This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
Kenya's Wilderness Beckons as Travel Restrictions Ease ¶
For months, Kenyans had put their holiday plans on hold due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. However, with the relaxation of these rules, a few daring travelers are now booking vacations in destinations where they can minimize human contact.
These socially distant safaris in Maasai Mara, for instance, are being priced slightly lower than before, when Covid-19 shut down travel. By last week, two families had made reservations in the six tents camp, which sits on 18,700 acres of land.
According to Mohanjeet Brar, the director of Gamewatchers Safaris & Porini Camps, people are tired of being home and want to experience nature and take a break from life. 'We've opened Porini Mara Camp situated in Ol Kinyei Conservancy in Maasai Mara, and are receiving guests,' he said in an interview with BDLife.
Guests are sent a health and safety protocol document, which includes wearing masks throughout, having their temperatures checked, and baggage sanitized before entering the camp. The lodge will also offer two meal times to allow guests and staff to social distance.
Once booked, guests can enjoy bush walks, day and night game drives, and sundowners as part of the itinerary. The reopening of the tented camps will also see locals in Maasai Mara, Laikipia, and Samburu who had lost their livelihoods when tourists stopped coming, start earning income from the lodges located in the private wildlife conservancies.
At Zebra Plains Mara Camp, owner Alfred Korir has also reopened with a hope that the sector will sputter to life sooner rather than later. He is operating at half the bed capacity in line with the guidelines and has set up outdoor food serving stations with tables placed at six feet apart.
However, he is adopting a wait-and-see attitude because the local borders may be opened, but the international visitors need some assurance from their governments before they come. The European Union has asked its citizens to shelve traveling plans to Africa, and the local clientele is too small to sustain tourism.
Some foreign tourists are too cautious, and they refuse to travel until a coronavirus vaccine is available, or at least until things are more stable. Zebra Plains is welcoming only weekend vacationers for now. So far, the lodge has received three bookings.
Domestic air travel is also on a rebound. Safarilink Aviation says bookings for picking up, following the resumption of domestic air travel on Wednesday. 'Our Coast flights and Mara are especially busy heading into the weekend,' the airline said.
With reduced human traffic in the parks, tour agents are able to keep the lights on. John Kinaro, a director of Keshi Tours, says that since the first weekend of May until today, he's been taking 24 people per weekend on a tour of the Nairobi National Park. The domestic market has enabled tour agents to keep the lights on.
For now, Maasai Mara is the most popular destination. People want to avoid social interactions. Unfortunately, Mombasa isn't a favorite because it is hard to control the people one interacts with, even in an exclusive hotel.
