Your
landfall in Africa is rewarded by a journey of a lifetime.
Tsavo East holds the treasure that is Africa. Your journey
takes you into the interior, where herds of wildebeest, prides
of lions, solitary cheetahs, elephant, rhino and other animals
roam. Tsavo East National Park occupies much of the hinterland
between the Kenyan coast and Nairobi, a vast expanse of 8,000
square miles, one of the largest game sanctuaries in the
world. Much of this huge area of savannah and acacia woodland,
famous for its large population of elephants, is primitive and
undeveloped.
Your
journey inland from Mombasa will take you through towns,
villages, and farmland. Many people travel this route – in
trucks, cars, buses, and on foot. So a cornucopia of Kenyan
life is on view as you journey the bumpy road that is life in
the bush. Believe it or not this is the main highway into the
interior of East Africa, and you can follow it all the way
through Kenya and on to Uganda.
Your
game drive will begin as soon as you enter Tsavo East. This
park is a good place to see leopard, cheetah, eland,
klipspringer, gerenuk, fringe-eared oryx and lesser kudu–a
spectacular creature with spiral horns and a white-striped
coat. Among the 500 species of birds that have been recorded
in Tsavo National Park are the abundant white-headed buffalo
weaver and diverse species of hornbill. The park is also home
to thoUSAnds of elephants. Tsavo’s lions were made famous in
the book The Man-eaters of Tsavo, and later portrayed
in the movie The Ghost and the Darkness. In the midst
of your game viewing, you will stop for a rest and a tasty
bush lunch taken in the open, Kenyan style, which means a hint
of European formality with a lot of African flavor.
Another
game drive follows after lunch, as your driver expertly sets
off in pursuit of the animals. Rocky hills, high viewpoints,
and endless dry scrubland create a harsh beauty. Stunning
landscapes and the sense of solitude you feel in this vastness
really put you in touch with the heart of Africa.
Tsavo is
also on the forefront of conservation; the black rhino is
making a strong comeback, and here in this immense and untamed
park also runs the Galana River. The river is the theatre for
some of Tsavo’s best wildlife sightings, as elephant, rhino,
buffalo and antelope come to drink while predators lurk in the
shade. The wildlife remains very wild, less disturbed by
safaris due to the sheer size of the territory.
Later in
the afternoon you’ll leave the park and head for Mombasa to
continue your odyssey on the Seven Seas Mariner. Dress in
layers. A hat and sunscreen are essential. The roads are bumpy
and the ride long, but the day will bring rich rewards in
sightings of life in Africa--both wild and domestic.
