Kenya safari pics

Hi all

We went back to Kenya this year, and took in the East side - Tsavo, Amboseli
and Diani Beach.

The 'story' and pics are up on the website -
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm

I've split out the bestof the wildlife stuff this time, into its own section
so if you're not interested in the 'travel' bit then stick with
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya...life/index.htm.....

Comments welcome as usual.

Enjoy!

PS Can I please put in a 'plug' for the Colobus Trust in Diani?
(www.colobustrust.org)
Staffed mainly by a few locals and volunteers, and with support from the
Born Free Foundation in the UK, they are taking a holistic approach to
securing the future of the Angolan Colobus in the area.
e.g. Building road bridges for the colobus to use to prevent the large
number of road casualties being suffered.
Addressing electrocution problems
Operating a vet service
Securing forest areas from development
Running a local education program for schools and villages.
As well as running a full scientific research programme, on the environment
and ecology of all the wildlife in the area.

They are doing a brilliant job, but of course need funds!
If you're in the area, do visit them - its good value.
Any other help - financial or otherwise - is of course welcome.
Lots of info on their website - www.colobustrust.org.

Thanks for listening!

Charles

In message , Rydale
writes
Hi all

We went back to Kenya this year, and took in the East side - Tsavo, Amboseli
and Diani Beach.

The 'story' and pics are up on the website -
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm

I've split out the bestof the wildlife stuff this time, into its own section
so if you're not interested in the 'travel' bit then stick with
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya...life/index.htm.....

Comments welcome as usual.

Enjoy!

PS Can I please put in a 'plug' for the Colobus Trust in Diani?
(www.colobustrust.org)
Staffed mainly by a few locals and volunteers, and with support from the
Born Free Foundation in the UK, they are taking a holistic approach to
securing the future of the Angolan Colobus in the area.
e.g. Building road bridges for the colobus to use to prevent the large
number of road casualties being suffered.
Addressing electrocution problems
Operating a vet service
Securing forest areas from development
Running a local education program for schools and villages.
As well as running a full scientific research programme, on the environment
and ecology of all the wildlife in the area.

They are doing a brilliant job, but of course need funds!
If you're in the area, do visit them - its good value.
Any other help - financial or otherwise - is of course welcome.
Lots of info on their website - www.colobustrust.org.

Thanks for listening!

Charles


Lovely pictures Charles! Good luck with your continued interest in
the colobus trust. We stayed at Diani beach once only as my husband
is a North coast man, I saw some of those lovely creatures and they
do need the help that the trust can provide.
Pat.
--
Pat Anderson

Thanks for your comments Pat.

It would be nice to be able to get out there more often, but unfortunately
(!) family etc take priority.
With my daughter at University, and my son heading there in a couple of
years - we hope - finances are a little challenging right now...
However, seeing organisations like the Colobus Trust (and others) do help to
keep things in perspective. For really very little funds they can acheive a
whole lot, so I'm sending something every month via Born Free. As they can
get the tax back, £25 (for example) to them only costs me £15, and I deny
the UK government of a little more of my hard earned cash!
(Sorry - got me on a commercial again...)

Re photos, I'm thinking of submitting some to Alamy.com to see if I can get
a little money back on them.
*Has anyone else tried this?*
Just wondering if African wildlife pics have much real commercial value
these days, or whether the market is so awash that the individual amateur
has no chance?

Charles

"Pat Anderson" wrote in message
...
In message , Rydale
writes
Hi all

We went back to Kenya this year, and took in the East side - Tsavo,
Amboseli
and Diani Beach.

The 'story' and pics are up on the website -
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm

I've split out the bestof the wildlife stuff this time, into its own
section
so if you're not interested in the 'travel' bit then stick with
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya...life/index.htm.....

Comments welcome as usual.

Enjoy!

PS Can I please put in a 'plug' for the Colobus Trust in Diani?
(www.colobustrust.org)
Staffed mainly by a few locals and volunteers, and with support from the
Born Free Foundation in the UK, they are taking a holistic approach to
securing the future of the Angolan Colobus in the area.
e.g. Building road bridges for the colobus to use to prevent the large
number of road casualties being suffered.
Addressing electrocution problems
Operating a vet service
Securing forest areas from development
Running a local education program for schools and villages.
As well as running a full scientific research programme, on the
environment
and ecology of all the wildlife in the area.

