| Situated on the shores of Africa's largest and the | | | | Mau ranges. It is a delight to see the red-tailed |
| world's second largest freshwater lake after Lake | | | | colobus monkeys and other animals of the wild. |
| Superior in the USA, Kisumu has one of the most | | | | If you prefer camping, the Kericho Fishing Lodge |
| breathtaking sunsets. On December 20, 1901, the last | | | | next door is ideal. It also has a restaurant and rooms. |
| sleeper of the famous Uganda Railway was nailed in | | | | Do not miss a short walk at the Chagaik Botanic |
| by Florence Preston, the wife of Ronald Perston, the | | | | Garden by the tree estate just before you enter |
| chief platelayer of the railway. The point, on the | | | | Kericho town. A visit to Ruma National Park can be |
| shores of Lake Victoria was named Port Florence - | | | | very refreshing. Ruma can be reached through many |
| but was not after Florence Perston. It was named | | | | circuits; form Kericho via Kisii and then through the |
| after Florence Whitehouse, the wife of the chief | | | | fishing villages of Homa Bay and Kendu Bay. Or take |
| engineer, George Whitehouse. | | | | the ferry from Luanda (on the way to Bondo) to |
| The name Port Florence only stuck for a year and | | | | Mbita Point. It is a welcome relief from the rough |
| reverted to Kisumu, which means 'a place to look for | | | | roads. At Mbita Point, stay at the Lake Victoria Safari |
| food.' A good starting point discovering the town is | | | | Village on the lakeshore, a delightful, cheap lodge with |
| the Kisumu Museum on the Nairobi Highway. The | | | | beautiful gardens, and a strip of private beach and |
| main two-way traffic road, named after the famous | | | | boats. |
| 'son of the lake' - the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga - | | | | Ruma is the only park in the world with the |
| runs down the middle of the town. The road leads to | | | | sub-species of the roan antelope, the hippotragus |
| the Industrial Area and further down to the golf | | | | equinus langheldhi. There are fewer than 100 |
| course and the airport. | | | | remaining. That should make you want to visit this |
| The port of Kisumu, off Kendu Road, is not set to | | | | handkerchief of a park. You can camp or just visit |
| handle tourists, but it gives an interesting voyage into | | | | for the day and return to Kisumu. Spend an extra |
| history. The original sleeper seems to be lost | | | | day to drive to Rusinga Island via the cause way and |
| somewhere on the grounds of the harbour | | | | visit the hotspots, like the prehistoric site, home of |
| overlooking the beautiful Maragoli Hills, which are full | | | | the Zinjanthropus Nyanii, an apelike ancestor that |
| of granite rocks. The first steamships built in Kisumu | | | | lived almost two million years ago in the forests that |
| in 1905 were the SS Sybila and the SS Nyanza. In | | | | once covered the island. Visit the Tom Mboya's |
| 1907, the English political leader Winston Churchill | | | | memorial or sail to the twin island of Mbasa, |
| visited Kisumu, the most important harbour in the | | | | uninhabited by people and full of monitor lizards, birds, |
| lake until the collapse of the East African Community | | | | crocodiles and snakes. |
| in 1977. Passenger services ceased in the early 1990s. | | | | There are many Luo villages along the bays like the |
| From the link span, you can see the Sunset Hotel, | | | | Uyoma Peninsular. Take the ferry from Luanda, past |
| which was built in the 1970s on the lakefront from | | | | Maseno or the Luanda on the Homa Bay road. The |
| where guests can watch the sunset. It is a beautiful | | | | ferry from Luanda to Mbita Point leaves at 8:00am, |
| view that a first time visitor should not miss. Next to | | | | 11:00am, 3:00pm and 6:00pm. From Mbita Point to |
| the hotel is Impala Park, which houses the town's | | | | Luanda it leaves at 7:00am, 10:00am, 2:00pm and |
| 'original residents'-the remaining impalas and stray | | | | 5:00pm. If you take the ferry from Mbita Point to |
| animals, including leopards and hyenas-in pens. Hippos | | | | Kisumu, stop at the spectacular rock formation of Kit |
| walk around at night. The park is a rich ground for | | | | Mikayi, the sacred rock. Kit Mikayi means 'big woman' |
| birds like African fish eagle. A few metres away is | | | | in Luo. For a fee, one can climb the rock to see the |
| the Nyanza Club. The budget traveller can camp at | | | | wide expanse of luoland. |
| the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya grounds, within walking | | | | If you have a friend with a speedboat in Kisumu, sail |
| distance of Sunset and Nyanza Club. | | | | to Ndere Island. It's uninhabited by humans save for |
| The Kisumu Municipal Market, built in 1935 is a | | | | a translocated baboon, the rare semi-aquatic |
| must-see. Earthen pots and all the vegetables in | | | | sitatunga antelope, monitor lizards, African fish eagles, |
| season are on display here. Moving out of town, a | | | | pied kingfishers and the jeweled beauty of a bird, the |
