KENYA: Kisumu Impala Sanctuary offers Tourists a lifeline

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Submitted by IQ4News on Wed, 15/02/2012 - 9:27am

It is one of the tourist destination under the western Kenya tourist circuit, boasting of an array of impalas and zebras.

By Joab Apollo

The opening of ultra-modern airport in Kisumu a fortnight ago by President Mwai Kibaki may well have put the city in the league of fast-growing in the African continent. Its strategic location in the East African region gives it leverage over other cities, especially at a time when efforts are underway for an East African Confederation. Situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, the city was designated the first United Nation’s Millennium City in the world in 2006.

But behind the façade of its prominence is an alluring beauty which many tourists have fallen in love with. The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary is the epitome of the Western Kenya tourism circuit. It boasts of Impalas and Zebras along the shores of Lake Victoria. While most tourist destinations in Kenya receive international visitors, the Kisumu Impala Park has domestic tourists streaming in in droves, a fact that is credited to the lower fee charged for home-based tourists. It charges only Ksh. 150 for Kenyans.

Joan Makuni, a domestic tourist, says that Kenya’s Ministry of tourism has finally given Kenyans a new lease of life as far as safaris are concerned.

“We can now sample our own wild animals and beaches as you get entertained with the Lake Victoria waters at a fair price. This is a boon to the public and a better way of improving revenue” she states.

School-going children are like Esther Akinyi from Aria Primary school are familiar visitors at the Park. They come here to have hands on experience of what they are taught in Geography classes. “We are on a Geography trip and we chose the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary because the gate collection is fair” Says Akinyi.

Research

For the International tourists, it is not just for sight-seeing, but also for research. A group of student researchers from Canada are currently camping at the State Lodge Campsite with the park. They say that the serene nature of the park is conducive for study and camping.

“We came to visit the Millennium Village and found here alluring. The city is pretty cool. We love it” says Adaline Aaron, a Canadian student carrying out research on health. She says that they are on a tow month research in Kenya and Tanzania and Kisumu is the best camping site.

“The place is better. We’ll be camping here for two months” She adds

Unique side of Kenya

The Ministry of Tourism has embarked on a mission to promote tourism, venturing in areas that previously did not feature in the Kenya tourism map. Talk of Kenya’s tourism has in the past been associated to Mombasa and a few game parks. But the latest development has provided an opportunity for tourists to discover the unique side of Kenya.