West Tsavo National Park

July 14, 2021

After two nights in East Tsavo National Park we packed up and drove for about an hour to the entrance of West Tsavo National Park. The terrain was almost immediately different, even though we were very close geographically. We entered near a riverine oasis with massive, thick palms that reminded me of the oasis in the Middle East. Dik diks, a tiny antelope peered out from behind the shrubs, and a lone palm nut vulture took off from the tree tops. We started climbing higher and higher until we made it through a mountain pass, only to find a massive hidden valley on the other side. This is where are lodge is and where many of the animals can be found here in Tsavo West.

The safari team's favorite table overlooking the waterhole

We stayed at the Serena Kilaguni Lodge. It has one of my favorite views from any lodge, looking out over the African plains towards distant hills. In the middle of the view is a very active waterhole. Here we saw herds of buffalo, elephant, and zebra coming and going during our stay. We also saw warthogs, waterbuck, ostrich, giraffe, wildbeest, impala, hyena and more wandering through the beautiful scene. I love watching peoples faces as they enter the lodge and see this view for the first time. It is one of those scenes that will stick with you for a long time.

We maximized our animal searching time here by getting early starts to our morning game drives and putting in the maximum time with the wildlife. We came across a lot of the same species we had seen in Tsavo East, but added from new ones to our list like rock hyrax, kilpspringer, nile crocodile, blue monkey, green pigeon, and hippos. We also saw our first lion. It was towards the end of a morning game drive. We were on our way back to the lodge for breakfast when we stopped to admire six giraffe along the side of the road. Instead of looking at us they were all laser focused on a spot farther away in the tall yellow grass. Then from the back of the land cruiser Sean said, 'That's a lion!'. Sure enough the giraffes were all watching a lion, resting in the grass, next to her freshly killed hartebeest. We pulled forward and watched from about 30 feet away.

Our first lion encounter

I told everyone how special it is to have an experience like this all to ourselves, without any other vehicles around. It is a unique time to be here, right as travel starts to pick back up. I also told everyone that I still remember my first lion sighting vividly, even though it was 16 years ago. This is a memory that is going to stay with the group for a long time.

As we left the park after two and a half amazing days I asked everyone again what their highlights were. Again the answers spanned the gamut, but for Sean it was the lion encounter. Lions sleep a lot, and often don't even acknowledge your presence, but for several moments this lioness locked eyes with Sean and looked deep into his soul. Looking into eyes of such a powerful predator is truly and african experience that not many people will ever have. Other highlights included the oasis that Mzima springs creates and the crocodiles, hippos, and blue monkeys that call it home. Hippos seem to be a big hit so far on this safari. The group also got out for a hardcore scramble up a giant volcanic cinder cone which gave us views across the whole valley.

Kicking up dust on our way down the cinder cone scramble hike

Even after all these years of spending time in Africa I can still find new things on these game drives as well. Some times it is new behaviors from animals I know well, others can be new, rarely seen animals that pop up. We had a very brief look at a caracal, a type of wild cat with linx-type ear tufts, stalking through the grass. Shortly after we had a beautiful puff adder sunning itself in the middle of the road. One of my highlights though was the unassuming African green pigeon. Imagine the most beautiful emerald green pigeon and it will begin to describe this bird. It has special meaning for me though. It was 16 years ago, when I first saw this bird, that I became a bird enthusiast. I figured if even the pigeons here were so beautiful that I have to focus more on birds as a whole.... and I've done so ever since.

Here is a link to some past visits to Tsavo West, and photos from this visit below.