The peak of the mountain is covered by glacier giving it a white cap. Mount Kenya stood at 5,199-meter-high above sea level with its peaks located immediately south of the equator. It is the second highest mountain in Africa after Kilmanjaro. Some opine that Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano, must have been more than 6,000m high.

Years of weathering it is believed, removed the dust and achieve revealing two jagged peaks that are over 5,100m high and a third that is 4,985m high.

Flora and Fauna

Over the years, melting ice has turned the desert of lava into a large seedbed for diverse forms of flora. The lower slope is covered with dense forests. The trees found here include cedar, camphor and yellowwood which are good for manufacturing furniture. There are also tall bamboo trees, which fill up the forest with heights over six meters.

Mammals such as lions, leopards, zebras, bushbuck, water buck, Cape buffalo, elephant and black rhinos find comfort in this mountainous habitat. Smaller animals like Sykes monkeys, tree hyraxes, Colobus monkeys and many species of rodents also dwell here.

If you are interested in watching birds then you can be rest assured that you are at the right place. They are vast and varied in type. They include the crowned eagles, long-crested hawk eagles, white-backed vultures, black kites, mountain buzzards and red-tailed augur buzzards. The crimson-cloured Hartlaub's turacos, silvery species of sunbirds are constant features of this forest.

At about 3,000m, a large unending moorland is revealed. The ground here is covered like a mat by tussock grasses, the unique cabbage groundsel - that flowers once in 20 years - is found here.

Few animals are found in this lofty terrain, and most of them live there for just part of the year. The rabbit-sized mammal, rock hyraxes are the only full time resident of this terrain.

The Peaks

The highest points Batain (5,199m) and Nelion (5,188m) are shaped like two large horns. They consist of huge, black volcanic boulders. Some of the glaciers at this peak are visible from Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, 130km away.

Fortune Ihunweze the author of this article is a professional Environmental Resources Manager. He is very vast in environmental management issues and has written many articles on the environment. His website which covers just about everything you would need to know about the environment is located at: http://www.environmenthighlight.com

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The Zambezi is Africa's fourth largest river; flowing for about 3000km across central Africa. The river hails from a small brook at the upper Northwest corner of Zambia and it then flows through Angola and borders Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe before finally cutting through Mozambique where it empties its waters into the Indian Ocean through a Delta.

The Zambezi River ebbs and flows depending on season. If there is prolonged rain, the river swells up and bursts its banks in particular areas displacing thousands of people. On the other hand if there is no rain, the waters recede. The river is divided into three sections; the upper Zambezi, middle Zambezi and lower Zambezi.

Though the river, has a lot to offer with every square kilometer it passes through, it has the best of its features in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Perhaps the most spectacular feature along the Zambezi is the magnificent Victoria Falls. Known locally as "Mosi-oa-Tunya" (the smoke that thunders), the Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The deafening roar of the falls as millions of liters of water cascade down its rocky cliff can be heard from metres away. From the falling water rises a glistening blanket of mist which makes the sight all the more enchanting.

The best time to tour the falls is during the dry winter season which runs from July to August. Around the rainy season, the blanket of mist gets so thick that it makes it impossible to catch a glimpse of the falls. The peak of the dry season is also not best because the falls are at their dullest during this time. If you wish to, you can catch a helicopter ride and get a bird's eye view of the falls. However, most people prefer the experience from the ground where they can feel the spray of the falls on their faces. If you plan to view the falls from the ground, carry a raincoat as you are bound to get soaked, most people get a kick out of this though.

Not far from the falls stands the grand Victoria Falls Bridge. The bridge is a prized piece of fine architecture that joins Zambia and Zimbabwe while also providing an expansive view of the Zambezi and the adjacent rain forests. The most popular activity at the bridge is bungee jumping. The fall is 111 metres long making it the second longest bungee distance in the world. Other notable sights along the Zambezi include the expansive Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams.

The Kariba dam in Zambia, boasts a vast 300km. The Cahora Bassa dam lies in Mozambique and is 20km smaller than the Kariba making it 280km wide. Both dams are deep and quite popular for their sport fishing activities. You can choose whether to fish from the banks or go out into the water in a canoe. The most common fish in these areas are Tiger fish which can grow to as much as 10kg, the yellow-belly bream, and the red-breasted bream among others.

