Natural Encounters
Best List of Gifts to Bring on African Safari
Whenever we’re visiting a friend for dinner, or being invited into an acquaintance’s home for the first time, we always like to show up with a little something special in tow – gifts to bring on African safari for the locals, youth, and even your safari travel guide. On their jaunts through East Africa, many […]
Who are the Big Five Safari Animals? Spotting Africa’s Most-wanted
Out here in the savannahs of East Africa, the trip planners at Penwell have seen myriad clever lists declared, enticing safari-goers to search every corner of the continent in the name of crossing creatures off their checklists. The “shy five,” the “Samburu special five,” the “impossible five,” and even the “ugly five” have been used […]
The Maasai Tribe: An Introduction to East Africa’s Timeless Nomads
From the swaying grasslands of the Serengeti to the heights of mighty Kilimanjaro and the vast plains of Tsavo, the lands along the Kenya-Tanzania border – including the Maasai Mara National Reserve – have seen millions of safari-goers in recent decades. But to the pastoralist Maasai people, this part of the Great Rift Valley has […]
The Complete Luxury Safari Guide: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Here at Penwell, we’ve jeeped through the sprawling plains of Maasai Mara National Reserve more times than we can count on both hands—and we’ve gotta keep those hands on the wheel! There’s so much to see and do in this little slice of Kenya; whenever we’re out in the Mara, we know we’ve got friends […]
8 Reasons to Experience the Great Wildebeest Migration Safari
If you have only one chance in your lifetime to visit Africa, you must experience the great migration safari across Kenya and Tanzania. If you have already been to Africa but have not yet witnessed this awesome event, come again so you can see it with your own eyes. Watching a massive number of wildebeests […]
Rubondo Island Safari: The Chimpanzee Habituation Project
Tucked away along the southwestern shore of Lake Victoria, tiny Rubondo island offers altruistic tourists a unique opportunity to contribute to both the scientific and safari communities: a symbiotic chimpanzee trek where your own positive presence is the best gift you can give. Here, amongst 240 square kilometers of volcanic hills and forested slopes, you’re […]
Best Times of the Year to Experience the Great Wildebeest Migration Safari (Tanzania & Kenya)
If it’s happening on safari in Tanzania or Kenya, you know it’s going to take a lot of superlatives to describe it—and the Great Migration safari is certainly no exception. The greatest show on Earth, the planet’s largest movement of mammals on hoof, and a constant must-see for safari veterans and newcomers alike, the never-ending […]