Along the eastern edge of the Rift Valley, for example, there lies a range of volcanic mountains approximately one hundred kilometers long. These mountains, the Aberdares, link Thomsons Falls and Nairobi, and rise magnificent isolation, with forests and moorland clinging to the slopes within the National Park set up in the 1950s. This is a site off the usual tourist safari trails, but those intrepid travelers who do make it here will be rewarded with views of all the major species (rhinos, elephants, leopards and lions) as well as getting the chance to look for the graceful bongo antelope that hides in these mountains. The rich volcanic soil is a bright red color. Many streams run through the landscape, cascading over in spectacular waterfalls. The two main peaks reach almost four thousand meters in height, and are linked by moorland that lies at over three thousand meters. There is heavy rainfall, which can turn the roads to river of mud, and the park often closes completely during the rainy season. Visitors will need a sturdy vehicle to get around, at any time of the year.

The National Reserve at Shaba is named after the local mountain of the same name, which is a massive extinct volcano. This area is famous for its connection with the author, Joy Adamson whose much loved books tell the story of the leopards she raised and released here. Unfortunately, her trilogy of books was left unfinished when Joy died, but the leopards of Shaba live on as her legacy to the world. There are three game sanctuaries in the area, which rests to the east of the route between Marsabit and Isiolo.

Another extinct volcano, Mount Kenya, dominates the region known as the Kenyan Highlands. To the west lies the Rift Valley, while Nairobi is a hundred and forty kilometers away in the South West. There are two peaks to the mountain, Neilon and Batian, both over five thousand meters. A wide range of vegetation cover the slopes of the mountain, including bamboo, moorland, scrub and forest, with ice, snow and rock covering the highest points. There are also marshlands and wide fields of grass, as well as outcrops and cliffs of bare rock. There are woods of acacia and Euphorbia forest covering rocky hillsides. One of the most beautiful scenes is that of the Lake of Nakuru, which is a large but shallow lake sitting among waving grasses and flourishing woods, near the town of Nakuru. Water from the region of Mount Kenya feeds the rivers of the North Ewaso Ngiro and Tana.

Most tourists who visit Kenya will spend some, if not all of their trip, at the Masai Mara Reserve. Sometimes it can seem that there are more people here than animals, but it is clear to see why they come when you look out at the natural beauty of the area, or spot some of the most spectacular wildlife in the world. Tanzania’s Serengeti Park covers a huge area that contains the richest concentration of wildlife in Africa. If you are chasing a sighting of the Big 5 species, the rhino, elephant, buffalo, leopard and lion, then this is the place to catch them. In the months of May and June there is a massive influx of wildebeest and other species, including zebra, buffalo, eland and giraffe, followed by predatory animals including the hyena and vulture. Many other creatures can be seen here too, such as monkeys, baboon, hippos and impala, as well as more than five hundred species of bird. One great way to grasp the hugeness of the migration is to take a tour overhead in a hot air balloon.

South Africa was strangled by apartheid until 1991, far longer than any other nation on earth. Apartheid means separated or segregated by race. This segregation affected every aspect of daily life, from where one could eat or live to what types of jobs they could work or how much they could earn.

Although the Portuguese were the first to arrive on the South African coast in 1488 it wasn’t until the Dutch East Indian Company arrived in 1652 that the land was settled by whites. The Dutch and Germans that would come to call Africa home took over as the dominant class calling themselves Afrikaners. In 1779 when The British moved in they pushed the Afrikaners northward. This large migration set the stage for a great war as it put them at odds with the local Zulu tribes and warriors. Until the murder of their leader Shaka in 1828 the Zulu won many of the battles they fought. Following Shakas’ death the tide turned in the favor of the Afrikaners.

Large deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in Africa in 1886 and 1870. The British raced to the new colonies in hopes of great fortune and took over many plots of land from the Afrikaners. Later when they were put in charge of the African union the land was given back.

Apartheid didn’t become law until 1948, but Native Africans suffered greatly anyway. They created a small group in 1912 that later became the African National Congress. Nelson Mandela was more of the leaders and the group was later outlawed as it made waves and upset the white Africans. Mandela was put in jail for 27 years and was released on 11 February 1990. He then eventually became an international figure highlighting the struggles in Africa with apartheid.

The white Africans in charge finally admitted defeat in February 1990. The African National Congress was no longer banned and given full legal and political rights. Mandela was also set free from Jail after 30 years of fighting for his freedom and that of his people. In 1994 he was the countries first black president after the end of apartheid. Mandela has received the notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993

Unfortunately this change of power was not without its struggles. After decades of powerlessness and unrest the country has yet to find complete peace. In the early years of the change over many cities suffered extended poverty and lawlessness. It was unsafe for many and crime was the norm. In time peace will abound in land of South Africa.

Today South Africa has a very modern climate and is about 470,462 square miles. Its capital is Johannesburg. Gold, diamonds, Tanzanite and other precious and semi precious gemstones are still being mined there.

There are more than 46 million people living in South Africa today. They are referred to as “South Africans” regardless of color. 79 percent are Native South Africans 9.6 percent are white, 8.9 percent are other, and 2.5 percent are Asian. They speak mostly English and Afrikaans, but many of the local tribes do still speak their own dialect. The average man will live to be 50 and woman 52 much less than most western societies.

Following many centuries of racism and segregation official and otherwise it is understandable that this country has had its share of problems. As time passes however, and wounds heal the region has become more stable. This beautiful land is a prize for all to see and cherish as long as the Native people aren’t forced into a box.

