Tsavo National Park Overview

The combined area of Tsavo East and West National Parks makes Tsavo one of the world's largest game sanctuaries, larger than Wales in Great Britain or Jamaica in the Caribbean. Lying about halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa it covers 20,812 sq km. Tsavo East is larger and more arid than Tsavo West and is less visited.

Tsavo West

In 1948 Tsavo was gazetted as Kenya's second national park, two years after Nairobi was so declared. A combination of tsetse fly and lack of water had kept this great tract of land from being occupied by humans. There are only two permanent rivers in this vast area, the Tsavo which begins its life on Kilimanjaro and is greatly supplemented by a huge underground river flowing from Mzima Springs, and the Athi in Tsavo East which begins near Nairobi.

Poachers and drought caused tremendous devastation among the Park's elephant and rhino populations, but both species are now recovering. An aerial count of elephants in Tsavo East and West in 1991 revealed nearly 7,000 elephants—by far the largest population in any Kenyan park. Poaching has all but ended—in 1991 there were no elephants poached in Tsavo and only 18 in the whole of the Republic. This figure compares with an average of 5,000 elephants killed by poachers every year in the period 1973-1989. Tsavo is a model national park in both layout and its geophysical, animal, and plant diversity. Tsavo West has more than 2,000 km of well-maintained, all-weather roads. Good signposting leads the visitor from one natural wonder to another.

Chief among these must rank the marvel of Mzima Springs , replenished with two hundred and twenty million litres of crystal-clear water every day, from the underground streams stemming from the lava massif known as the Chyulu Hills , 40-50 km away. Mzima forms a haven for a rich wildlife pageant with elephants soaking half immersed in the waters, light-footed but ponderous looking hippos, apparently weightless, tip-toeing across the bottom, crocodiles basking on the bank or swirling through the water; gazelles, zebra, and giraffes wandering around the banks through the thick acacias and raffia palms together with hundreds of chattering monkeys and birds. Mzima is also the main source of Mombasa's water supply. There are well-marked nature trails, an observation platform, and an underwater glass tank which provides a special vantage point to view this remarkable oasis.

Not far from Mzima Springs, along a well-marked track, lies the precipitous magnificence of the Ngulia escarpment at the foot of the Ngulia Hills , which rises to 1825 m. Each year from late September to November, Ngulia has become the base of a unique phenomenon. Attracted by the lights of Ngulia Lodge, thousands of migrant birds descend through the mists, which are prevalent at this time of the year to be netted, ringed, and released. It has become one of the bird wonders of the world and provides vital information on the migratory routes and the habits of many species common to the northern hemisphere. Reports of ringed birds have been received from as far north as St. Petersburg, and from countries as widely separated as Oman, Malawi, Iran, and Germany.

Apart from the elephant population there are many lion—some undoubtedly the descendants of the famous Maneaters of Tsavo! Among the less common animals to be found are the fringed-eared oryx, the gerenuk, and lesser kudu. The carnivores in addition to lion include serval, hyena, leopard cheetah, and caracal. The landscape is dominated, especially off the hills, by the giant baobab, a tree which is reputed to live 1,000 years. After the rains, the Park is showered with white and pink ipomea , the morning glory family, and the acacia trees are festooned in feathery masses of white and pink blossoms. The desert rose, somewhat like a miniature baobab, produces fuschia-pink flowers of striking beauty at almost any time of the year.

The first lodge inside any national park was Kilaguni , opened by Britain's Duke of Gloucester in 1962. It stands at the centre of Tsavo West and affords excellent game runs in all directions. The lodge and its waterhole have an almost permanent population of ground squirrels, warthog, hyrax, mongooses, and masses of impudent birds. Elephant are nearly always to be seen, with many other animals at the waterhole. This feast of wildlife, flora, and birds combines to make Tsavo of special interest—an interest perhaps made greater by geological activity evidenced by a mass of recently extinct volcanoes and massive lava flows. It is also possible to make an excursion to the Chyulu Hills National Park , which abuts Tsavo to the northwest. The Chyulus are one of the world's newest mountain ranges; the most recent volcanic peak was formed only 500 years ago. A four-wheel-drive track leads to this peak—Shaitani—from the Chyulu gate near Kilaguni Lodge and it is simple to walk to the caves on the side of the volcano. It is a breathtaking landscape of rampant ferocity and the vistas to Kilimanjaro are unbeatable.

At the other end of Tsavo West, in the southwest corner, lies Lake Jipe . Bisected by the border with Tanzania, it is a favourite haunt of bird-watchers and boats are available for ardent ornithologists. In the lake area is a small herd of Grevy's zebra, translocated from northern Kenya in 1977.

Tsavo East

Only a small area of this vast nature reserve, larger by far than Tsavo West, is open to the public, although new areas for human intrusion are now being added. The remainder provides a remote animal wilderness.

There are many interesting aspects in the open areas of Tsavo East, not least the spine of the Yatta Plateau , one of the world's longest lava flows. An additional attraction is the Athi river flanked by stately doum palms, which, near the Manyani gate forms the Lugard Falls , a long stretch of rippling white water cataracts and a favourite haunt for sunbathing crocodiles. The Falls gush through a small fissure, narrow enough for the foolhardy to leap across, before dropping to Crocodile Point below, where the river changes its name to the Galana . Droughts are much more common in Tsavo East than West and Aruba Dam , built in 1952, has dried up completely at times, although it covers an area of 85.4 hectares. This wilderness, seemingly so hostile, is nevertheless inhabited by a wide range of plains' game including zebra, several species of antelope, among them lesser kudu and hartebeest, warthog, and ostrich as well as elephant herds that plunder their way through bush and scrub to the permanent waters of the Athi.

Special thanks to the Kenya Association of Tour Operators for helping GORP develop Kenya parks information.