Northern Frontier District (NFD) - Kenya
A remote, exclusive and delightfully presented luxury camp, Kitich Camp is located in the remote Matthews mountain range, a rarely visited area of the so-called 'Northern Frontier District', of Kenya. Located on the banks of the Ngeng River, the camp lies below the craggy peaks of the mountains and is surrounded by green wooded hillsides. The camp itself is located in a grove of fig trees where ancient cycad palms grow. This area of the upper valley of the Ngeng River is a traditionally sacred spot for the local Samburu people, who call it ‘Kitich', which means ‘the place of happiness'. Here they come to sing and dance, to feed their cattle and to collect honey from the bees. The local wildlife includes; elephants, lions, leopards, greater kudus, waterbucks, giant forest hogs, buffalos and wild dogs. There are estimated to be 200 species of birds.
Location
The Mathews Range lies between Maralal and Isiolo in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya.
Kenya safari hotels and accommodation
Amongst the wide range of Kenya hotels, some make the ideal Kenya safari destination. Choose a safari lodge, safari hotel, bush camp, luxury lodge, safari camp, tented camp or bush lodge. National park accommodation usually takes the form of traditional safari lodges or tented camps, but numerous other options exist on the park boundaries. Luxury lodges and luxury camps options are also offered in the private wildlife conservancies.
Background
The Mathews Range, a forest reserve, is impressively wild hill country with Mathew Peak rising to 2375 m. Lower down, the mountains are heavily cloaked in forest and thick bush; unusual vegetation includes ‘livng fossil' cycad plants, giant cedars and podocarpus.
The Chalbi Dessert lies in the extreme north-east of Kenya. A wild and seldom district, once known as the Northern Frontier, it centres on Isiolo, the northeast's most important town and the hub for travel to Marsabit and Moyale. Southernmost of the Northern Frontier towns, Isiolo is on the border between two different worlds, the fertile highlands and the desert. The area reflects a strong Somali influence since it was here that many veteran Somali soldiers from WW1 were settled. Recruited in Aden and Kismayu, they gave up their nomadic lifestyle to become livestock and retail traders.
The north of Kenya (over half of the countries total area) is a desert - exclusively arid land, burned out for more than ten months of the year. Once known as the Northern Frontier District (NFD) is remains one of the most exciting and adventurous parts of Africa: a vast tract of territory, crisscrossed by ancient migration routes and still tramped by the nomadic Samburu, Boran, Rendille, Gabbra, Turkana and Somali herders.
The target for most travellers is the wonder jade se of Lake Turkana. Lake Turkana stretches south for 250km from the Ethiopian border, down through Kenya's arid lands, bisecting the rocky deserts. It is hemmed in by sandy wastes and black and brown volcanic ranges. The lake was discovered for the rest of the world only in 1888 by the Austrians Teleki and von Hohnel, who named it Rudolf after their archduke and patron. Later it became eulogized as the Jade Sea in John Hillaby's book about his camel trek. The name Turkana only came into being during the wholesale Kenyanization of place names in the 1970s. By then it had also been dubbed the Cradle of Mankind, due to the existence of Koobi Fora a major paleontological site. Lake Turkana is the biggest permanent desert lake in the world with a shoreline longer than the whole of Kenya's sea cost. A mammoth inland sea fed by the headwaters of the Nile, it is famous for the presence of enormous Nile perch.
Accommodation
The camp offers six twin spacious and luxurious tents, with large comfortable beds, en suite bathroom, with canvas shower, hot water available at any time of the day and evening. Real atmosphere of the early century safaris is provided by the hurricane lamps.
What to do and see
Available Activities:
- Escorted and guided game walks
- Game stalking
- Natural swimming pool
- Bird watching
- Bush picnics
- Visit to local Samburu families
Kitich Camp - Matthews Range • Exclusive Safari Tented Camp • Kenya Safari Hotels, Lodges & Camps
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