil deposits.

If you are in East Africa, especially in Kenya, then of course this does not come as news that Turkana County is now said to have Oil deposits. This came as a shock to many because Turkana county is one of the places in Kenya where it is always characterised in the media as a poverty and drought stricken area. The news we have always received from Turkana is nothing really but sad news until now... However, I choose not to dwell on the oil issue as my interest solely lies on a different attraction in this now popular county....The touristic approach.

How many of us have ever thought of touring Turkana ? Sincerely I never did....until now (just kidding). Turkana is a place widely known for the Lake Turkana, the World's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. 

Turkana people have a very rich culture which I believe is something worth learning and witnessing first hand, and if we were to go by the last country census, the Turkana people are even a bigger margin  of the Kenyan people than the world known Masai People. 

I am sure your next question is, so what else would you do while in Turukana? A visit to the Central Island National Park, Fishing at Lake Turkana,Sundowner by the lake while sipping on chilled wine or a cold beer, visit the local market and get to interact with the local people and the list is endless....

So now that you have sorted what to do, comes the obvious question, where would you stay? And the answer to that is Eliye Springs Camp and Lodge. The first time I heard of Eliye Springs, I must say I thought they were crazy to have put up a lodge in Turkana, but now the more I think of it, the less the idea seems crazy!

Eliye Springs includes 6 luxury and unique Turkana bomas,a well stocked bar with cold drinks,an open dining room, the Palm tree bar,the massage corner,a swimming pool, motor boats and fishing equipment.

A boma contains a main house (the biggest ever built Turkana hut) with double bed and some furniture, a veranda facing the Lake, a tiled bathroom and a space for relaxing, sunbath and pleasure. The Lodge also has a camping site, if you prefer pitching tents.

So... next time you are thinking of a holiday, try and step out of the normal Masai Mara, Mombasa or Nakuru.....Try Turkana!

Seychelles is part of Africa

When I was growing up, I was convinced that Africa was only the countries found within the continent Africa. Confusing as that statement is, I was a rather an inquisitive child who had questions after questions and with every answer a whole new chapter of questions would be formed. I remember my grandfather had a world map on a globe mostly found in geography classrooms or libraries and he would explain to me using the globe every time he traveled and during these times i would always enquire about the small tiny maps on the globe which he would tell me were known as  islands.

I used to think how lonely those people on the islands would feel with all the water surrounding them as opposed to we "the lucky ones" who had other countries surrounding us! These thoughts recently had an occurrence thus the inspiration to write this post. I was browsing the net and i came across a football conversation discussing Kenya's next footie match against Seychelles and someone in the conversation was asking why we would be facing Seychelles in the world cup qualifier group stages, yet Seychelles are not an African country!

I was bewildered that there were people who thought like the six years old me! How ignorant could one get,  I thought to myself! Trying to control my mind not to judge, I promised to write at least some pointers about Seychelles, one of the lonely perceived land, by the six year old me.

Facts about Seychelles Islands 

• The Republic of Seychelles comprises 115 islands, an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1.4 km² in the western Indian Ocean. It represents an archipelago of legendary beauty that extends from between 4 and 10 degrees south of the equator and which lies between 480km and 1,600km from the east coast of Africa. Of these 115 islands, 41 constitute the oldest mid-oceanic granite islands on earth while a further 74 form the low-lying coral atolls and reef islands of the Outer Islands. 

• The granitic islands of the Seychelles archipelago cluster around the main island of Mahé, home to the international airport and the capital, Victoria, and its satellites Praslin and La Digue.  Together, these Inner Islands form the cultural and economic hub of the nation and contain the majority of Seychelles’ tourism facilities as well as its most stunning beaches. 

• The Islands heavily depend on tourism and have built their economy around the pillar of tourism, with economic strong holds being felt from sectors such as fishing and sea food exports.

• It is a great holiday getaway, especially for honeymoon or romantic getaways!
• Last but not least, it is considered as part of Africa, especially because of it's georaphical proximity to the African continent.

So don't you think this should be your next holiday destination? 

Images courtesy of  http://www.seychelles.travel.net

The little things that makes it so beautiful!

I came across these images and i thought i could share them with you. The images depict Lake Elementaita area in Kenya.:)