Tour around Africa: Stage 66 - North Mara (HTSI) to Nanyuki (HKNY)
MS Flight Simulator VFR Flight Plan
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In this VFR - GPS Flight Plan we take off from the runway 11 of the North Mara airport (HTSI), fly over Maasai Mara, Nairobi and the Kenya mount, finally landing in the runway 21 of the Nanyuki airport (HKNY)

In this journey around Africa I have used the Cessna 172S (Skyhawk)

Take off from the runway 11 of the North Mara airport (HTSI).

Flying to the east, soon we cross the border and enter Kenya.

Maasai Mara.

Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelt Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara" means "spotted" in the local Maasai language, because of the short bushy trees which dot the landscape.

Maasai Mara is one of the wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, with its populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and African bush elephants. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten Wonders of the World.

The Greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, several Maasai group ranches, and Maasai Mara conservancies.  (*1)

Getting closer to Nairobi.

 

Flying over Nairobi.

Nairobi (/naɪˈroʊbi/ ny-ROH-bee) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census.

Nairobi is home of the Kenyan Parliament Buildings and hosts thousands of Kenyan businesses and key international companies and organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Nairobi is an established hub for business and culture. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is one of the largest stock exchanges in Africa and the second-oldest exchange on the continent. It is Africa's fourth-largest stock exchange in terms of trading volume, capable of making 10 million trades a day. It also contains the Nairobi National Park. Nairobi joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2010.

Nairobi was founded in 1899 by colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda - Kenya Railway. It was favoured by the authorities as an ideal resting place due to its high elevation, temperate climate, and adequate water supply. The town quickly grew to replace Mombasa as the capital of Kenya in 1907.

After independence in 1963, Nairobi became the capital of the Republic of Kenya. During Kenya's early period, the city became a centre for the coffee, tea and sisal industries. The city lies in the south central part of Kenya, at an elevation of 1,795 metres (5,889 ft).  (*1)

Ascending to 13,500 feet towards the mount Kenya, near to the limit of the Cessna 172S.

Mount Kenya. Due to the altitude limit of the Cessna 172S we can only surround it.

Mount Kenya (Meru: Kĩrĩmaara, Kikuyu: Kĩrĩnyaga, Kamba: Ki nyaa, Embu: Kĩ nyaga) is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199 metres (17,057 feet)), Nelion (5,188 m (17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 m (16,355 ft)). Mount Kenya is located in the former Eastern and Central provinces of Kenya; its peak is now the intersection of Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi counties, about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 miles) south of the equator, around 150 km (90 mi) north-northeast of the capital Nairobi. Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.

Mount Kenya is a volcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African Rift. Before glaciation, it was 7,000 m (23,000 ft) high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the peak. There are currently 11 small glaciers, which are shrinking rapidly, and may disappear by 2050. The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya.

There are several vegetation bands from the base to the peak. The lower slopes are covered by different types of forest. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax. An area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi) around the centre of the mountain was designated a National Park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The park receives over 16,000 visitors per year. (*1)
 

Surrounding Mount Kenya by the eastern slope.

A steep descent towards our destination, leaving Mount Kenya behind.

Final approach to the runway 21 of the Nanyuki airport (HKNY).

Nanyuki is a market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. The name is derived from Enyaanyukie Maasai word for resemblance.

It is situated just north of the Equator (0° 01' North). In 1907, British immigrants settled in Nanyuki, some of whose descendants still live in and around the town. Nanyuki is currently the main airfield (airbase) of the Kenya Air Force. The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), has a base at Nyati Barracks. It conducts infantry exercises in Laikipia and on Kenyan Ministry of Defense land at Archer's Post.

The airport lies 6.5 km (4.0 mi) south of the town along the highway to Nairobi and serves light aircraft. There are regular flights operated by Air Kenya, Safarilink and Fly SAX, which is convenient for businessmen and tourists. The town is also served by a paved road from Nairobi, and northward to northern Kenya. Tourists can visit a number of parks and reserves in the vicinity of Nanyuki, the most obvious one being Mount Kenya National Park, the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club which hosts large numbers of tourists seeking a luxury safari experience. The hotel has 120 luxury rooms with views of Mount Kenya alongside the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, which together with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation aims to breed and reintroduce the endangered bongo back into the area. Others are Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sights further away include Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Aberdare National Park, Samburu National Reserve and Shaba National Reserve.

Nanyuki has some of the cleanest water in Kenya because the source originates from Mt. Kenya. The entire water system is gravity fed, from the supply to the sewer system. (*1)
 

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(*1) Credits: The descriptive texts are mainly an excerpt of those provided by Wikipedia. Visit Wikipedia to read the full descriptions.