Kenya Safari- Amboseli and Tsavo

Safari vacation lovers will find the Eastern part of Kenya dominated by the massive reserves of Tsavo East and West comprising 10 million acres of pure wilderness. A land of wide expanses of red earth, spectacular lava flows and crystal clear springs. The two parks are divided by the Mombasa-Nairobi road/railway.

It is in the boarders of these parks that most of the animal human conflicts occur. Namely the conflict between the locals that live next to the park and the elephants that invade an eat their crops sometimes causing death.

Tsavo East is a very popular park and easy accessible from the coast of Mombasa. Here you will find large herds of elephants and other plains game including zebra, giraffe, gazelle and other antelopes together with lions, leopard and other predators. It is also a birding mecca with an endless array of species of weavers, hornbills, sunbirds, rollerd and raptors.
The park has some very special features:

Lugards Falls which is located on the Galana river and visitors can walk down to view the rapids

Yatta Plateau which is one of the worlds longest lava flows ( appr. 290km long)

Mudanda Rock, visitors can walk along the appr. 1.6km long rock outcrop, from where you can see animals drinking at the dam at the base of the rock.

Aruba Dam which was build across the Voi River and attracts a lot of wildlife.

Tsavo West is famous for its diversity of habitats, wildlife and mountainous scenic landscape. Here you will find open plains, savannah bush and semi desert scrub, acacia woodlands, rocky ridges and palm thickets along the rivers. Places of interest within the park:
Mzima Springs, which is the biggest attraction in the park. The springs supply Kenya’s coastal town of Mombasa with drinking water. The water is so pure that you can almost drink it. Water which comes from the Chyuly range in the north and has been filtered by lava. There are two pools with many hippos which can be viewed from a very close distance.

Lake Jipe, located in the far south-western part of the park along the Tanzanian border. It is a very beautiful lake with view on the Kilimanjaro and the North-Pare mountains.

Shetani Lava flow, a spectacular example of the black outcrops of lava that purifies Mzima’s water. Shetani means “devil” in Kiswahili , legens has it that many people were buried by the hot lava flow, and that their plaintive cries can be heard on certain nights.The magnificent Shetani lava flow and caves are only 200 years old and are well worth investigating. You need to be extremely cautious if you plan to explore the caves and you must take a torch.

Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, an enclosed are where rhinos are being protected is open to the public and best to be visited in the late afternoon.

Further south and a must see is Amboseli National Park which lies north-west of Mt. Kilimanjaro, on kenya’s border with Tanzania.

Legendary herds of Elephants move across broad dusty plains to a series of wetland swamps. For anyone looking for a close encounter with the planet’s largest land mammals who are also very gental creatures.

The park has open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bushes, swamps and marshland. Lake Amboseli is a temporary lake which floods during heavy rainfall.

Amboseli is famous for its great game and scenic beauty - the Mt. Kilimanjaro dominates the landscape.