A Good Place to Leave

Overview

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The main, if not the only reason to visit Nairobi, is that Nairobi is the start and end point for Kenyan safaris. People go to Nairobi for safari, not to see Nairobi. True, there are some things to see in Nairobi, but unless you have unlimited time and money, plan a trip that maximizes safari time and spend as little time as possible in Nairobi. On our first trip, as soon as we had checked in to our hotel, we went out the front door and negotiated a mutually acceptable deal with the first taxi driver in line to spend the rest of the day in Nairobi National Park, located right on the edge of the city. Back in the city, to give you an idea of how limited Nairobi is in things of t...Read More

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Salt Lick Lodge

Hotel | "Salt Lick Lodge "

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Taita Hills is a privately owned game park on the edge of Tsavo West National Park. For all practical purposes, it is an extension of Tsavo. Taita Hills has two lodges, Salt Lick Lodge and Taita Hills Lodge, and two camps. We arrived late in the afternoon at Salt Lick Lodge after safari runs in Tsavo. The rooms at Salt Lick Lodge were a set up as a several clusters of four circular two story high towers set on stilts about 15 feet above ground. Each cluster connects to the next and ultimately to the dining room/bar/lobby by a bridge so that game can pass right under the hotel going to the nearby water holes. Most rooms overlook a water hole.Most of the lodges where we stayed were at wa...Read More

Taita Hills is a privately owned game park on the edge of Tsavo West National Park. For all practical purposes, it is an extension of Tsavo. Taita Hills has two lodges, Salt Lick Lodge and Taita Hills Lodge, and two camps. We arrived late in the afternoon at Salt Lick Lodge after safari runs in Tsavo. The rooms at Salt Lick Lodge were a set up as a several clusters of four circular two story high towers set on stilts about 15 feet above ground. Each cluster connects to the next and ultimately to the dining room/bar/lobby by a bridge so that game can pass right under the hotel going to the nearby water holes. Most rooms overlook a water hole.

Most of the lodges where we stayed were at water holes. During the dry season, animals have to visit water holes for water because the streams mostly dry up. The lodges are effectively set beside wild animal magnets, and do they come! One night at the lodge in Tsavo East, we decided to count elephant– 62 came to drink in about two hours.

A day at a game lodge begins around 8am with a full British style breakfast buffet. At 10am, a game run– everyone piles into their vehicle and sets out into the park to see the day time wildlife. Around noon, back to the lodge for a formal buffet lunch served by waiters in tie and tails at a table set with a lifetime supply of silverware. After lunch, off for the afternoon game run, and then the trip to the next lodge. From Salt Lick Lodge, we had a short trip to the next
overnight stop, Taita Hills Lodge, about two miles away, but very different in atmosphere and in wildlife.

The high point of our visit came after diner. Salt Lick’s claim to fame is a semi-underground tunnel that runs out to a bunker at the edge of the water hole. Game viewing was from open widows in the bunker, so close to the animals that at one point we reached out the window and rubbed an elephant’s knee. He seemed not to notice.

Rooms at Salt Lick Lodge were game park standard– extremely pleasant and comfortable and attractively decorated with a variety of native arts and crafts, understated luxury in the wilds of Africa. Beds came with a surrounding mosquito net tent. When you find that, use it. Don’t take chances with malaria, even though you are taking the anti-malaria drug.

Guests at Salt Lick can use the swimming pool at Taita Hills Lodge. Salt Lick will run you over in a van. However, when were there in late June, the water was far to cold for swimming, which is something I don’t understand doing anyhow when there is wild game no see. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 9, 2007

Salt Lick Lodge
P.O.Box 30624
Nairobi, Kenya 00100
+254 (43) 30270

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Jeep safari tours

Attraction | "Safari"

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We have never been to a game reserve not worth a visit; some are worth more than others. The best: [1] The Ngorongoro Crater, an extinct volcano crater 12 miles across, home to the greatest concentration of big game on the planet. The crater’s steep walls, rising 2,000 feet, benefit the animal population by providing security, no outlet for migration, and a good year-round water supply. Ngorongoro is in Tanzania, not far from Kenya’s Masai Mara, so it is an easy addition to a safari leaving from Nairobi. Ngorongoro is the place not to miss. [2] Masai Mara, the northern extension of the Serengeti Plains, is the last place on that great range to dry up in summer. We saw lots of anima...Read More

We have never been to a game reserve not worth a visit; some are worth more than others. The best:

[1] The Ngorongoro Crater, an extinct volcano crater 12 miles across, home to the greatest concentration of big game on the planet. The crater’s steep walls, rising 2,000 feet, benefit the animal population by providing security, no outlet for migration, and a good year-round water supply. Ngorongoro is in Tanzania, not far from Kenya’s Masai Mara, so it is an easy addition to a safari leaving from Nairobi. Ngorongoro is the place not to miss.

