Lake Turkana Safaris, Lake Turkana Expeditions
d), an astonishingly cool, green and hilly oasis rising high above the dry heat of the surrounding desert lands. The local Rendille and Samburu people in their bright red outfits, beads and earrings make it a vibrant place. After setting up camp, we visit the lodge inside the National park and as long as the roads are dry we drive to Lake Paradise and Little Lake. Here, an indigenous forest and a desert come together to create the most compelling landscape oÒn earth. Elephants and greater kudu abound. The dense forest in the park is also home to a variety of birds. Day 4 ò€“ Kalacha We depart after an early breakfast through the scenic landscape of the arid north with views of picturesque hills. We arrive and camp at Kalacha, a small Gabbra settlement on the edge of the Chalbi Desert. The Gabbra are an Eastern Cushite people related to the Somali-Rendille in their historical origins in the southern Ethiopian highlands about AD 1000. The men wear traditional shorts and a blanket-cloak and the women wear a wrap-around and head cloth. They are pastoralists, particularly attached to their camels. Day 5 - Lake Turkana We depart early crossing the Chalbi Desert to Lake Turkana which is the largest desert lake in the world and extends for 288 kilometres up to the Ethiopian / Kenyan border. It is surrounded by volcanic rock and desert. We arrive at our semi - permanent beach village where we have our traditional Turkana Huts; making it a perfect place to relax, protected from the scorching sun and heat characteristic of the climate of this remote area. Day 6 - Lake Turkana The day is spent relaxing and you may visit the local lodge to swim or hire a boat to visit the surrounding area (at an extra cost). In addition, we may visit Loiyangalani and the community settled there while in the evening visiting oÒne of the Turkana Manyattas [optional] for traditional dances at an extra cost if clients wish. An unforgettable experience under a star studded sky so close you can almost touch it. Turkana, formerly L. Rudolf is now named after one of the tribes who live on its shores and it is in this area that Richard Leakey uncovered the three million year old fossils of ò€˜Homo Erectus." This pre historic site is now known as the "Cradle of Mankind". The Lake is also known as the "Jade Sea" because of its remarkable blue ò€“ green colour. This is a result of algae particles, which shift with changes of the wind and light, so that the water surface shifts from blue to grey to fabulous jade. The lake is home to the largest population of Nile crocodiles in the world. If the weather permits we take a short sunset boat ride to the surrounding areas. Day 7 ò€“ Maralal We journey via the Horr Valley situated between Mount Nyiro and Ol Doinye Mara viewing the breath taking scenery as we continue to climb oÒn torturous, rocky hills to Maralal. Near Maralal is oÒne of the most breath taking scenes in all of Kenya ò€“ the Losiolo escarpment, an endless stretch as land drops down to the Suguta valley. Maralal is the unofficial capital of the Samburu people and has a distinctly frontier feel about it, like something out of a ò€˜wild west" movie. It boasts a colourful Samburu market and a game sanctuary that lies just outside of town. Maralal is also home of the Maralal International Camel Derby that happens oÒnce a year between July and October and attracts riders and spectators from the four corners of the world Day 8 ò€“ Nairobi Heading south again via Laikipia Plains and Nyahururu we may stop at the Thomson falls named after Joseph Thomson who walked from Mombasa to Lake Victoria in the early 1880s. Shaped by the waters of the Ewaso Narok River, the falls plunge over 72m into a rift, spraying the dark forest below. After lunch we drive back into Nairobi by mid-afternoon. info@claudioustours.com http://www.claudioustours.com