Tag: Elephants
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In the land of lava and leopards
As they scouted Tsavo West in the early ‘60s, the developers of Kilaguni would have been spoilt for choice while deliberating the location of Kenya’s first park lodge. 60 years on, and the site they settled on still ranks highly among the country’s top safari destinations. The lodge’s long thatched terrace frames a spectacular panorama:…
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Buffalo Springs: Of Blue Pools and Pink Elephants
‘You guys missed all the action!’, one of the rangers said, as we returned to camp from a long morning game drive. ‘A big crocodile dragged an impala into the river, and then fought with three other crocodiles over the scraps!’ They would have had a good view of this toothy tussle – the Spring…
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Christmas with the animals in Meru
It was Christmas Day and we had decided to spend it at the Rhino River Camp and with the animals in Meru National Park. Early morning on Christmas Eve we had driven out from Nairobi – a longish drive but well worth it. On the way we listened to the hilarious impeachment version of the…
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In Tsavo East With Some Wilful Wildlife
‘That’s the way to approach Tsavo East,’ my younger son, Jan, said. As the aircraft came down through the clouds, it flew along the jagged edge of the Yatta Plateau, traced the Galana River, flew low over the Lugard Falls, and banked steeply to make the Lugard airstrip. It was breath-taking – in more ways…
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Camping Wild in the Aberdares
We followed a dusty two-track in the forested salient of the Aberdares. Thick patches of striking purple Vernonia shrubs bulged into the road, and twisted white tree trunks punctuated a sea of deep green on the hillsides. We rounded a bend, and a mud-coated buffalo lay in our path, unperturbed. A large male leopard suddenly…
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On Foot With Elephants in El Karama
The shrill cry of a buff-crested bustard jolts me out of a deep sleep. It rises to a crescendo, preventing me from drifting off again. My tent glows in the soft pre-dawn light, and beside me the Ewaso Nyiro River is swollen and fast-flowing. Barking baboons warn of a passing predator in the distance. It’s…
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A Relaxing Weekend at Kimana House
A friend of mine recently suggested that I take a few days off work to join him on a trip through Kajiado, Amboseli and Kimana. I didn’t take much convincing. I was excited by the prospect of tracking wild dogs near Kajiado, in an area where they are frequently spotted. But that turned out to…
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Ol Donyo Lodge: In the Green Hills of Kenya
After weeks of struggling with deadlines in Nairobi, I was relishing what was left of the first morning of our escape to ol Donyo Lodge in the Chyulu Hills – Ernest Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa. Our bedroom was open to one of the most therapeutic landscapes in the country: stage left, Mount Kilimanjaro; stage…
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Weekend Camping in the Aberdares
Many of you will be familiar with ‘Mzee’, our old 1976 Range Rover. Mzee has featured heavily in this column over the 30 or so years that it has been running, and his trips have tended to generate more interest from readers than your average Going Places article. We received lots of emails, in particular,…
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