Kudu Hills - Kajiado District

Kudu Hills is located in the Kajiado district 70km south of Nairobi close to Amboselli National Park.  It is a beautiful unspoiled area totally off the usual tourist route. 

The area is sparsely populated by the Maasai who graze their cattle over parts of this vast area, sharing it with groups of elephant and giraffe.  Unknown to many people we have recently discovered a Vulture nesting site set amongst a huge cliff face overlooking a dry lake bed, which during the rainy season is inaccessible.  Access to the cliffs is only possible during the dry season as it involves a drive across the dry lake bed to get to the location. 

To watch these vultures return home from scavenging is an awesome sight.  There are hundreds of them, they travel vast distances to feed, going as far as the Maasai Mara and beyond.  When the Vultures return they not only feed their young, but also the old who can no long fly such a long distance. It is beautiful to see and at the moment this place has only been seen by the local population and of course ourselves who had the privilege to see this prestigious site.  The cliff face must be a few kilometres long and seems to be long established with nests the whole length of the cliffs which are stained white with guano.

This is a fragile eco system for these animals living in close proximity with human population who see no benefit in having these animal around, eating the surrounding vegetation, and drinking from the local water holes, which supply the local communities

Wildlife in Kenya is very slowly losing their natural ranges due to local communities expanding; the local people see no benefit for having these animals around.  As far as the people are concerned these animals destroy their crops, kill their livestock and eat the little grass that grows in dry seasons, and so the population would like to drive these animals away, but to where? There is nowhere for them to go, hence reducing the range of these wild animals and so encouraging their extinction. 

Our aim is to encourage local people to see the benefit that these animals could have to their communities, by establishing a conservancy within rural areas through tourism.  The money generated through conservancy fees will go towards education, fencing for crops, employment for rangers to care for the wildlife in guarding against poachers, monitoring animal movement and caring for any young or injured animals. 

Ultimately our long term goal would be to establish an animal rescue centre in this remote area.

Tembo Explorer Safaris are in the process of establishing a basic bush camp deep within the Kudu Hills area.  It is close to a watering hole to monitor the movement of the elephant, giraffe and hunting dogs and to research their range & feeding patterns.

This project might seem a small thing compared to the large reserves such as the Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboselli etc, but whilst all eyes are on these important areas to conserve, what about the small pockets that still exist for the wildlife that is ignored? Are these areas to disappear when no-one cares for them?  Africa could, one day be like going to a local theme park, just in small controlled areas unless we start to work now on preserving it for our future generations.

Page still under construction - Photographs to follow

If you are interestested in a trip to Kudu Hills please contact Joy through the enquiries page.  Thank you