INTERESTING FACTS

The following are a few interesting things you might like to know about Kenya:

That Treetops Hotel is where the then Princes Elizabeth of England was staying with her husband (the then Philip Mount batten, but now Prince Philip) when her father, the then King, died. So she technically became queen while in Kenya. Kenya still has a special place in the heart of the British royal family, and Prince Charles and his sons are frequent visitors.

That Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the scouting movement, died in Kenya in 1941. He is buried in Nyeri, in the Mt. Kenya region, after spending much of his later life in Kenya.

That Karen Blixen, author of many books, including "Out of Africa", on which the 1985 Oscar winning film of the same name was based, lived in Kenya for most of her life. On her death, she was buried at her home, now named the "Karen Blixen Museum and Giraffe Center". It is located in Karen, on the outskirts of Nairobi.

That the Kora camp was home and is resting place of the world famous lion experts Joy and George Adamson. They were conservationists who first championed the idea of releasing back to the wild animals reared in captivity, otherwise known as stocking. One of George Adamson's many books, "Born Free", about his beloved lions, was made into a movie.

That Louis Leakey, the famous archaeologist and anthropologist, who together with his wife Mary discovered Zinjanthropus (now called Austropithecus Boisei), was born in Kabete, near the capital city Nairobi. He was the mentor of famous scientists Dian Fossey (who worked with mountain gorillas and on whose life the movie "Gorillas in the mist" was based), and Jane Goodall (who works with chimpanzees).

That Homo Erectus, also called "Turkana boy", predecessor of man, was discovered in the Koobi Fora national park, close to lake Turkana, by Louis Leakey's son Richard. He is an accomplished archaeologist in his own right, having discovered his first fossil at the tender age of 6.

That in 2006, the annual wildebeest migration in Masai Mara was elected one of the "7 wonders of the world" by American TV channel ABC.  Click here to read more.

That Prof. Wangari Maathai, who died in 2011, is the first Kenyan, and so far the only African woman, to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  She won the coveted award for her work for the environment.