Tsavo Comes to Life

My family was back in Mombasa for the December holidays. We made a quick weekend trip to Tsavo in mid December 2017. Last time my wife was here back in August, just before she left, she told me that she going to pray for rains. And oh boy did it rain!! When we entered the park, all the water holes were full. The dry plains were green in color. This was the first time in three years that Tsavo had received such rains. There were so many birds. I had never Tsavo like this! Tsavo was alive once again!!

On the downside, due to the greenery, there were very few animals to be seen. For a moment I was wondering where had all the elephants gone. Little did I realize that there was no reason for the animals to come towards the trees near the road. There was plenty of food and water everywhere.

Now this trip will be remembered because my family saw a Cheetah up-close. We were driving towards the Voi gate and alas!, there was a female Cheetah taking a stroll by the side of the road. We followed her for about 45 minutes. She walked and came near a termite mound and sat on top of it. What a sight it was! And the best part was, we were only people in the vicinity. There were no other Safari vehicles which would have scared her off.

After the encounter with the Cheetah we headed towards the pipeline area and we were treated to a pride of lions. The best part of the trip was that my Rav 4 nearly got stuck in the mud and by the time we got out of the mud the white color vehicle was covered in brown and black sludge.

Even though this trip was just a one night stay at Tsavo, I was so happy to see the greenery and liveliness of the park. We saw a heard of elephants at a water hole and you could the relief and happiness in their eyes.

As we ended our short stay at Tsavo, God had finally answered our prayers. The dry and unforgiving plains were green pastures of grass. The non existent water holes were full to the brim. It was time to breathe new life to one of Africa’s biggest wildlife havens.