Turkana Festival and Kenya Wildlife Safaris

My passion is adventure and discovery, focused on photographing the indigenous peoples of the world.  This usually means tribes, and this was the case for a trip to Kenya to experience a gathering of a dozen or so tribes in Kenya known as the Turkana Festival. 

Because Lake Turkana is so isolated, and the conditions are so harsh, a handful of westerners were the only outsiders among a gathering of the Turkana, Samburu, Sakuye, Somali, Burji, El Molo, Rendille, Wayyu, Gabra, Waata, and Borana tribes.  This festival was created about ten years ago to foster better relations among tribes of Northern Kenya that have a history of tribal warfare, allowing them to compete with song, dance and dress rather than with weapons.

The three days visiting the Turkana festival were probably the most harsh days of travel I had experienced up to that time.  The temperatures are brutal and do not retreat at night. High humidity from Lake Turkana insures you sweat 24 hours a day.  Our accommodations were the best available, but they were masonry huts which held the extreme heat and provided no relief to the discomfort and sweating.  We experienced a set of high winds, which translated into dust storms during much of the festival.  And most of the activity took place in the middle of day with its very harsh light.  There was little advance warning of when a tribe would decide to sing and dance, and even the catwalk was started before the scheduled time.  So, the event was a spectacular sight, but capturing it with a camera and enduring the brutal conditions was a challenge.

But it's worth the effort for a person like me.  There is very little intersection with genuine nomadic tribal people left in the world, and it is a unique experience to travel to a gathering of these people little affected by the modern world.  They were extraordinary in dress, dance, song and traditions.  They live a basic and harsh life, but it is a life they accept and enjoy.  Because we treated them with genuine respect and spent the time to get to know them and celebrate with them, they were willing to allow our photography and some reveled in being photographed.  They represent the true quintessential, iconic Africa of our imagination.

Bookending the Turkana Festival were wildlife safaris to the Samburu Game Reserve and Amboseli National Park.  This was my third safari expedition to Africa, and the wonder and excitement of being among God’s most exotic creatures returns each time.  Amboseli has a great concentration of elephants which was a special treat.  These highly intelligent creatures hold special fascination for all of us.  During my free day in Nairobi before the expedition began, I visited the David Sheldrick Center where orphan baby elephants from all over Kenya are taken to be saved and later released after several years of care.  Let us all hope and pray that governments will act to stop the black market for ivory that drives the slaughter of these magnificent beasts for their tusks.

There is only a tiny sliver of humanity that still lives a true tribal life with all its dress, song, rituals and way of life.  I have been privileged to see, get to know, and photograph some of these peoples in Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea.  I am blessed for these opportunities and I know it.

I hope you enjoy the photographs, videos, and music I captured on this journey,

George