This huge park is split into two by the main Nairobi to Mombasa highway and covers a total area of around 2,000 sq km. The park is quite arid with only two permanent rivers but its flat landscape is dotted with hills and baobab trees, making it extremely attractive. Tsavo is still famous for the legends of man-eating lion and its ‘red’ elephants, so called because of the red murrum earth with which they spray themselves. Most game congregates among the acacia and raphia palms, which line the riverine areas. Common spots include elephant, buffalo, ostrich, gazelle, giraffe, zebra and the accompanying predatory cats. Less frequent sightings are gerenuk, fringe-eared oryx and Hunters hartebeest. Popular attractions in the park are the Lugard Falls, Yatta Plateau (which is the world’s longest lava flow) and Mzima Springs. Here there is an underground viewing platform to observe crocodile, hippo and the various fish under water.
Tsavo West
TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK Land of lava, springs and man-eaters
The joint mass of Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks forms one of the largest National parks in the world and covers a massive 4% of Kenya’s total land area. Tsavo west, the more famous of the two, lies to the West of the Nairobi-Mombasa road, equidistant between Nairobi and Mombasa and is painted on a sprawling canvas of endlesss skies, emerald hills, liquid lava flows, palm-fringed rivers, teeming wildlife and sparkling oases set against the unforgettable back drop of mile upon mile of cloud-shadowed African savannah.
What to See
The Magic Mzima Springs
The lush hippo heaving pools of Mzima springs, fed daily 250 million litres of water gushing from the lava flows of the Chyulu Hills provide an oasis of green, an underwater hippo viewing chamber, two nature trails and some unique picnic spots.
Ancient lands of lions and lava
Tsavo achieved notoriety in 1898 when “the man-eaters of Tsavo”, a pair of rogue man-eating lions, preyed gruesomely on the builders of Uganda Railway. Today the park is more famous for the numerous prides of maneless lions that patrol the plains and police the herbivore herds.
Amboseli National Park
Beautifully situated at the foot of the towering mt Kilimanjaro.its the home of the brightly painted masai tribe.animals – lions,cheetahs,spotted hyenas,wild dogs as well as gnus,kaffir buffaloes,burch ell’s zebra and herds of elephants.
All those animals come to drink water at the hole consisting of small lakes or muddy ponds kept filled up by water from the melting snow of mt Kilimanjaro.the northern lake amboseli contains water only after the rain.
Masai Mara Reserve
One of East Africa’s most famous reserves, the 1,600 sq km ‘Mara’ consists of undulating hills and great rolling grasslands that sustain some of the most varied wildlife in Africa, if not the world. There is always game in the ‘Mara’, however it changes its character dramatically with the seasons. So, when the grass is fairly high in many areas, game-viewing is restricted, but the countryside is incredibly green and at its most scenic. As the countryside dries out, game-viewing improves. Game concentrations are at their greatest from around July to the end of October, when the migrating herds filter across the Mara River from western Serengeti. During this period, you will find vast plains filled, as far as the eye can see, with wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, eland, topi and hartebeest as well as the normal resident herds such as elephant, buffalo and giraffe. Naturally, these are all followed by great prides of lion, hyena, cheetah and the various other predators and scavengers. Many animals do not survive these annual trips due to exhaustion or the treacherous river crossings, where some of the world’s largest crocodiles await their feast. Other highlights of the ‘Mara’ include the early morning balloon safaris, walking in the community areas adjoining the main park and some of the lodges’ fascinating programmes orientated towards children’s wildlife education.
Nakuru National Park
LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK The bird watchers paradise
Dubbed ‘the greatest bird spectacle on earth’ due to the millions of fuchsia-pink flamingo that flock to feed on the teeming algae of its alkaline waters, Lake Nakuru is also an ornithologist’s paradise. A uniquely rewarding game-viewing venue and a sanctuary for both black and white rhino. Its pink-frosted shores and sky-mirrored waters also yield some of the most evocatively beautiful photo-images in Africa.
WHAT TO SEE The fabulous flamingo
Lake Nakuru’s lesser flamingo population can reach a pulsating pink mass of over 1.5 million birds. At times, however, they may also relocate to other Rift Valley Lakes. Greater flamingo also visit, but in smaller numbers.
An ornithologist’s paradise with 450 species of birds
The park offers an incredible 450 different species of water, fish-eating, terrestrial and migratory birds to include pelican, fish eagle, secretary bird, heron, egret, hammerkop and grebe.
Kenya’s first rhino sanctuary
Established as Kenya’s first rhino sanctuary, the park now hosts one of the largest black rhino concentrations in the country while substantial numbers of white rhino have also been introduced. How to tell black from white: both are grayish in colour but white rhino have a wide , flat snout suitable for grazing while black rhino have a concave back and triangular prehensile lip for browsing on trees and shoots. Where to find them: black rhino prefer bushy forested areas, while white rhino prefer to graze in open grasslands, most especially those of the lake shore.
