Somak Holidays launches Kenya Kaleidoscope

Kenya Kaleidoscope is a brand new, unique, 20-day itinerary bringing together the many different patterns of contemporary life in this colourful country. Somak Holidays offers a special opportunity to experience the variety and contrasts of Kenya, going well beyond the regular tourist circuit.

There will be only three departures, each for a group of eight to 12 people, escorted by Sir Jeffrey James. Game parks and a beach stay are also included.

Sir Jeffrey James was British High Commissioner for more than four years before his retirement in 2001. In Kenya, he has travelled extensively to all parts of the country, and the tour reflects his keen personal interest in the human side of Kenya, as well as the natural environment and wildlife. Along the way, Sir Jeffrey will offer short presentations about Kenya and its recent history.

Perfect for those wanting to get below the surface, the tour provides a one-off chance to meet and interact with a wide range of Kenyans going about their daily lives, as well as to understand more about the issues facing developing countries. The schedule is busy and includes some rough roads and long drives, but complemented by the chance to relax in some of Kenya’s renowned beauty spots.

Tour Highlights

The tour will take in a full spectrum of activities – at one end, for example, a tea estate and a flower farm, at the other, community projects in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi. A full day is spent with a remote Masai community, offering the chance to see their animal husbandry, their homes, a dispensary and a local school. An immensely proud people, the Masai prefer to retain their traditional lifestyle and remain one of the last great nomadic traditions in Africa.

A visit is made to a primary school where children with disabilities are encouraged and supported, and where the local community will offer lunch. Another key highlight is a visit in Nakuru to the Kenya Women’s Finance Trust, the largest and only micro-finance institution exclusively for women, and there is an opportunity to meet beneficiaries in their homes.

A contribution on behalf of the group will be made to the charitable organisations visited.

Fauna and Flora

No visit to Kenya would be complete without the opportunity to enjoy the wildlife. The tour will cross Tsavo National Park as well as the Masai Mara, one of the world’s most enthralling wildlife theatres. It will also include Lake Nakuru National Park, with its populations of rhino and lions and an alkaline lake which attracts concentrations of flamingos and pelicans, and the freshwater Lake Naivasha, where two nights will be spent in a private game sanctuary.

Kenya Kaleidoscope includes the chance to enjoy some of Kenya’s flora, with a day in the Kakamega Forest, the last remnant of tropical rainforest that once stretched to Kenya from the Congo. There are also visits to Mbololo Forest in the Taita Hills to see a reforestation project, working with the local communities to preserve the forest ecosystem, and to a community project to help protect the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on the coast.

With all these sites under pressure from population growth and human activity, the tour will focus on the threats to the environment and what can be done to save Kenya’s unique natural heritage.

Accommodation

Accommodation is in a complete variety of hotels, camps and lodges, according to availability of rooms close to the projects visited. As the tour is ‘off the beaten track’, accommodation will not always be the typical tourist fare. Some guests will spend one night in senior management accommodation on the tea estate. And few tourists venture to the tranquil Rondo Retreat in the Kakamega Forest.

More well known is the atmospheric Little Governors' Camp in the Masai Mara, with comfortable tents tucked around a large watering hole that teems with animal and bird life. The tour ends with three nights at the 5* Hemingways Hotel on the coast at Watamu Bay, an unrivalled Kenyan setting with an ambience of relaxed sophistication, coupled with the facilities and standards of an international resort. Whilst here, there is an opportunity to visit Watamu Turtle Watch, as well as a local fishing community.

Ash Sofat, Somak’s CEO, comments, “We are recognising that many travellers now want more out of a holiday than the standard tour and would like to learn more about Kenya, including projects and other initiatives to improve the livelihoods of Kenyans, something which has always been important to us.

The tour is so varied that everyone will find their own highlights, but I anticipate that the visits to schools and women’s projects will have a special appeal for all.’

The Kenya Kaleidoscope has three departures: 27 October 2007, 12 January 2008 and 5 April 2008. The price is £3,950.00 per person.

For reservations and further information log on to Somak.co.uk.