‘‘Who wouldn’t want to work with them?’’ – The RAS Team A few strokes of an imperial pen and lines drawn by ruler in 1886 landed Africa’s tallest mountain in Tanzania. It’s not much of a boundary for Air Kenya or Regional Air Services. The sister airlines operate from both sides, offering a unique partnership from either side of snow-capped [...]
Its name alone evokes a special place in our consciousness. It conjures up images of spices and slavery and seashores and that uniqueness that comes from being an island, disconnected from the rest of the world, its own place. Zanzibar is all those things and more. It’s a place where you can walk in the only functioning stone town left [...]
By Andy Hill The Serengeti experience starts pretty much after your RAS plane banks away from the petite Arusha airstrip and heads west. You fly over patchwork fields of coffee and food crops and then cross over a long spine or rock ridge – the wall of the Rift valley. Minutes later the cultivation stops and the wilderness begins, a [...]
By Andy Hill It all began as a home-made Christmas present Saskia Rechsteiner made for a friend out of some scraps of cloth and some beads. That was four years ago. Today it’s an international business employing the deaf, blind and disabled that sells its creations all over the world and won’t stop growing. “I knew it was a cool [...]
Arusha iconic clock tower By Andy Hill It looks and feels like a country farming town, with its lush greenery, abundant flowers and fresh clean air that is almost alpine. But don’t be fooled by its easy-going first impression. Arusha is Tanzania’s gateway to unrivalled natural wealth from the game-rich savanna to the sparkling Indian Ocean shores and the magical [...]
By Anna Campbell Kitesurfing inspires you to travel to remote and fascinating parts of the world, experience extraordinary coastlines and become part of a global community of like-minded people. Every puddle becomes a temptation. But this puddle was a lake on Mount Kenya, and the reason for trying to whip across it powered by a kite was to claim a [...]
Eka Hotel Nairobi is the new hotel opening soon along Mombasa road next to former St James Hospital, offering new heights in contemporary Comfort, Convenience, and Efficiency. Located just 5km from the city centre with easy access to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson Airport, Nairobi National Park, most Corporate, Government and Diplomatic offices, Eka Hotel is the ideal venue to [...]
Airkenya Express has taken delivery of a helicopter! The five-seater will be available for private charters. This high performance AS 350 B3 arrived late 2011. It is powered by an Arriel 2B engine and has an advance avionics package that permits the pilot to closely monitor engine performance and accurately navigate to destination. This helicopter was the first of its [...]
Globalisation is a great cultural leveler. But tourists looking for a glimpse of authentic Kenya have a chance with a visit to the Maasai market, a showcase for a way of life that is being defiantly preserved by its people. The market has become a tourist attraction that continues to expand in many parts of Kenya, especially Nairobi. Visitors looking [...]
As World Rhino Day was celebrated on September 22 throughout the states where this docile vegetarian roams, poachers continued to kill rhinos and elephants throughout Africa. They do every day. The reason is a completely false belief in China, principally, that rhino horn has medicinal properties. It does not. It has all the magical properties of your fingernails and is [...]
By Andy Hill The only thing on the beach is a grey heron, spearing thumb-sized fish from the rock pools left by the tide. The only hawker on the beach is Mwanaidi Ali, and she’s selling still-warm potato samosas and sugar-frosted mandazi which she baked herself this morning. The only noise on the beach is the clattering of palm fronds [...]
Read more ›By Juliet Barnes Eco-friendly and eco-tourism are trendy buzzwords – most tourist destinations nowadays pay lip service to such terms. But Basecamp Maasai Mara actually does deserve the accolade of being truly green as well as encouraging responsible tourism. Lars Lindkvist, President of Basecamp Foundation, is – like Basecamp itself – relaxed, seemingly laid back, but introduce the subject of [...]
Read more ›By Jedida Oneko There’s one in the AirKenya lounge. There’s one pretty much everywhere. A Dorman’s coffee shop has become as much part of the Kenyan way of life as Mount Kenya itself. Jedida Oneko, herself a coffee-phile, visited Dormans Headquarters to research the company’s long history. Dormans mills and roasts some of the finest coffee in East Africa and [...]
Read more ›Sunday is no day of rest of Shivani Bhalla. It’s the day she drives her little jeep from her ultra-basic camp close to Sassab Lodge to teach Samburu warriors to read, write, use a GPS and binoculars, and become conservationists and scouts. Five years ago she realised they were the “eyes and ears” of the bush and could help with [...]
Read more ›By Andy Hill If you are the sort of guest who likes stealing ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs from hotel doors and secreting them in your briefcase, then Sasaab Lodge is probably not the right place for you. The equivalent sign at this elegant and airy lodge overlooking the savanna is a full-size Samburu spear that you stick in the ground [...]
Read more ›By Jedida Oneko It’s always had a reputation for peace and tranquillity. But now Lamu, bouncing back from its security concerns and pulling in tourists again, can now boast a yoga retreat in a renovated 19th century Arab tower. To get there I took AirKenya’s hour-long flight to Manda Island, a 30 minute boat ride and a 10 minute walk [...]
Read more ›By Dominic Cunningham-Reid Despite a recent setback in tourist numbers caused by security worries, Lamu will always be East Africa’s enchanted Island, and has bounced back stronger and safer in no time. A crumbling, charming world heritage site imbued with Swahili culture dating back centuries, where lazy palms dotted amongst the flaking houses are in seeming collusion with the wind [...]
Read more ›Good morning ladies and gentleman. This is your (lady) captain speaking Q. What’s the best thing about being a pilot? I get to do what i really love and enjoy doing…as a job! Q. And the worst thing? Being based in Arusha, i dont get to see my family in Kenya as much as i’d like. I miss them….i guess [...]
Read more ›Zanzibar’s climate is idea for holidays most months of the year. Winds off the ocean cool the summer heat, especially on the north and east coasts. The islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are warm yearlong because they are on the equator. The “summer” and “winter” months are December and June respectively. There is a short rainy season in November, but [...]
Read more ›Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has launched a national elephant conservation and management strategy with a clear roadmap for conservation and management of elephants in Kenya for the next 10 years. Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Hon Dr Noah Wekesa noted that the world was witnessing increased illegal killing of elephants and that the sophistication and [...]
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