A New View of Kenya

You can now watch a live Kenyan safari for the first time from your couch thanks to a partnership formed between Make it Kenya and HerdTracker. The campaign consists of over 50 live broadcasts across an 11-day span according to Najib Balala, the Cabinet Secretary of Tourism for the Ministry of Kenya. The broadcasts are intended to deliver insight into the beauty of Kenya to a global audience.

The safari began with live footage of lions in the Mara during twilight hours. The night footage is the very first of its kind, providing the opportunity for viewers to follow the lions hunting under dark cover and roaming through the conservancies, offering unprecedented insight into the lion’s natural habitat. The Mara Conservancy Lion Interaction was broadcasted from the 7^th-13^th of January 2016.

The remainder of the Kenyan safari is going on until the 18^th of January and will involve a series of broadcasts from the Mara. A team is in the coastal town of Watamu to capture footage of the Local Turtle Trust project, which is set to showcase the first live underwater broadcasts. The project was made in effort to protect nesting sea turtles, offer rehabilitation to sick or injured turtles and aid in sending them back to their natural habitat. A special broadcast will involve live footage captured by a “TurtleCam” strapped to a turtle’s back.

“Kenya has so much more to offer that people aren’t aware of, like the lions and turtles,” Andre Van Kets of Discover Africa said. Operations like Kenya Live offer the opportunity to showcase these animals in their world in a non-intrusive way, keeping their habits and movements authentic. Van Kets is the host of the safari along with Carel Verhoef, who are using cutting edge technology to capture the Kenyan content.

The exclusive content is now viewable on mobile phones, tablets and computers via Periscope and at MakeItKenya.com. To follow the live broadcasts, you can download the Periscope app and follow the HerdTracker channel from until the 18^th of January. Regular updates of the live broadcasts will be posted and available on Make It Kenya and Herdtracker’s Facebook and Twitter pages.