They are doing a brilliant job, but of course need funds!
If you're in the area, do visit them - its good value.
Any other help - financial or otherwise - is of course welcome.
Lots of info on their website - www.colobustrust.org.

Thanks for listening!

Charles


Lovely pictures Charles! Good luck with your continued interest in
the colobus trust. We stayed at Diani beach once only as my husband
is a North coast man, I saw some of those lovely creatures and they
do need the help that the trust can provide.
Pat.
--
Pat Anderson

In message , Rydale
writes
Thanks for your comments Pat.

It would be nice to be able to get out there more often, but unfortunately
(!) family etc take priority.
With my daughter at University, and my son heading there in a couple of
years - we hope - finances are a little challenging right now...
However, seeing organisations like the Colobus Trust (and others) do help to
keep things in perspective. For really very little funds they can acheive a
whole lot, so I'm sending something every month via Born Free. As they can
get the tax back, £25 (for example) to them only costs me £15, and I deny
the UK government of a little more of my hard earned cash!
(Sorry - got me on a commercial again...)

Re photos, I'm thinking of submitting some to Alamy.com to see if I can get
a little money back on them.
*Has anyone else tried this?*
Just wondering if African wildlife pics have much real commercial value
these days, or whether the market is so awash that the individual amateur
has no chance?

Charles

"Pat Anderson" wrote in message
...
In message , Rydale
writes
Hi all

We went back to Kenya this year, and took in the East side - Tsavo,
Amboseli
and Diani Beach.

The 'story' and pics are up on the website -
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm

I've split out the bestof the wildlife stuff this time, into its own
section
so if you're not interested in the 'travel' bit then stick with
http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya...life/index.htm.....

Comments welcome as usual.

Enjoy!

PS Can I please put in a 'plug' for the Colobus Trust in Diani?
(www.colobustrust.org)
Staffed mainly by a few locals and volunteers, and with support from the
Born Free Foundation in the UK, they are taking a holistic approach to
securing the future of the Angolan Colobus in the area.
e.g. Building road bridges for the colobus to use to prevent the large
number of road casualties being suffered.
Addressing electrocution problems
Operating a vet service
Securing forest areas from development
Running a local education program for schools and villages.
As well as running a full scientific research programme, on the
environment
and ecology of all the wildlife in the area.

They are doing a brilliant job, but of course need funds!
If you're in the area, do visit them - its good value.
Any other help - financial or otherwise - is of course welcome.
Lots of info on their website - www.colobustrust.org.

Thanks for listening!

Charles


Lovely pictures Charles! Good luck with your continued interest in
the colobus trust. We stayed at Diani beach once only as my husband
is a North coast man, I saw some of those lovely creatures and they
do need the help that the trust can provide.
Pat.
--
Pat Anderson


Hi Charles,
Thanks for your reply. We are going to NZ next week for the first time
to visit our son who has been there since 1996, so no Kenya safari this
year.
Re your pictures, Liz will probably come and give you some advice as
she has mentioned doing something similar with her photos. ( I hope
I`ve got that right Liz)
Good luck Charles, you are doing a worthwhile thing with the trust.
Pat.
--
Pat Anderson

In message
Pat Anderson wrote:


Hi Charles,
Thanks for your reply. We are going to NZ next week for the first time
to visit our son who has been there since 1996, so no Kenya safari this
year.
Re your pictures, Liz will probably come and give you some advice as
she has mentioned doing something similar with her photos. ( I hope
I`ve got that right Liz)
Hi, I'm just back from Italy so am catching up.
I haven't tried to sell my pics.
I think the world is awash with safari pics, and unless you catch
something really unusual in fantastic light (which I never seem to
get!) you don't have much chance.

Good luck Charles, you are doing a worthwhile thing with the trust.
I'll try to remember to look at Charles' site later (my pc has
broadband, I'm on wet-string dial-up here!)

Enjoy yourself in NZ, Pat!

