Aberdare National Park, the Ark, and lunch at Trout Tree

The Ark

Elephant chasing off a hyena at the waterhole

  Many people who come safari in Kenya miss out on seeing the lush, high elevation, rainy national park of the Aberdare Mountains. Rare animals like the bongo and the giant forest hog live here and the constant mist and rain showers make for some pretty incredible waterfalls. The forest is very dense which makes the game viewing quite difficult, but you can get lucky with animals busting out of the bush to graze on the narrow strip of grass on the side of the road.

a rare Giant Forest Hog

   If you come to Aberdare it is a must to drive through the bamboo forest for a chance to see one of the rarest animals, the bongo, in its native habitat. If you keep driving higher you will emerge from the tree line around 10,000ft into rolling shrub covered hills known as the moors. Here dew covered heather give way to babbling brooks which dramatically drop into beautiful waterfalls.

Jack and Rebecca at the waterfall

No trip to Aberdare would be complete without a stay in one of the coolest, coziest lodges in Kenya, called the Ark. Built like a four story ship, the Ark is situated overlooking a very popular waterhole. Animals visit the waterhole day and night, but it is the nocturnal creatures which are the big draw. If you hear one bell at night it means elephant, two bells hyena, three bells leopard, and if you hear four bells you had better get out of bed because it is something special and unusual. like when 15 hyena took down a full grown buffalo five nights before we got there.

Bushbuck high up in the moors of Aberdare

Rebecca and her new friend

   After a wonderful stay at the Ark and somehow avoiding the dark rain clouds that surrounded us during our stay, we headed down out of the mountains to one of our long standing favorite restaurants in Kenya, the Trout Tree. It is a little off the beaten path but for those in the know this is the place to find.

Pensive Black and White Colobus Monkey

   Not only do they grow the trout they serve in pools directly beneath the huge tree/dining area, but they also have back and white colobus monkeys hanging around the nearby trees. We happened to come upon them during feeding time so Rebecca, Jack, Alison, and Lea all took turns handing potato peels to the hungry monkeys. They have been hunted for their incredible coats and long tails but seem to have found a refuge at this one spot. It was a good sighting for our group since we missed them in the Aberdares.