And on to Tsavo West, Kenya

Jambo,  Jambo! 

My apologies for not getting this written and published earlier,  but we were without internet service (this IS Africa, "TIA") for quite a while last night and this morning.

I'm on the beautiful open air porch at the Serena Kilaguni Lodge inside Tsavo West National Park in east Kenya. We arrived here in time for lunch Sunday and were pleased to see the stunning views to the west and Mt. Kilimanjaro.  About a hundred yards off the porch is a small pond,  a watering hole,  apparently from a natural spring.

As we ate our lunch, a family of four gorgeous, red (the color of the dirt here) elephants were using the water hole here at the lodge to drink, bathe, and in which to generally frolic.

Click to see full panorama 

This lodge is wonderfully situated,  but our game drives have been somewhat less than what we might have expected. I'm not sure whether, after several days in the Serengeti,  we are so spoiled,  or, as our drivers and guide say,  that this NP its so big, so spread out, that it's difficult to track down our quarries. They say there are plenty of animals,  but because the rainy season has been so recent, and the rains so abundant,  the animals can get water almost everywhere,  and don't need to congregate in just certain places. For us, also, spotting is more difficult as the brush here is higher, blocking our view to some extent, and creating great cover for the animals. Seems like this would be a great place to be a lion.

We have seen, in two game drives,  evening and morning, a few elephants, several ostrich,  plenty of impala,  a couple of giraffes, one or two hartebeest,  and from a considerable distance,  Bill Zeigler’a favorite, a small group of lesser kudu. Zebras and baboon are plentiful,  but remember, a few days ago,  we were in the middle of the migration in the incredible Serengeti.

We were able to squeeze in a couple more game drives before we left Kirawira. Friday night's highlights included being able to leave the vehicles and stand on a high bank overlooking a large group of hippos bathing in the Grumeti, getting lots of good pictures,  and coming across a large group of elephants in a hurry to get somewhere. We kept trying to get in front of them, but the road kept curving (you are not allowed to go off-road in the NP), and they were really moving, so we had to settle for some side views.

Our BZ Trip Group Photo at Kirawira

Our plane back to Arusha Saturday was late so we were able to get a bonus game drive in.  We were again able to find the pride of lions from the failed zebra hunt the day before, but in addition, the pride male was spotted beneath a distant tree, and were able to easily approach and visit for a few minutes, as he and his guest lioness were apparently between trysts.

The Honeymooners 

The plane trip went smoothly with some great views of places we had explored, and soon we were back in the hustle and bustle of Arusha. A quick stop was made at the cultural center for some last minute shopping for those leaving (the place did have a lot of cool things from which to choose), and then on to the Mountain Village hotel for our final meal together.  Among a few tears and lots of "See you in July’s " (our trip reunion), my driver arrived to take me to meet my friends who had arrived in Moshi, about an hour's drive to the east.

Maureen and Joanne and I were soon reunited and we spent the rest of the day at Stella Maris, exploring the school and meeting staff members, sharing tales of travels past and present, having a few laughs (and a couple of tears,  for that matter) over remembrances of former common colleagues, sharing a meal together and looking at mySafari photos.  We headed off, finally, to get some rest, as I had to be up early to meet the bus of my safari-mates as we headed on to the Kenyan border.

We met Edwin Ongori, our naturalist/guide, and our drivers, Koikai (say "coy-kigh") and Peter at the border at Taveta, and

Peter, Edwin, and Koikai

they led us through all the customs and immigration details that come with leaving one country and entering another. Soon we we heading down the Kenyan "super-highway," according to Koikai, towards our newest home-away-from-home here at the fabulous Kilaguni Lodge.




Asante Sana for your continued patience and your emails.

 Jay

Tsavo Sunset Near Mt. Kilimanjaro