Slainte

Liz


--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

Hi Guys...
A short introduction first...
My name is Sebastian and I am writing to you from Croatia...

Now my feelings: I AM SPEECHLESS, AMAZED, SHOCKED, EXCITED, can not believe
what I just saw and read on your site
(http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm)

WOW is all I can say!!!!

How did I encounter into your post?
My girlfriend spent 3 weeks in Senegal last year and since then she is all
over me, trying to make me go to Africa with her, as she want to go AGAIN!!!
Finally, with good selling skills, she managed to get me on board...
Destination chosen: Kenya! ...from here I started to browse the web, and
only today got to the idea of trying news groups as well!

So let me try to set the scenario first....

As we both love to dive, we were first looking for some good diving sites,
and here the decision is already made for Watamu, and we will spend there 7
days, to be more precise from 02/01/2006 - 09/01/2006.... After that we
definitely wanna go for a safari game in Tsawo East/West national park, most
probably for 3 days (2 over nights).... Would love to see Mt. Kilimanjaro of
course... Then we will still have few days off, till the 16/01/2006, to be
spent on the cost (relaxing, chilling, maybe snorkelling and enjoying a bit
of local food, culture, etc.) and after that we will be heading home....

We will be flying Munich - Mombasa - Munich....

Now, after the "short intro", here comes the call for help :-)))
I was wondering if you could let me know how did you book your safari trips,
do you have any agencies, ways to advise on how to book this one.... Also,
as we have the accommodation confirmed only for the first 7 days, we would
also love to hear your suggestions for the remaining 6-7 days... Any
location (possibly not high budget, more kind of low-mid range priced kind
of thing) to suggest, phone numbers, www to share????

I know that being a perfect stranger from far away, I really ask a lot, but
it is all your fault!!! Having such a great site made me finally relax and
decide to go and visit Kenya!!! To be truly honest, I was (and probably will
still be) scared like hell, as I did not feel fully comfortable going... but
as I promised I had too! :-))) Thank God, having seen your pics + trip story
made my heart beat like crazy and I am finally truly sure that I REALLY WANT
TO GO!!! :-)))

So know, you have a social duty to make the second part of our trip as
amazing and as remarkable, unforgettable as yours was (kiddin' of course,
about the "social duty" part) :-))) ...but I would really like to hear from
you and see if you have any tips and suggestions on the topics above....

Well, hoping for good I will be looking forward to hearing from you!!!

Sending you THE BEST regards from Croatia, I can promise that in case you
would be planning to come and visit Croatia, I would return the favour for
sure!!! (and you have it even in written now, so I will not be able to deny
it :-)))

Many many thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Sebastian & Suzana

Hi Sebastian

Thanks for the kind words about the website - its nice that its helpful to
other people, as I do it really for our family who are somewhat spread
around the UK.
We booked the whole trip through an agency in the UK - Hayes and Jarvis -
who book the flights and the safari, and the hotel etc.
However, in Kenya, the safari was actually provided by a local company
working out of Mombasa - Rhino Safaris.

Try here - http://www.rexresorts.com/_africa/_safaris/index.html.

I would try to avoid travelling too far unless you want to be on safari for
5+ days.
Most of the parks etc are actually quite a long way apart and the roads are
not too good.
If you want to see Kilimanjaro, you will need to go to Amboseli.
Having said that, you may well not get a view anyway because it is usually
covered in cloud.
We didn't see it this time, except from the plane between Nairobi and
Mombasa.
If you take this flight (not sure if you fly direct to Mombasa) then get a
seat on the right hand side of the plane on the way out!

For the coast, you could go to Diani as we did.
There is an excellent snorkelling day out, with good seafood etc - look for
the 'Pili Pippa' dhow trip.
The hotels also organise day trips to Mombasa.

An alternative, is to go over to Zanzibar.
The diving is apparently amazing, and we really fell in love with it in 2001
(http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/africa/index.htm).
You should be able to fly from Mombasa, but of course it is technically in
Tanzania, so you will need additional visas to go.
The east of the island is where the beaches and diving are.
The west is for Stonetown - the very historic capital of Zanzibar.