Located in Africa, Kenya houses many African countries and cities. Throughout these countries, there are many languages that are spoken and around eleven different ethnic groups to date. Although religion is very diverse in Kenya, the atmosphere is peaceful and serene. They also have a national slogan, harambee with means, “let’s pull together”.

Kenyans sought after freedom of speech and government involvement before the independence of December 12, 1963. Even being as sophisticated in infrastructure and land developments, Saharan countries would loose control in 2002 and be overpowered by the National Rainbow Coalition.

For a period of time, Kenya’s economical growth appeared to be climbing, causing hated from outside territories. Corruption seemed to plague the economical climb for 15 years. But, in 2003, Kenya being a smart and strong country, regains control over the economy and thus began to improve life among its residents.

With over 224,960 miles of tropical mixed with arid and mid-arid weather, Kenya’s land is filled with plateaus, mountain ridges, and broad plains. If Kenya wasn’t located in Africa, you’d think that it had its own segmented borders. Nairobi, which is such a beautiful city, stretches from the Indian Ocean down towards Lake Victoria. Kenya also has a plateau that rises 9,000 feet about the ground in the middle of the country. The Rift Valley is just above Nairobi in the north.

Known as “Kenyans”, the people of Kenya make up about 30 million in population. Now that’s a lot of people. The ethnic groups are diverse and evenly balanced. As a colonial breakdown, Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba, Kisii and Meru make up all ethnic groups in Kenya. Religious status includes Indigenous, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Muslim. Different languages were spoken with 40 being local. Life was short, however, expecting to live only 49 years. You have to get everything done quickly before your time.

With the shift of power and economical growth, Kenya still remains beautiful in its essence and will one day overcome the barriers that hold back its embracing arms. You will never forget your trip to Kenya!

Liberia managed to escape much of the segregation and other ills of much of Africa, although it did have its own struggles. In its early years it was a safe haven for Africans was visited because of its hospitality, strong education system, booming rubber industry and strong liberal arts. The country fell apart when civil war engulfed the land from 1989 till 1996. More than 200,000 Liberians were killed during the war.

Until 1980, descendents of the freed slaves has control of the countries government they were the True Whig Party. The People’s Redemption power took over on April 12, 1980, Samuel Doe led them in a military coup executing the elected President. Being natives of the land they sought to make life better only for the native Krahns. Their favoritism toward their own caused the non-krahn population to rebel against the new leadership.

The different ethnic groups began fighting and in 1989, an all out civil war began. After a year of war Doe was defeated. He was killed on September 9, 1990 and Charles Taylor who was one of the rebel leaders at the time was put over the interim government. He should have worked to unite the country, but chose greed instead, declaring himself to be the new dictator.

He remained in power until 1997 when a cease fire was worked out. The various rebel groups agreed to disarm and hold elections. Taylor won the elections by questionable means and kept control of the country. This time his greed led him to attack Sierra Leone using guerilla tactics. A significant number of outside nations took notice and using valid backable threats pressured him into resigning. He fled into exile on June 4, 2003.

Just over a year later the first woman president was elected into office in the countries free elections. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. In January of 2006 she took office. This was a great step in the right direction for Liberia.

The capital of Liberia is Monrovia and there are 3.24 million people there. Liberia is home to 40% of West Africa’s rain forest and covers about 43,000 square miles. Liberia licenses more than 1,800 ships at sea under its flag. This makes it the second-largest maritime nation with 35% of the world’s tanker fleet calling it home.

There are 16 ethnic groups in Liberia. 16 percent is Bassa, 20 percent is Kpelle, 8 percent is Gio, 7 percent is Kru and the remaining 49 percent is spread out over 12 other ethnic groups. 60 percent of the people claim animist as their religion, 30 percent Christianity, and 10 percent Muslim. There are also 16 native languages, but English is the official language of the country. Life expectancy is much lower than that of most western countries at 47 years and 56 percent of the people are literate.

Liberia has returned from the ravages of civil to a somewhat stable, beautiful country. The more adventurous traveler may desire to visit this country, but at this time it is still highly dangerous.

The population of the Libyan people is about 5.7 million people with an increased rate of about 2.3 percent a year, and roughly half of the population is under the age of 20. Ninety-seven percent of the population speak Arabic, making it the official language in Libya, and adhere to Sunni Islam as their religion. Native Libyans ethnic groups are broken down between the Berbers and Arabs. About eighty percent of the population is educated with a life expectancy of seventy-four percent for men and seventy-eight percent for women.

Libya has seen very little independence, being ruled by foreign leaders in its historic past, everyone from the Phoenicians to the Carthaginians to the Greeks and Romans. This has been due to the Phoenicians establishing trading posts in Libya and made agreements with the Berbers to ensure their cooperation of raw materials. All of this took place in what is now known as Tripoli, Libya’s capital. Libya claimed its independence in 1951.

Today you can see the ancient structures and ruins of days past and is ideal for travelers that enjoy historical sightseeing.

The ruler of Libya is Mu’ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi who staged a sudden, unconstitutional deposition against King Idris. Ever since his rule, Libya has been known to have high amounts of terror activity, including the bombing of a plane over Scotland. Libya has since tried to turn away from its violent past.

Even though Libya is still getting back on track from its past, it is a good country to visit. The people are making efforts to attract tourists and to have an accepting and welcoming attitude to travelers that may come through.