The Unforgiving, Tsavo

It was nearly two months since I visited Tsavo. I felt like Tsavo was calling me to make another visit. And then alas!, during the last week of September, Kamran told me that he had to take a visiting friend to Tsavo. Will I ever miss such an opportunity?? Never! So we began a quick trip to Tsavo. As we entered the park, I felt like I was at home. There was no better place to be. But my prayers have not been answered. Tsavo was dryer than ever!

As we journeyed through the park we saw plenty of elephants. We stayed at Satao camp and after lunch we began our proper game drive around 4 pm. Seeing a lion in Tsavo is like finding a needle in a haystack but we were quite lucky. We say a lone lioness and a male lion.

After a good game drive we were just in time before pitch darkness approached. This was my second visit to Satao camp and I remembered how terrified I was during my first visit where I slept alone in a tent which had absolutely no fence. But this time, I fell asleep like a baby. We went on our early morning game drive. Again we were lucky enough to see two young male lions.

But there was a sad truth which was revealed when we were getting back to camp. Tsavo showed us how unforgiving the drought has been. We saw an elephant drawing her last breathe right in front of us by the side of the road.

we saw one elephant trying to wake the dying elephant. The scene was so sad. Never have I seen a moment like this. We knew the drought was bad, but only seeing is believing. This was just one of the many many elephants that perished during the last few months.

After an emotional morning game drive we went back to the camp for breakfast. As we left the camp that late morning, I began to digest what I had seen and experienced. I saw an elephant take its last breathe. I saw how human an elephant can be. I saw the sadness in the eyes of a dying gentle giant. I saw how unforgiving Tsavo can be.