[2] Masai Mara, the northern extension of the Serengeti Plains, is the last place on that great range to dry up in summer. We saw lots of animals in mid-June in the Mara, but then, traveling south across the rest of the Serengeti in Tanzania, dried up grasses and less wildlife. Although we had technically missed the great wildebeest migration, we nevertheless passed columns of wildebeest stretching for miles across the Mara. Our guide assured us this was nothing compared to the main show. If you want to chance the Long Rains, put Serengeti at the top of the list.

[3] Lake Manyara, if the elephant population has recovered. The most popular part of the park is the thin forest at the
north end of the lake, which was, when we were there, loaded with elephant. The lake is home to lots of shore birds. Lake Manyara is home of the famous tree-climbing lions, which require luck to see.

[4] Tsavo’s water holes assure a good parade of animals, even in the dry season. Tsavo East features lion and elephant. Tsavo West is home to Mizma Springs, where an underwater viewing room provides some sightings of fish, crocodiles, and hippos.

[5] Amboseli features large elephant herds with Mt. Kilimanjaro for the backdrop. The mountians attract rain, so the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro are more lush that the parks on the plains, making Amboseli a safe bet in the dry season.

[6] Tatia Hills, Salt Lick Lodge, which has a ground level viewing blind right at the edge of the water hole connected to the lodge by a tunnel. Here, we reached out the window and rubbed an elephant’s knee. Well, actually, we pounded on it to see if we could get his attention. No dice. We were less noticeable than the bacteria on your fingers.

We’ve also been to Taranjire, Asrusha, Aberdare, Mt. Meru, Samburu, Buffalo, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo, Lake Naivasha, Crescent Island, and Mt. Kenya. As I said, all worth a visit, but not quite as much as the first group. Mt. Kenya and Aberdare are forest parks, very different from the plains parks. The lakes can be most impressive if the flamingos are in residence. Crescent Island in Lake Naivasha is unique–I arrived by rowboat and walked among the animals. Watch your step–the ground is well fertilized by the grazers, and never get between a hippo and water.

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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 20, 2007

Jeep safari tours
Governor's Camp
Nairobi, Kenya

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Ngorongoro Crater

Attraction | "Ngorongoro Crater"

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Traveling in the dry season, we quickly crossed the vast Serengeti Plain, a flat brown expanseof shriveled grass lands with sparse animal population. The vast migrating herds that populate the Serengeti in the rainy season had moved north and dispersed around the shores of Lake Victoria, where they find reliable water in the dry season. After a stop at the Olduvai Gorge, successfully promoted by the archeologist, Richard Leaky as the place where man was born, we moved on to arrive later in the afternoon at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, perched right on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Stepping out on the balcony of our room gave the impression we were hanging in the air, high above the floor o...Read More

Traveling in the dry season, we quickly crossed the vast Serengeti Plain, a flat brown expanseof shriveled grass lands with sparse animal population. The vast migrating herds that populate the Serengeti in the rainy season had moved north and dispersed around the shores of Lake Victoria, where they find reliable water in the dry season. After a stop at the Olduvai Gorge, successfully promoted by the archeologist, Richard Leaky as the place where man was born, we moved on to arrive later in the afternoon at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, perched right on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Stepping out on the balcony of our room gave the impression we were hanging in the air, high above the floor of the vast caldera. The only disappointment was that, nearly 2,000 ft above the crater floor, we were too far away to make out any of the myriad of animals grazing or hunting or just resting in the afternoon shade below.

The Crater, the world’s largest intact unflooded volcanic caldera*, about 12 miles across and 2,000 ft deep, is located in highlands, and the weather was cool, almost cold, and cloudy, looking like rain was due any minute. The frequent showers generated by the Crater top’s high attitude provides a year-round supply of water to the Crater floor whose streams and lakes are fed by rainfall running down the interior walls of the Crater. All this water supports lush grasslands on the Crater floor, and the grass supports a large number of animals, the most concentrated animal population we saw on any of our safaris. The animal population is estimated at 25,000-30,000 and includes the rare black rhino, which our driver found easily enough.

