Tsavo East National Park: The Safari Begins

July 11, 2021

Located six hours of hair-raising drive southeast of Nairobi, Tsavo East National Park is where we begin our Kenyan safari. The park is massive, and famous for its dust-red elephants and its history of man-eating lions. Another incredible feature of the park is that over 500 species of birds have been recorded here.

Our group stayed at the intimate Sentrim Tsavo camp. Individual tents and a main dining area both overlooked a very active water hole. During our two nights we saw tons of elephants, waterbuck, zebra, impala, hyena, and giraffe at the waterhole. That was when we weren't out on game drive which we would do in the mornings and afternoons. We covered a lot of ground on our animal searches, but with constant stops for wildlife viewing we were only able to scratch the surface of the massive park.

Cheetah watching us as we watch it

Wild dogs in Tsavo East!

Some of the animal highlights included a group of three cheetahs on the prowl, elephants around a waterhole during a beautiful African sunset, a very camouflaged leopard slinking quickly through the underbrush, a brief surprise encounter with African wild dogs (which I had never seen in this park), and the most immersive and sensory overloading encounters with bush babies ever (we all know what they sound like yelling on the roof of our tent at two in the morning now.)

Amy at the waterhole overlook

But when asked about their own highlights the answers varied. For some it was the sheer amount of wildlife that could be seen in one view. A zebra herd in front, elephants behind, and giraffe hovering in the distant background. For others it was the consistency of animal sightings. The vivid red roads cutting through the park leave a lasting impression. It is the same red which ends up covering the elephants and turning them into the famous 'red' elephants of Tsavo. The intimate nature of the lodge and how close we were to animals gathering around the water hole there was another highlight for the group.

Lunch with big tuskers in the background

Everywhere we have been so far, from the lodge to the hotel to the curio shop along the way one thing has stood out.. the local Kenyans we have met are all so excited see us. Even though international travel has been open since last august, we are some of the first groups to really start the season off here. For our driver, James, we are his first safari work since the pandemic shut things down. And while the vaccine has had a very small roll-out here in Kenya, the precautions put in place have impressed us all. Tourism is a lifeblood of this economy. It feels good to be back on so many levels. I think the entire group can feel the extra special nature of this feeling as well.