• Kenya is the world’s forty-seventh largest country at 580,367 km² (224,081 sq mi), just after Madagascar, roughly the same size as Texas at 362,040 square miles.

• Kenya only has two seasons. One rainy season and one dry season in a year.

• Driving the Kenyan way means fitting over 20 people in a 14 sitter passenger van.

Parks

• Did you know that…There are more than 65 national parks and wildlife preserves in Kenya and about twenty hectares of rainforest here contain more bird species than the whole of Europe. Much of Kenya’s native flora is also not found anywhere else in the world.

• Kenya’s wildlife is unrivalled by any other in the world, both in terms of numbers and variety of species. Thousands of tourists visit Kenya every year to view the wild life particularly the wildebeest migration.

• Did you know that…The Meru National Park ( and Kenya, of course) has the distinction of being the home to lioness Elsa, one of the most famous animals in history, together with Rin Tin Tin (dog), Digit (gorilla), Lassie (rough collie), Laika (Soviet space dog) and Flipper (dolphin). Elsa gained worldwide fame as Joy Adamson published her bestseller “Born Free”, which had several million readers around the world.

George Adamson with Elsa

Big Five

• Did you know that…Elephants flap their ears to cool down their body temperature? Despite their size, elephants are able to walk silently through the bush because they walk on the tips of their toes – which is actually a  thick cushion made up of elastic tissue.

• Did you know that…Rhinoceros have roamed the earth for more than 50 million years. Rhinos have poor vision, but an excellent sense of smell, and good hearing.

• Did you know that…Lions are the most social of all cats, living in prides of several females, and working cooperatively to hunt and raise cubs. Lions will sleep up to 20 hours a day.

• Did you know that…A leopard’s spots (actually called rosettes) are shaped differently depending on their habitat. In eastern Africa they are circular  but square in southern Africa. Leopards are the ultimate athlete, being able to run at speeds of over 35 mph and have been known to be able to jump 10 feet in the air.

• Don’t mistake the physical similarities of the buffalo for their domesticated cousins. The Cape Buffalo is considered to be one of the most deadly of Africa’s Big 5. They have been known to mob predators and attack game hunters. Cape Buffalo need to drink every day – that’s why you’ll see them in herds numbering in the thousands in the grasslands, but never find them in the dessert.