I m a person who never believes in superstitions. But since I began to visit Tsavo, there was one superstition I just could not avoid to believe in. First timers luck! This superstition was passed down to me by my friend Kamran and so far with all my visits to Tsavo, it has never gone wrong. I still remember my first visit to Tsavo. I spotted a male lion just near our car. My wife spotted a Cheetah. I can go on and on. I guess there is something to do with first timers. I guess its how they look around. Anyway it was a time for another quick trip to Tsavo East in Mid April with one of my colleagues and his family who was visiting him. So, I had a group of 4 first timers! Not bad, I felt like lady luck was on my side.
Our stay at Tsavo was just one night and we had to make the most of it. We arrived at Ashnil Aruba Lodge in time for lunch. A quick break and off we went on our game drive. The grass was overgrown and the park roads were muddy and slippery. I barely kept our vehicle on the road and in a few places we nearly got stuck. It had rained heavily just two days back, thus the chaotic nature of the roads.
We headed towards Voi pipeline area which a pride of lions reside. We were lucky! We saw five lions chilling on the grass but were barely visible due to the tall grass. My guests were thrilled to see the lions, specially the kids. It was their first time they had seen a wild lion. We saw plenty of elephants. They looked plumpy and very happy. The abundance of grass had made them strong and it was a treat to see these gentle giants.
From pipeline area back to Ashnil we spotted a Hyena taking a walk down the road. It was my first sighting of a Hyena. I had never seen a Hyena in Tsavo before. It was getting dark fast and we had to get back asap! When we were nearing Ashnil, my colleague’s wife spotted two lions seated by the side of the road. I had no idea how she spotted these two. It was 90% dark but to see two lions up so close was the cherry on the cake that evening. Unfortunately, the light was so bad that I could not get a clear shot of the lions. Overall it was a great day. After an excellent dinner off to bed!
We decided to go on the early morning game drive before breakfast. I had no clue where to take my guests since, I had covered a good part the previous day. I decided to take the road to Satao camp. As we were about thirty minutes in, again my colleague’s wife shouted lion! lion!. Guess what! There was a male lion peeping from a bush!
We stopped the vehicle. To our surprise there was not one but two male lions!! They looked like brothers and they were huge!! These were young lions in their prime! I m sure they must be descendants of the MAN EATERS OF TSAVO! The notorious lions who brought the entire British empire to the knees by killing and eating the railroad workers. What a sight it was seeing two male lions playing around. The best part was that there was no tourist vans around. It was only us. These young kings were giving us a show! We were with them for around thirty minutes until they vanished in to the thick bush. What more could you ask?? We went back thinking of what we just saw! It was a perfect ending!
We left after breakfast. As we were nearing the park gate there were around 150 elephants on the road and on both sides! What a sight it was! We were the lucky few who had seen lions that trip. None of the guests at Ashnil was lucky as us. I guess I was on the good side of Lady luck.
Looking back what I liked about the trip was that I was able to give a family a holiday they would never ever forget. A memory that would stay for a life time. Even though I don’t believe in the notion of luck, when you are in the bush, you cling on to some kind of hope that you would see a lion, a cheetah or even a leopard just around the corner! And if Lady luck decides to work her magic….. well that’s a memory you will never forget! This is the beauty of Tsavo!
Lalindra De Silva 
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