The Mau Forest, one of the five Water towers is threatened with destruction by modern human activities and sheer greed. The forest complex is the source of several rivers supporting 8 eco- systems downstream among them the Maasai Mara and the northen Serengeti, Lake Naivasha, Nakuru, and Bogoria. Not to mention the 4 Million people living in the Lake Basin who depend on the rivers from the Mau Forest for their small scale farming activities. The forest is the home of the Ogiek Community, who from time immemorial to date predominantly inhabit Mau forest in Rift Valley province and until the 1950’s had been subsisting on sustainable hunting of wild game and gathering of wild fruits. As a result of laws, policies and the rapid spread of Western religion and education, the Ogieks have lost their cultures, traditions and territories. They now find themselves practising small scale agriculture and livestock keeping. Dr. Mukuria of REFUGE, (Restoring of Forest for Future Generations), is working with the Ogiek Community to use their culture and traditions to restore the forest and give up small scale farming and livestock keeping in favour of beekeeping, eco tourism, medicinal herbs and taking care of the forest. To ensure that this project is successful, the Ogiek must get out of these activities sufficient income to make a decent living. Kibo Slopes Safaris Ltd intends to work with Dr. Mukuria in the area of eco tourism activities and awareness creation.

Kibo Slopes Safaris Ltd has developed packages suitable for local tourists who have only limited time and wish to get away from the stress and strains of the bustling city of Nairobi. Be it a hike to Longonot, a weekend at the Slopes of Kilimanjaro, a visit to our Tanzanian Brothers, or a conservation effort by planting tree’s in the Mau Forest, Kibo Slopes Getaways are extremely exiting and stimulating because they are full of life and activities. Our success in arranging and coming up with suitable packages for local tourism has given us a numerous amount of repeat clients , such as JULIUS MWANIKI of SUNLAVIE who after his first experience with a Kibo Slopes Get aways, has organised several groups to the Slopes of Kilimanjaro.
The prices range from Ksh 1.990/- to 19.990/- for a weekend depending on the package chosen, while a week climbing Kilimanjaro will cost Ksh 29.990/-. Contact us for detailed information and dates and join our Facebook Group  http://www.facebook.com/#!/?sk=2361831622 to get informed about forthcomming events.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), held in Doha Qatar, played host to 175 countries. However, although participants met to discuss ways of helping threatened animals and plant species, most of the radical proposals for limits to the trade in them were rejected. The last CITES meeting in 2007 agreed to a nine-year moratorium on any further trade in ivory, after a sale of 105 metric tons of elephant ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to China and Japan. The wildlife conference rejected proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to relax a trade ban on elephants to allow a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles. Conservation groups broadly welcomed the decision since in reality the Poaching of elephants and ivory seizures are escalating, not decreasing, as the Tanzania and Zambia authorities were claiming. Kenya and 13 other range states, were calling for a blanket 20 year ivory sale moratorium, arguing that no elephant population is really safe from the combination of rising ivory demand, local corruption, and escalating market prices.

Kibo Slopes Safaris and Raiffeisen Reisen have developed a special Kilimanjaro Tour for the older generation of 60 years and more. The climbers will be guided by an experienced Austrian mountaineer couple Helene & Sepp Doppler, who have been on many world summits and guided successfully more than 10 groups to the “Rooftop of Africa”. If you are a german speaking person, aged above 60 years and still young at heart, this is the chance to fulfill your dream of conquering Kilimanjaro. The program includes a day hike in Loitokitok before the climb and an extra day at the Mawenzi Tarnhut for the best possible acclimatisation. The 14 day safari ends with a visit to Amboseli National Park, renowned for its rich wildlife in the backdrop of Kilimanjaro. It is here, where Ernest Hemmingways novel “Snow of Kilimanjaro” found its origins. Contact Josef Doppler for more information.

Gottfried Stotter, one of our repeat customer, wanted to assist his friend, Leo Oberhauser, who is physically challenged and bound to a wheelchair, to enjoy a wildlife safari in Kenya and Tanzania. The safari took them to the Maasai Mara, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Amboseli, before relaxing at the coast in Mombasa. Kibo Slopes Safaris facilitated the trip by providing the necessary infrastructure, suitable vehicle, experienced driver / guides, arranging for charter flights and reserving of suitable hotels and lodges. At a fairwell dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant, the group of 6 people was full of praises of our services and promised to challenge the myth that wildlife safaris are not suitable for physically challenged people. On the contrary, with some little improvements in hotels and lodges, wildlife safaris could be enjoyable for everyone including wheelchair bound visitors to East Africa.

Kibo Slopes Safaris with Allibert, Kenya Airways and the Kenyan Tourist Board in France organized a familiarization tour for french journalists. The safari took them to the Riftvalley, where they climbed Mt. Longonot and walk through the Hellsgate gorge. In Nakuru National Park they met besides thousands of flamingoes, the rhino’s and buffaloes. A balloon flight over the Lake Elemantaita revealed the rich game on the Soysambu Ranch owned by the Delamere Family. After admiring the hot springs on Lake Bogoria, the journalists undertook a boatride on the Lake Baringo where hippo’s and crocodiles dive. The final leg took them through Maralal, where they visited a Samburu Homestead, to Samburu game reserve. Despite the flooding of the Ewaso Nyiro River the week before, they were accommodated at the Samburu Simba Lodge which was not affected by the floods, the gamedrives revealed the richness of wildlife in the area with unique species such as the grevy zebra, oryx and reticulated giraffes besides lions, leopards and herds of elephants. The journalist where very impressed and promised to portray the country, mostly known for its wildlife and sandy beaches, also as an ideal area for hiking, trekking and adventure tourism which blends well with wildlife and beaches.

