BUSH AND BEACH
EAST AFRICA
From five-star safaris to gorilla trekking, horseback forays into the bush to beach breaks, East Africa has holiday choices to suit, says Kathryn Liston
56 October 2012 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
T
he closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games turned out to be something of
an advertisement for East Africa! More than 26 million viewers
watched as a Ugandan and two Kenyans received their medals for the men’s marathon at the ceremony. The positive image, as fleeting as it
was, was particularly timely for Kenya, which has been struggling to combat negative publicity following a terrorist attack in Mombasa last May and kidnappings in Lamu, close to Somalia. However agents should note that The Foreign & Commonwealth Office lifted its advisory against all but essential travel to the area in June. Perhaps not surprisingly, many operators report that bookings have been slow this year, although they have picked up since early summer. “2012 has seen Kenya bounce back
and visitor numbers saw a steady climb around the school holidays, which coincided with the Great Migration,” said Lucy Kublikowski, Product Executive, Visions of Africa. The Kenya Tourist Board said UK
visitor figures rose 4.8% from January to May 2012 compared to the same period last year. This was helped by promotions during the Diamond
Jubilee and the screening of BBC’s Planet Earth Live from the Masai Mara. “So far, 2012 is looking positive in challenging times,” commented Angie Sloan, Regional Director Kenya Tourist Board UK. Wildlife safaris are East Africa’s shop window, particularly the magnificent annual wildebeest migration in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania, East Africa’s largest country. As well as using jeeps, visitors can
explore the bush on a mountain bike, camel, horseback or via their own feet. In the Saddle, Ride Worldwide and The Great Plains Conservancy in Kenya offer horse-riding safaris. New African Territories offers bush walks and camel safaris at Alex Walker’s Serian, where the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries was filmed. Neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda are ideal for visitors wanting to get close to mountain gorillas. Coastal Aviation flights between Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda enable visitors to add a gorilla trek onto a safari in the Masai Mara. Intrepid Travel says that 40% of its 2012 gorilla trekking trips in Rwanda have sold out following a decision to absorb the recent 50% hike in the cost of a gorilla permit from $500 to $750.
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