Tsavo East National Park

Great wild life adventure

It was our first trip to Africa. We booked the unfenced Satao Camp. It was an amazing experience to be able to view the animals from our tent, comming to the water hole. All stuff at the camp are very friendly, brilliant service and food. We learned a lot about the nature and wildlife of Africa. We learned to love Africa. Our trip is more than a year ago, but we still dreaming of it and decided to go again to Africa latest next year.

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.

Most of the park consists of semi-arid grasslands and savanna. A diverse wildlife that can be seen, including the famous 'big five'.

We didn't manage to see great five, but all the animals and views were amazing.

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.

One of the best. Not too crowded, stunning scenery

Must-see places

In Tsavo East I would highly recommend the crossing the park. Make sure to visit the 'Crocodile Point' and watch the sun set as you drive away, back to the tents of the 'Satao tent camp'. Spending the night there is just amazing, especially since you are allowed to spend the night besides a campfire, waiting for animals (such as lions) to visit the puddle next to the camp. Bring a long-range camera lens, to catch all the beautiful birds that I'm sure will make you wonder where they all come from and why you never made a visit before...