After a long dry spell, Kenya©s well known Samburu National Park was hit by huge floods which destroyed the Save The Elephants research camp as well as six tourist lodges.This wave of rushing water came from the Ewaso Nyiro River which had burst its banks following heavy rain around Mount Kenya and the Aberdares. No casualties were reported. The rains were badly needed after the Ewaso Nyiro river had dried up and man and wildlife struggled for water. Though these floods damaged several lodges and displaced people, it also was a blessing for beast and man. The Kenyan Red Cross started immediately their relief efforts to assist displaced people, while the lodges and camps, after counting the losses started with re-construction. By July 2010 all facilities will be operational again.
We visited the area 2 weeks after the floods, and witnessed the damage done but also noticed the recovery of flora and fauna. We hope the area will get many tourists for the coming season to help the camps and lodges to recover quickly from the losses.

Kibo Slopes Safaris organized a familiarization tour for Ms. Sanna Laensivierto of Aventura, a finish tour company working with us for the past 3 years. The safari took her and her fiancée to the Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Amboseli and Tsavo West. Being her first visit to Kenya, she was very impressed by what Kenya has to offer and the high level of professionalism in the tour industry. On her next visit she plans to conquer Kilimanjaro. Visitors from Finland have steadily grown over the past to 3 years when the first group from Finland visited Kenya under the guidance of Pekka Virtanen, a reknowned finish travel expert for East Africa. We hope that after this visit the Aventura sales department will be in a better position to advise their clientel on the various hoilday possibilities in East Africa.

TAWI LODGE is a new facility at the high end, located on a private conservancy of 6,000 acres just five minutes from Kimana Gate, at the eastern entrance to Amboseli National Park, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,963m). The lodge is an eco-friendly establishment, which takes maximum care of the environment and its people. It consists of 12 cottages ideally located on bush land facing Kilimanjaro. Each cottage has its own wooden-deck veranda and a fabulous view of the highest mountain in Africa, even from the comfort of your bed or your bathtub. Double or twin cottages, all have en suite bathrooms fitted with both a bath and shower. Each cottage has its own fireplace and a mini bar for those very special sundowners. Lighting and water systems are solar powered. A charging facility for cell phones and camera batteries is available. A butler service is provided for maximum privacy and comfort. The style of the lodge is a harmonious combination of modern (for your comfort) and traditional (to remind you that you are in Africa). For people who have climbed Kilimanjaro and would like to relax for a couple of days after their strenuous activity or for visitors who simply want to get away from the everyday stresses and strains of the western life – Tawi is all you need.

To simplify payment for your bus and shuttle tickets or safari services, Kibo Slopes Safaris Ltd has applied for a bulkpayment and paybill account with M-Pesa of Safaricom. If you are in Kenya you will comfortably pay for your safari requirements with ease from your cellphone. This maybe particulary of interest for our “Weekend Getaway” customers. Currently we are also working on a web based booking system for your preferred shuttle service between Arusha and Nairobi – The IMPALA SHUTTLE. By end of the month you should be able to book your ticket, choose your seat and pay by Mpesa from any computer wherever you are. You also can book your preferred shuttle through Easy Travel on Safaricom live and Save yourself the trouble of walking to our offices to get the tickets from there.

The Pan African Conference got underway on Tuesday, 16 March 2010, in Nairobi, attracting an attendance of media experts and political leaders in discussing the role of media in an African democracy. Chief guest President Kibaki set the pace with an acknowledgement of the milestones attained by the media in providing information to Kenyans and the advent of citizen journalism through blogs and social sites such as tweeter, facebook, My space etc. The conference was one of the key activities marking the 50th Anniversary of the Nation Media Group. Among the key speakers at the Function held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre were President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, ex-Presidents Joachim Chissano of Mozambique and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Information and Communications minister Samuel Poghisio.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has started the capture and translocation of 7000 zebras and wilderbeests to restock Amboseli National Park, which aims to restore the predator-prey balance, following the fiercest drought in 26 years that devastated the ecosystem last year. One thousand Burchells Zebra are expected to be moved over the next few weeks. On the last Soysambu wildlife census in September 2009 the number of zebra numbered 3274. Amboseli National Park, a dry season feeding refugee for wild animals, normally attracts thousands of herbivores which congregate within its boundaries during the dry season and later migrate to other outlying areas at the onset of the wet season. Last year’s devastating drought attracted many herbivores in the park that resulted in overgrazing. This led to the deaths of over 60 per cent of the zebra and wildebeest population. These deaths severely compromised the ecological balance of the park and its surrounding area. The two animal species are the most preferred prey of the lions and hyenas and their subsequent fall in numbers led to the carnivores invading and killing livestock from the communities living around the park, compounding a problem given that had already lost up to 80 per cent of their livestock to the drought. This led to a sharp increase in human wildlife conflict incidents in the area. This exercise will be a milestone in the efforts by the Kenya Wildlife Service to solve this problem.