Population - 34.5 million Ethnic groups - Black 99% (Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 15%, Luo 12% Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, Maasai/Samburu 2%), other 1% Languages - Swahili, English Geography - From the coast on the Indian Ocean the low plains rise to central highlands. The highlands are bisected by the Great Rift Valley, a fertile plateau in the west. The Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Northern Kenya, around Lake Turkana and the Ethiopian border is semi-desert and inhospitable. Climate - Kenya enjoys a varied climate. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country. There are two rainy seasons: one from April to June, the other from October to December. In July we will have some chance of rain. Roads - 63,265 km, of which 8,933 km paved.

THE CYCLE OF LIFE IN KENYA

Finally, after four months in the saddle, we will cross our final border and the Cycle of Life will arrive at its destination. It is fitting that geographical chance should mean that Kenya will host the expedition’s culmination. The country is also densely packed with exceptional conservation efforts, many of which have taken community participation to greater levels than elsewhere in Africa.

The Cycle of Life believes that conservation is something that the world should do; but helping those people who cannot afford to care about wildlife due to the hardship of their daily lives is something we must do. Community conservation is significant because it provides opportunities both for local people, and wildlife. Rural populations looking for financial security become invested in the welfare of their region, but withhold the power to shape decision-making should the initiative fail. While their driving force is inevitably monetary, success relies on the attraction of the wildlife and its conservation. The onus, therefore, is on those of us who believe that conservation is important to show rural communities that it can also be a ticket to a smooth transition into global markets such as tourism.

In Kenya, such examples can be found more readily than in any other African country; and the downstream benefits to the communities are beginning to win over the doubters. Increasingly, rural communities are becoming aware that traditional methods of livestock herding leave them vulnerable to economic shifts, drought, and raids by Somali marauders (in the north). Following the examples set by certain white farms turned conservation and eco-tourism hotspots (such as the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy), many of these communities are learning to rely on protection of their environment to ensure financial stability. While this process is still in its infancy, these demonstrations of community-made decisions helping both to preserve wilderness, and to bring prosperity to rural areas, represent the future of conservation as we see it.

ROUTE

• The Cycle of Life into Kenya just to the north of Mt Kilimanjaro
• We will immediately visit the Maasai Preservation Trust on the lava flow at the base of the mountain.
• Heading west, we will round the northern edge of the Mara, stopping to see the Koiyaki Guide School.
• The final leg of the journey we will pass north of Nairobi towards Mount Kenya and the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
• We will then be within one day’s travel from Lewa and the expedition’s finale.