Whatever you decide to do, you will have a brilliant time.
Let me know what you decide and I'll try to give some more tips.
However, the newsgroup is really helpful.
There are some very knowledgeable people here (Liz, Hans-Georg and Pat
Anderson for example!)

Did you also see my Tanzania/Kilimanjaro trip -
http://www.tomalin.org/charles/tanzania/index.htm
Maybe something for next year....!

Rgds

Charles
"Seb" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys...
A short introduction first...
My name is Sebastian and I am writing to you from Croatia...

Now my feelings: I AM SPEECHLESS, AMAZED, SHOCKED, EXCITED, can not
believe
what I just saw and read on your site
(http://www.tomalin.org/bedford/kenya05/index.htm)

WOW is all I can say!!!!

How did I encounter into your post?
My girlfriend spent 3 weeks in Senegal last year and since then she is all
over me, trying to make me go to Africa with her, as she want to go
AGAIN!!!
Finally, with good selling skills, she managed to get me on board...
Destination chosen: Kenya! ...from here I started to browse the web, and
only today got to the idea of trying news groups as well!

So let me try to set the scenario first....

As we both love to dive, we were first looking for some good diving sites,
and here the decision is already made for Watamu, and we will spend there
7
days, to be more precise from 02/01/2006 - 09/01/2006.... After that we
definitely wanna go for a safari game in Tsawo East/West national park,
most
probably for 3 days (2 over nights).... Would love to see Mt. Kilimanjaro
of
course... Then we will still have few days off, till the 16/01/2006, to be
spent on the cost (relaxing, chilling, maybe snorkelling and enjoying a
bit
of local food, culture, etc.) and after that we will be heading home....

We will be flying Munich - Mombasa - Munich....

Now, after the "short intro", here comes the call for help :-)))
I was wondering if you could let me know how did you book your safari
trips,
do you have any agencies, ways to advise on how to book this one.... Also,
as we have the accommodation confirmed only for the first 7 days, we would
also love to hear your suggestions for the remaining 6-7 days... Any
location (possibly not high budget, more kind of low-mid range priced kind
of thing) to suggest, phone numbers, www to share????

I know that being a perfect stranger from far away, I really ask a lot,
but
it is all your fault!!! Having such a great site made me finally relax and
decide to go and visit Kenya!!! To be truly honest, I was (and probably
will
still be) scared like hell, as I did not feel fully comfortable going...
but
as I promised I had too! :-))) Thank God, having seen your pics + trip
story
made my heart beat like crazy and I am finally truly sure that I REALLY
WANT
TO GO!!! :-)))

So know, you have a social duty to make the second part of our trip as
amazing and as remarkable, unforgettable as yours was (kiddin' of course,
about the "social duty" part) :-))) ...but I would really like to hear
from
you and see if you have any tips and suggestions on the topics above....

Well, hoping for good I will be looking forward to hearing from you!!!

Sending you THE BEST regards from Croatia, I can promise that in case you
would be planning to come and visit Croatia, I would return the favour for
sure!!! (and you have it even in written now, so I will not be able to
deny
it :-)))

Many many thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Sebastian & Suzana

Sebastian & Suzana,

some useful information can be found on
http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm or, if you prefer German,
http://www.michna.com/kenia.htm . Have a look particularly at
the check lists, so you don't forget to bring along something
you need.

Diving is a good reason to be at the coast, but otherwise I'd
prefer to spend every non-diving day on safari among the
wildlife. Instead of spending some more days at the coast, you
could continue to Amboseli, for example, which isn't all that
far.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Hi Hans...



Amazing site, full of info you got there....

I was nit able (yet) to check it all, but since I have some time before we
live, I will check it all out for sure!



Thank you a million times...

Will keep you posted on how we experienced Kenya, once we get back!!!



Regards to the whole group,

Sebastian & Suzana


"Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message
...
Sebastian & Suzana,

some useful information can be found on
http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm or, if you prefer German,
http://www.michna.com/kenia.htm . Have a look particularly at
the check lists, so you don't forget to bring along something
you need.

Diving is a good reason to be at the coast, but otherwise I'd
prefer to spend every non-diving day on safari among the
wildlife. Instead of spending some more days at the coast, you
could continue to Amboseli, for example, which isn't all that
far.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.