A Feth's Perspective on Life: Last Safari

Last weekend we enjoyed a lovely trip to Tsavo West National Park. There is a Tsavo West and a Tsavo East but we chose west because that's just the kind of people we are, we head west.

Well actually we headed south from Nairobi early on Saturday morning to kick off the four hour drive. It hadn't really hit us yet but we were at the time embarking upon our very last safari in Kenya. What?! Last safari!? Who's idea was this? Yeah I know it's hard to believe but things are coming to an end here people. Our Kenyan safari days are numbered, and we're actually trying to understand what an American safari will look like when we return to our homeland.....RVs on Route 66? Open top buses in San Francisco? Road trips like the one in National Lampoon's Vacation? Hmmm...

Anyway there we were on our last safari adventure. Of course I shed a tear, I'm the emotional one in this team of ours. We arrived at the park around lunchtime and shortly after pulled into our hotel at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge, one of the first safari lodges built in Kenya. Our room was quaint but one that was in dire need of renovation, which we noticed was well underway in other parts of the hotel. The lodge had an amazing terrace where all meals were served and guests able to observe birds and other wildlife mingling around the nearby watering hole.

After an enjoyable meal we set out for an afternoon game drive. Immediately we noticed the landscape in Tsavo to be much different than any of the other parks we have visited in Kenya. It’s thick brush and crowded trees make it more challenging to spot animals. With it being so wooded, it was evident there was an abundance of birdlife present in the park. We saw hornbills flying from branch to branch, brightly colored birds swinging their long tails in the wind and small fouls scampering across the road.

That afternoon we drove out to a large lava flow that remains a sea of black from its eruption over 200 years ago. Many local people believe that the lava flow from the Chyulu Hills carried down evil spirits that still exist today. We saw nothing of the sort but instead super cute little klipspringers (small antelopes) frolicking on top of the black rock.

The game drive didn’t give us much of an animal showcase other than some birds, the tiny little reindeer like cuties and some lesser kudu (another white striped antelope) but it was relaxing and enjoyable nonetheless. That evening back at the lodge we had a lovely dinner from the large buffet of choices the Serena likes to offer its guests. As we enjoyed our cup of coffee after the meal we made our way to the edge of the terrace to keep our eyes peeled for any movement of wildlife near the watering hole. Our guide book had prepared us for some action *our fingers were crossed*.

As I was focusing my eagle eye out into the darkness, I caught a glimpse of something moving above me in the rafters. I looked and thought at first it was a large cat but as I looked even closer it was no cat but a very unique animal. It had a tail like a raccoon and a face kind of like a small fox. Brian and I followed it as it ran along one of the large beams overhead and finally we realized it was a genet. We were so excited because we saw this nocturnal catlike creature on the National Geographic channel the other night - score!

After our amazing genet sighting, my lucky contacts served me well again as I spotted a large creature moving in from the forest on the right. It was an elephant! And it was huge! This guy was sporting some amazing tusks. We watched as he came closer to the watering hole and walked along a thin pathway in between the two small ponds to come right in full view of the guests finishing their dinner. We watched as the large male gulped big quantities of water from the source. He then proceeded to scratch his side on a large boulder next to the pond.

Another elephant, almost equal in size, soon joined the big guy. As time went on there were more, coming out of the dark forest two by two and by the end of it all a family of twelve elephants were drinking from the watering hole right in front of us. It was spectacular.

We watched them for some time with other guests also taking in the view. We chatted up a nice young British couple on holiday. Soon the elephants quietly and slowly left just as they came but this time all together. That was our sign to also make a move and hit the hay.

The next morning we rose early to set off on a game drive around 6:30am. The sunrise was gorgeous and with the variety in landscape the morning views of Tsavo proved pleasant. It wasn’t long until our driver, Edwin, received a call on his radio that there was a leopard sighting. Woohoo a leopard! We had briefly seen a leopard on our last day in Massai Mara but it didn’t really count because it was running away in some tall grass. Maybe this would be our chance, our chance to complete the sightings of the Big 5 on our last safari.

Edwin kicked the safari van into high gear, as much as you can with a safari van and in no time we were there. Two other vans were already viewing the young female leopard but just as we pulled up she came right into full view, perching herself on an open rock perfectly positioned to take in the morning sun. She sat that way for about 30 minutes and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Once she had had enough of us we proceeded on to complete the rest of our morning safari. We were on a natural high having seen such a beautiful creature and for such an extensive amount of time. The rest of the drive we saw giraffes, monkeys, the smallest of all the antelopes, the dik dik, and zebras and elephants.

It was back to the lodge for some yummy breakfast, which we were pleasantly surprised to find came with some complimentary champagne; this was the perfect way to celebrate such a successful morning and our last safari. After breakfast we made our way to some nearby natural springs called Mzima Springs. From the springs it was back to the Tsavo park entrance and then back to Nairobi. Our last safari was short and sweet and gave us some breathtaking views we hadn’t yet seen in other parts of Kenya. It was a bittersweet adventure and one great last safari.

Tsavo is also known for the man-eater lions of 1898 but we didn't see any lions