Besides fishing, the dams also provide the local community with enough water for irrigation for those who practice farming along the river. The dams are also a source of hydropower. The Kariba dam supplies power to Zambia and Zimbabwe while the Cahora Bassa dam supplies power to both Mozambique and South Africa.

There are a number of game parks and reserves dotted all along the Zambezi and offering some of the best Africa safaris. The most popular of these include the Zambezi National Park, the Victoria Falls national park, the Mana pools park, and the Wide horizons elephant camp. Here, visitors can watch a wide array of wild animals along game drives or in fenced and controlled reserves. The activity that the Zambezi is world famous for is its eventful white water rafting expeditions. The rocky riverbeds of the Zambezi and the steep, gorged terrain as well as pressure pools provide an excellent flowing strip for the exciting rapids.

The Zambezi rapids have been classified as grade five, meaning that they are very difficult to negotiate, very fast, violent and unpredictable as they have no clear pattern that a negotiator can get used to therefore making each trip different from the next. The rapids are also popular because they have little bare rock allaying fears of injury therefore allowing kayakers to make the most of the experience.

There is a wide array of hotels and lodges to choose from along the Zambezi. They range from outdoor tent and mattress camping lodges to luxury five star hotels. Whichever you choose, they all promise different adventures that are bound to make your stay memorable. A couple of the most popular hotel and lodges include; the Royal Livingstone hotel, the Tongabezi lodge and the Thorn tree lodge at Victoria Falls. The Mwambashi river lodge, Kasaka river lodge and Mtondo river camp are good choices for those who want to be close to the river and around wild game. And for those who want to spend their days fishing in Lake Kariba, the Chete Island deluxe tented safari lodge and the Chikanka Island hotel would be good choices for you.

There are a number of towns and settlements along the Zambezi River. The major ones include; Katima Mulilo in Namibia, Mongu, Lukulu and Livingstone in Zambia, Victoria Falls and Kariba in Zimbabwe, and finally Songo and Tete in Mozambique. Interestingly, over 70 different languages spoken by the people along the Zambezi. Most of these natives depend on the Zambezi for their livelihood and have a fascinating culture as well as unique practices. The Bundu people of Zambia, for example, believe that there is a live spirit called Nyaminyami in the river. They believe that the spirit offers them protection and therefore regularly perform rituals at the river bank to appease the spirit.

Samuel Maina is online travel writer for Africa Point Limited, an Africa specialist travel agent, offering online reservation services for hotels, airline tickets, rental cars, tours and safaris to 13 African countries. Read some of his works on Africa Tours & Flights Guide.

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South Africa is a land of enchantment and dreams. When you voyage to South Africa for a safari, you are in for one wild ride. You can expect to see all of the animals you've heard about in the classroom and witness nature in all of its glory. Your South Africa Safari will take you into the heart of the animals' natural habitat and see them, first hand.

Each day of your Safari will bring something new and exciting. You'll be having very long, full days on your journey to the heart of the African animal kingdom, so be sure to get plenty of rest each night. You will be getting up before the sun during your Safari trip. Your resort or hotel will serve you a large breakfast each morning. Make sure to get plenty to eat, too... Long days on Safari can make you as hungry as, well, a lion.

Each morning you'll head out, bright and early on your trek to the wilderness. You'll be traveling in an open air 4 wheel drive vehicle that allows you to see everything, all around you and your party. You can expect the most incredible trip of your life when you go on African Safari.

You'll enter the protected animal reserve and you will probably start out with a brief nature walk. Your guide will show you all of the local trees and plants that help sustain the wildlife. You'll get to do a little bird watching, too. There are some of the most colorful and unusual looking birds in the world in South Africa.

You'll marvel at the beauty of nature all around you on your Safari. You and your group will then get back into your vehicle and proceed deeper into the reserve where you will begin to see a variety of animals. It's very important to always follow the rules that your Safari guide gives you. You will be able to see the animals behaving in their natural habitat.

You'll see everything from crocodiles sliding through the marshes, pouncing on prey to nature's most majestic creature-the African elephant, bathing and playing. You may encounter animals that come right up to the vehicle. When they do, don't make a lot of loud noises or attempt to get out of the vehicle. As long as you don't give them reason to fret, they'll consider you harmless.

You'll also see all of the wild cats that you've read about or seen at zoos, in all of their majesty and brilliance. Your entire family will benefit from a South African Safari.

