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| John Trish and Bob at Kilaguni Lodge in Tsavo West |
So I am skipping the first week (which I will put up later) and
moving straight to a three day safari in Tsavo West and at the Ziwani Gate (Ziwani Tented Lodge).
I had nagged John for about 3 years to go to Tsavo National
Park in Kenya. I had read every piece of
history I could find about the park after John & I and our friend Bob had driven through it on the way to Shimoni for our first fishing trip. My research had produced an amazing history
of fortitude and desire to keep animals safe, thanks the Seldwick family.
At the spur of the
moment, Bob, John and I discovered we had a weekend available. Thanks to our friend
Jackie Brice-Bennett, we found a tour agency and guide who was happy to work with
us.
The three of us were pretty unprepared for the amazing
experience that we had. First of all,
with a new e-visa system, and our Tanzanian residency we experienced cost breaks at
all the parks, and at the hotels, and the new customs program provides in and
out with both countries at the same building. Terrific. And then, we discovered that indeed Tsavo
West is a stone’s throw away from the border (18 KM). We had decided to go to
Ziwani Tented Lodge (right at the edge of Tsavo West Entrance) due Jackie's suggestion.
WOW…here are some photos.
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| This became a theme-- |
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| Modest sign, fantastic place |
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| Orphans come to see animals |
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| Lots of Vervet monkeys--here one defleaing his/her friend |
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| This monkey trying to unzip tent. Ziwani tents very strong. |
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| John and I front of our tent |
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| Ostrich crossing road |
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| Wildebeeste from outdoor eating....easy to view birds, animals |
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| Lilac Breasted roller |
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| Lilac Breasted Roller2 |
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| Not sure, but maybe Taveta Golden Weaver (has red crown) |
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| Go Away Bird! |
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| Mongoose--RikiTiki Tavi and friends |
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| Very cool and weird Egyptian Goose |
Get ready--here is my favorite bird, The Crown Bird or Crown Crane.
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| Crown Crane with Egyptian Geese |
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| Time to find your true love Crown Birds dance |
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| "Shake those neck feathers" Man on the Run!!! |
And then there were crocs:
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| Sunbathing right near to us |
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| Nice to have an askari near us! |
Two big pools of Hippos!
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| Hippos interested but stayin' cool |
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| I am fascinated by Hippo nose, ear and back hair! Gross? |
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| First of two big Hippo pools |
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| My favorite Animal--Ngiri! Warthogs making perfect photo |
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| Huge Nile Lizards all around streams..very weird, very prehistoric |
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| Beautiful vista & fish eagles in trees |
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| Only John a regular member of "The clean plate club" |
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| Beautiful Waterbuck |
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| Yellow Billed Stork fishing |
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| Yellow Billed Stork surveying the pools |
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| Tons and tons of giraffe |
After 24 hours of eating the most delicious food, sleeping
in the most comfortable tent, “hiking” with Chameleon, the most wonderful
guide
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| Bob and Chameleon |
, and having a night safari and delicious breakfast…off we went to Tsavo
West.
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| Gate to Tsavo West |
Bob and I had missed that the
Rhino sign, meant the entrance..umm, a
bit dense. But here we go. Hardly had we
finished the paper work than Giraffe greeted us.
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| Happy Giraffe |
I became totally fascinated with the way that the birds ate the ticks off the giraffe necks and faces. The giraffe didn't seem to care at all!
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| Three birds on this giraffe neck! |
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| Look right under his mouth! |
We slowly worked our way to the Kilaguni Serena, stopping frequently
for photos of wonderful animals.
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| Wallers Gazelle or Giraffe Antelope, very tiny with big neck & ears |
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| Nice Wildebeeste |
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| another nice Giraffe scene |
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| Near the River (which was nearly dried up) |
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| Breathtaking change of scenery |
The Kilaguni was all that it was touted. It had “posh” elements, lovely dining
facitilites, nice rooms (ours was quite warm at the end of the day) with
individual porches that gave us beautiful viewing areas, and the famous water
hole (though it was filled with big trucks while we were there) that brings
animals from all over, seemingly in a defined train. We had a great
afternoon/evening drive and saw even more animals and vistas. Tsavo West is beautiful; expanses of savannas
360 degrees. Always plenty of birds and
other animals. Since we are not “cat”
necessary travelers, we were perfectly happy with what we had seen, but just
before the return in the gate, here was a beautiful family of elephants to
greet us.
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| Hx Mzima Springs |
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| Our nice guide at Mzima Springs |
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| Warning Mzima Springs |
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| Nice African Darter & little pied kingfisher |
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| Hakuna Matata |
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| Croc at the foot of the viewing stairs....Gulp |
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| Mongoose in front of dining table |
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| Lodge sign |
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| Nice picture lodge |
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| Inside our room |
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| Birds eating rice in tree trunk |
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| Bob got the instructions and we assembled |
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| This little baby elephant came with his family of mama, aunties |
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| nice evening baby |
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| Animal show at lodge |
In the morning, more elephants and other animals.
After we left Kilaguni and did our exit strategy (in case of
fire) we found many more animals, and finally another elephant family as we
left the park.
As we were contemplating leaving Kenya, we were reassured by the underlying signs.
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| In case you forgot to bring it! |
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| Miraa is something like Khat, or a relaxation drug |
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| No way to resist this sign |
If we thought that was enough…well the surprise was that
President Kikwete (Tz) was meeting President
Kenyatta (Kenya) for a big celebration in Taveta (the town we had to drive
through to get to the border). Sadly, the
border was closed and suddenly cars closed around us. Our Guide managed to drive through more
ditches and dust and maneuver us out, or we might be languishing in Taveta to
this very day. Sigh. We got out, through the border before Kikwete
returned, and home again. We are still
re-living our short safari, and Bob, John and I think of the magic of the time.
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