| drive along the lakeshore takes you down the | | | | malachite kingfisher. You can also take the alternative |
| members-only Yacht Club, through the Impala Park to | | | | route to Kisumu via Maai Mahiu through Narok to |
| Dunga. There is a restaurant and the local anglers | | | | Sotik, and then to Kisii. From Sotik, you can turn right |
| might just lure you to a boat ride. The boats are not | | | | to Kericho/Kisumu. Alternatively, from Narok, drive |
| always fitted with lifesaving jackets, so you ride at | | | | into the Masai Mara National Reserve and spend a |
| your own risk. | | | | couple driving to the western vistas. From Kisii, the |
| On the other side of the lake, roads lead to | | | | road continues to Ruma. |
| Kakamega and on to Kakamega Forest, the only | | | | On the islands of Rusinga, Mfangano and Takawiri are |
| remnant of the Guinea-Congolian rainforest that once | | | | up market lodges. Your travel agent should be able |
| stretched across the entire expanse of Central | | | | to book you in. or stay at the inexpensive lodges. |
| Africa. The forest is about 240 sq km and great for | | | | Another circuit to explore is Kisumu to Eldoret, an |
| bird lovers and those who want a quiet retreat. | | | | easy two-hour drive, and the Kerio Valley viewpoint |
| Accommodation comes in the form of the Rondo | | | | overlooking Tugen Hills. The floor or Kerio Valley |
| Retreat under the Trinity Fellowship and the Isecheno | | | | spans 2,000 feet below Lake Kamnarok in the Rimoi |
| Bandas for visitors who prefer camping or | | | | Game Reserve, which is frequented by elephants and |
| self-catering. There are many circuits to drive in and | | | | buffaloes. |
| out of Kakamega Forest. You can drive out via the | | | | One can drive across the valley to the Tugen Hills |
| gate that leads to Kapsabet and on to Nandi Hills and | | | | and combine this circuit with Lake Baringo, Bogoria or |
| Songhor, passing through the tea hill slopes to the | | | | the Cherangany. The Flourspar Company is on the |
| sugarcane plains of Chemelil, Miwani and Kibos. There | | | | floor of the valley. The Kerio Valley Lodge is built on |
| are some fantastic sites around this route, like the | | | | the escarpment. Not very far from Eldoret on this |
| South Nandi Forest, the prehistoric sites of Fort | | | | route is the High Altitude Training Centre at Iten, |
| Ternan and Songhor, the high hilltop forest of | | | | where Kenya's famous athletes like Peter Rono, |
| Tinderet, down to Koru and Muhoroni. Driving through | | | | Wilson Kipketer and others train. |
| the sugar belt of Kibos, you can visit a typical Luo | | | | For a bit more adventure, drive further a field to |
| village at Kajulu. It is very picturesque and the | | | | Lodwar, via Kitale, with a stopover at the Saiwa |
| surrounding hills are great for hiking. However, there | | | | Swamp National Park. Lodwar is near the western |
| is no tourist facility in the vicinity. | | | | shores of Lake Turkana, which covers 77,000 sq km. |
| If you decide to break in Nandi town, drop in at one | | | | this is the easiest road to Turkana. Trips to the |
| of the most beautiful golf courses in the country - | | | | central Island can be arranged and a night on the |
| Nandi Bear Club - where there are self-contained | | | | island is out of this world. You sleep under the stars, |
| chalets. Nandi Bear is so named because of a story | | | | as the only structure on the island is a tin toilet. In |
| about an elusive animal that looked like a bear that | | | | Lodwar, stay at the Catholic Guesthouse. Also, visit |
| used to come from the forest and kill the villagers. In | | | | the Ille Springs and Kalokal. A journey to the Mt Elgon |
| the 1950s, the manager of a tea estate in Nandi shot | | | | National Park is as exciting as it is adventurous, |
| two animals that pretty much resembled bears. The | | | | especially to the elephant caves. Stay at the KWS |
| skeletons were sent to the Nairobi Museum but got | | | | bungalows complete with kitchens and barbeque |
| lost. It is said that the animas could have been giant | | | | jikos. |
| forest hyenas. The myth remains. If you happen to | | | | Enjoy your visit to Kisumu. You can do so much from |
| be driving to Kisumu from Kericho, you can stay at | | | | there. Kisumu has a mix of restaurants and even |
| the Kericho Tea Hotel, which was built in 1958 by the | | | | boasts a German one. So, eating out is not limited to |
| Brook Bond tea estate. The hotel has seen better | | | | Chinese and Indian. It is important to carry lots of |
| days but it is still a good choice overlooking the tea | | | | insect repellent because the lakeshore is a breeding |
| plantations and the Mau escarpments. Guides can | | | | ground for mosquitoes. Kisumu is hot and humid but |
| take you for a walk on to the remaining tract of | | | | the nearby towns like Eldoret, Kitale, Kakamega and |
| rainforest left in the area, which extends from the | | | | Nandi hills can be cold. |