Next morning after breakfast, we piled into Jeeps to descend the steep, rough road to the floor of the Crater and spent the morning driving among the animals. Unlike the previous evening, with its clouds and drizzles, the day of our trip into the Crater was sunny with blue skies.

While rainy season visitors to East Africa’s plains may see a larger number of animals, thanks to the great migrating herds, nowhere else did we see so many animals of so many different species in such a small area. The most unusual animal we saw were baby rhinos, the only place we saw them.

The Ngorongoro Crater was the high point of our East African safaris. This is the one place you should be sure is on your itinerary.

After a lurching trip back up the crater wall for a late lunch at the lodge, we transferred to nearby Lake Manyara National Park, home of the tree climbing lions, for the night.

* A caldera is the pit left behind by a big volcano that blew its top. Compared to true calderas like Ngorongoro, Crater Lake, and Yellowstone, the dent in one side of Mt. St. Helens is a mere pot hole.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 12, 2007

Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Tanzania

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The Ark, Treetops, and Aberdare National P

Attraction | "The Ark, Treetops, and Aberdare National P"

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Two of the most famous safari lodges, The Ark and Treetops, are near each other in the Aberdare Forest. Animal spotting in the dense forests on the slopes of 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya is very different than on the savanna, where you can see for miles. In the forest, trees are always in the way except at these two unique hotels built beside water holes. Nevertheless, it is worth a visit, as the forest dwellers cannot be seen on the savanna.Black and white Colobus monkeys swinging overhead are the most likely forest animals to be seen outside the water holes. Watching these was a treat. Do not stand directly underneath monkeys, they have no bladder control.Our guides told us that, in...Read More

Two of the most famous safari lodges, The Ark and Treetops, are near each other in the Aberdare Forest. Animal spotting in the dense forests on the slopes of 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya is very different than on the savanna, where you can see for miles. In the forest, trees are always in the way except at these two unique hotels built beside water holes. Nevertheless, it is worth a visit, as the forest dwellers cannot be seen on the savanna.

Black and white Colobus monkeys swinging overhead are the most likely forest animals to be seen outside the water holes. Watching these was a treat. Do not stand directly underneath monkeys, they have no bladder control.

Our guides told us that, in the Aberdares, we might see the Bongo, the most beautiful of the antelopes, and one of the least likely of all African wildlife to be seen by the visitor. Seeing a Bongo is so rare that the guides invariably called them “the elusive Bongo.” We came to believe “elusive” was the Bongo’s first name. Finally though, we did see the elusive Bongo, three or four of them, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

At night, the water holes are illuminated by spotlight. Both The Ark and Treetops had a buzzer system in the rooms that worked like this: a staff member sat up all night, watching the water hole. Before going to our room for the night after tembos in the lounge, we signed up for the night time animal watch for the “Big 7" animals, including leopard, lion, elephant, Bongo. Each animal was assigned a certain number of buzzes. Let’s say leopards were three buzzes. If a leopard showed up, the game watcher would buzz the rooms of all the guests signed up for leopards three times, waking us up and telling us there was a leopard at the water hole. If nothing more, you should sign up for leopards and the elusive Bongo. You won’t see many leopards on safari, and you will never see the Bongo except here. Take advantage.

After our night at the Ark, we traveled though the forest to the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, higher up on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. The Mt. Kenya Safari Club was the most luxurious place we stayed, but it is not too good for game watching, being mainly devoted to creature comforts and golf.
Still, there were pheasants, Crowned Cranes, and other birds roaming the grounds, quite unafraid of people.

Any good safari should include either The Ark or Treetops, but they are Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Visiting both isn’t necessary. As for the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, the only reason to stop here is if 1] it’s included in your tour package and you are stuck with it, 2] you want a day of rest and pampered relaxation instead of game viewing or, 3] you want to play golf on the Equator in an African forest. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 13, 2007

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Safari!

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elephant herd crossing the Serengeti Plain Photo - Tanzania, Africa

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We left Nairobi on our second safari on a highway running along the fenced boundary of Nairobi National Park. A few miles down the road, I said to the guide, "12 ostrich on the right." He said, "15. You missed three in that bush." The four people in the van setting out on their first safari said, "Where? Where? I don’t see anything. Shouldn’t we stop?"There are several lessons about safari here. (1) At first, the animals are hard to see. Mother Nature made them that way, camouflaged in their native habitat. Our first stop on our first safari, the driver pulled over to the side of the road and said, "There are 22 giraffes eating trees in that woods," and we all said, "Where? Where?" We sta...Read More

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Nairobi Journals

A Good Place to Leave