South African safaris are a great vacation. Check out http://www.KanyeziSafari.org for the best guides in South Africa.

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We are living in an excited time in modern human history! There are numerous magazines, newspaper articles, cable channels and television programs set aside for travelers who want to experience various levels of adventure related to customs and cultures. I am not an expert on all types of customs and cultures. However, what I can safely say is that I once lived in South America and I can certainly add my two bits to the conversation in regards to adventure travel.

Being born and raised in South America can certainly add to what I am about to say in regards to traveling to the Amazon Region. The Amazon River carries the largest volume of water is the world flowing about 3,300 miles from the Andes through Northern Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. A traveler wishing to visit the Amazon Region will expect a trip of a life time! The indigenous people of the Amazon Region are made of a number of tribes speaking distinct languages and each tribe has its own culture and custom.

It not easy to travel into the heart of the Amazon. The terrain is a mixture of thick rain forest, mountains, swamps, small rivers and waterfalls. There is also a large abundance of wild animals, reptiles (venomous and nonvenomous), poisonous plants and man eating ants. There is a plant called "Bena" and some tribes use this plant to create fear. Legend says that some Bena plants can actually make a visitor in the Rain Forest lose their way. The plant gives off a special scent that traps it's un-looker into a trance-like state. It is also said that the only people that can actually help a lost visitor find their way is the local tribes within the area.

Some tribes in the Amazon are capable of shooting poisoned arrows or blow darts with their points dipped in the poison of some species of frogs and special plants. The staple diet of some tribes are mainly fruits, wild nuts vegetables and wild meat. There are also some tribes who plant cassava or yuca and make intoxicating drinks from this vegetable. Traveling to the Amazon is not for the faint of heart. Travelers need to also be aware of the large infestation of mosquitos which carry malaria. There are guided tours specially set up for travelers wishing to visit the Amazon. However, it is always necessary to check with your travel agent before you decide to visit this part of South America.

OC Tross is the author of two books Another Thought and Supermarket of Life. He is a teacher, artist, motivational speaker and philosopher for over fifteen years. To read more of OC Tross' philosophy visit; http://www.octross.com

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The Normandy region in France is an especially beautiful location that is rich in natural beauty and splendor. It is a historically significant area and has lots of beautiful buildings and gardens that you can visit. This naturally beautiful area is also rich in culture and heritage hence you will be able to catch a glimpse of the rich history that makes France so very attractive.

You can start by visiting the Mont Saint Michel. This is located on the Brittany/Normandy border. The structure of the abbey on Mont Saint Michel has gone on to become iconic in northern France. The entire structure rises out of a flat sandy island that is connected to the mainland by a causeway. It is considered to be one of the western world wonders and it is famous all over the world.

You can then visit the Normandy American Cemetery Memorial, which was built to honor the memories of the American soldiers who died in WWII. It is located on a cliff in Colleville sur-Mer and overlooks the Omaha Beach. This beach was one of the main landing beaches during the Normandy Invasion.

World famous and immortal painter Monet is still remembered for the beautiful landscape paintings that he has given us. He was also a connoisseur of landscapes in the real world and surrounded himself with one of the most beautiful gardens in France. This garden in located in Giverny and is just an hour's train ride away from Paris. You will see first hand the water lilies that inspired the painter. You can roam around the beautiful garden that inspired Monet over and over again.

The four largest urban areas in Normandy are Rouen, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg. It is simple to arrange a car hire service in any of these cities as well as many other locations throughout Normandy. A rental car is a great asset when touring Normandy. Make sure to choose the right type of car for your trip. Consider all passenger and luggage requirements.

If you want to experience the art and culture of Normandy, you have to visit Rouen. At the heart of the city's attractions is the Gothic cathedral of Rouen. This cathedral was one of the Monet's favorite subjects. Even though it was bombed during WWII, it now stands beautifully restored.

If you are a person whose heart is after gastronomical delights, you will enjoy Dieppe. It is an old and busy port that is famous for its Herring festival and seafood. You will love the fresh fish and scallops that are brought in everyday. There are many more places to visit like the old port at Honfleur, Trouville and the Cider route.

Normandy is an excellent place to go for a holiday at any time of the year. This splendid region of France never fails to impress.

Read more information about traveling in Normandy at car hire Le Havre and car hire Caen.

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