Tsavo East National Park

At which I have only visited the East Tsavo Park . The territory is very special and typical, and also damaged. There aren't many animals, a few birds and a lot of tourists.
However, there are very typical and very beautiful scenery, especially along the Galana River.

Not as much wildilfe as Samburu or the Masai Mara but quieter, with less safari vehicles.

Great guides, loads of wildlife, fantastic lodges

A park that is not so crowed and where it is possible to enjoy wildlife experiences.

An Authentic, Accessible Experience

I was greatly impressed by the wildlife and scenery of Tsavo National Park. I was even more impressed by the accessibility.

As a working professional, my vacation days are limited. I had booked a week at a beach resort in Mombasa, intending nothing more than to escape the New York winter for a tropical beach while putting another country under my well-traveled belt. Going on safari was almost an afterthought.

After two days of beach, beer and sun, I decided to check out the wildlife. I asked the reception at my youth hostel for a safari recommendation. After one phone call on a borrowed cell phone and one taxi ride into downtown Mombasa to pay the fee (they took American Express) I was booked for an overnight Safari at Tsavo National Park.

We left Mombasa early in the morning, arriving at our hotel for lunch. I stayed at the Voi Wildlife Lodge, which I highly recommend! It combines modern amenities (including air conditioning: a pleasant luxury for Europeans but an absolute must for Americans) with incredible scenery. There are several swimming pools and an observation deck that stretches approximately 50m into the park and overlooks a watering hole.

The safari itself was very memorable. We saw elephants, giraffes, baboons, wildebeest, gazelles, dik diks, cheetahs, and we even saw a lioness in the morning! Our guide was a native Kenyan who spoke perfect English and what sounded to me like very good German. It rained, very briefly, as we were driving from Mombasa to Tsavo. Not a lot, but just enough for me to "Bless the rains down in Africa" as the song goes. Aside from that one drizzle the weather was invariably sunny and warm: 88 degrees for Americans, just under 30 for Europeans.

Tsavo was incredible, I can't emphasize that enough, but the biggest draw for me was the easy accessibility from both Mombasa and Nairobi. If I'd stayed longer, I would have included several other parks in addition to Tsavo. I would have liked to venture into Tanzania and perhaps checked out the island of Zanzibar. Sadly, I have a limited number of vacation days and a lot of world left to explore...

We stayed at the former warden's house with a group of friends where we hired a cooked and maid. There happened to be 2 wells/water holes behind the house so it was amazing to see the elephants and buffalo in "our backyard", though a little scary. Lions roaring nearby was even scarier. The self-drive tours were just ok and we didn't try to do more. I wanted to see but did not the famous lions of Tsavo which are descendants of the man-eating lions which were infamous during the construction of the Mombasa to Kampala railroad.

Huge. No guarantees for wildlife spotting.

Very wild. Not so easy to see the game, - far more bush than elsewhere, Masai Mara or Amboseli for example.

It is a country for itself

Tsavo East is a amazing park if you are not after big herds of game. There are various possibilitys of watching Tsavo red elefants at the rivers along Voi River and Galana River. Especially the remote route at the shores of Galana River and later Tsavo River provides adventurous game watch possibilities on elefants going to the river, hipopotamus, crocodiles and giraff. There the wildlife is not accustumned to visitors, so they are much more attentive than at more frequently visited sites of the park. However, here a good 4x4 vehicle with a experienced driver is definitly required and you should not enter this road after 3 o´clock to get back to the main roads in time before sunset.
The part between Voi River and Galana River offers not too much of game but highly interesting views on bush landscape and escarpments in the distance. Ostriches and other plain game can be seen. Riverine forest along the road hide baboons and elefant families. The rock formations at Luggard Falls are interesting.
The park provides sufficient accomodation inside and outside its borders. A very pleasant place to stay is the Man Eater´s Camp at Tsavo.
The character of Tsavo West is much different from its Eastern brother. Landscapes are more mountainous and hilly, especially to the side of Ngulia Hills. The vulcanic history cannot be overseen. Wildlife needs to be spotted between the trees, but is easily found around waterholes. Mzima Springs is a highlight with its hipos and and waterdrinking elefants especially in the late afternoon. Spending sunrise on Poacher´s Lookout rewards the early hour with fantastic views on Mount Kilimanjaro. Spending the night in a tented camp inside the park makes you feel the sounds of the African bush.
Both parks not overloaded by visitors due to their vast size.

Dry park - not the most amazing scenery but has unusual things like gerenuk and vulturine guinefowl (we didn't find any of the latter, despite looking hard). Makes a good alternative route from the coast back to Nairobi or vice versa rather than using the main road. You can spend two days in the park and only have to pay for one expensive lodge. Fairly easy on a self-drive, unlike some other Kenyan parks.