Where would you go on a Safari in Kenya? The obvious answers
would be Masai Mara or Amboseli. However, due to work, going to either of these
places was unfeasible. Luckily for us Tsavo East national park located 100km
away was our answer. A mere 2 hour drive away, we booked a weekend safari where
we saw lots of game and had the most wonderful safari experience courtesy of
Lofty Tours. We left Mombasa around 10:30 on Saturday morning and got to Tsavo
a little after 12:30.
Image credit: African Mecca Safaris
We entered Tsavo East with a 24hr park permit through Buchuma Gate
My fellow FSD interns: Michiyo (Left) and Ashley (Middle)
Rhino silhouettes decorating the park gate. This was misleading as we later on found out hat Rhinos can only be seen in Tsavo West
However, we got to see lots of elephants, so that made up for it :)
Upon entering the park, the driver informed us that we had a
75km drive to Voi, where Voi lodge is located, and we were going to drive there
as fast as possible to make it in time for lunch. Despite the hurry, our driver
still stopped the van whenever we saw game, and helped to point out camouflaged
game in the distance.
We saw the following animals no the way to Voi lodge:
Gazelle Antelopes
Male Somali Ostrich
And then ... Lions!
The driver told us that we were extremely lucky, as usually around 13:00 (1pm) the lions are resting and not up and about
Majestic
Fun fact: Simba is Lion in Kiswahili
Gazelle Antelope deftly scratching itself
Wildebeest
Elephant with Windmill
A herd of elephants huddled together, it made them look like they were in the kids of a deep discussion
These little fellas
Elephant looking extremely happy whilst eating
Baboon crossing
A mama lion with her cub
The gorgeous panorama from Voi lodge
The swimming pool overlooks the watering hole, it was a shame that it was too windy and too cold to swim that day
Elephants gathered at the watering hole
A mama elephant with her baby
This is just too cute!
So, apparently elephants get itchy too because we saw one scratching her/his chin on a boulder
One big happy family
Close up
Buffalos at the watering hole
Found this beautiful bird perched right outside our window
At Voi lodge there were so many of these little ones
We were told that they're Hyrax
Hyrax babies!
Family reunion
In the afternoon, the driver took us for another game drive from 16:30 - 18:00 (4:30-6:00P)
The same lions that we saw 2.5 hours ago were still resting under the same exact tree
Our driver stopped the van so that we could watch this baboon walk along the side of the road. The baboon ensued to sit down and pose for our pictures
This baby elephant looking mighty made my day :)
We saw so many different species of birds in the park
This bird was particularly striking with a dark blue head, a turquoise body and a
rusty orange/yellow belly
Impala looking
somewhat surprised (look closely at its facial expression)
Female Water Buck
I told the driver
that they had funny looking rings on their backsides. He replied that it is
because the male water buck “put a ring on it”
The sunset was breathtaking.
This image looks photoshopped but I assure you that it was even prettier in
person
Tired, but oh so happy
We tried to stay up
for the Netherlands – Costa Rica game, but at 22:00 (10:00P) we called it a
day.
Thanks for reading.
Stay tuned for Day II
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