The wonders of Tsavo

Stevens Muendo takes an aerial tour of the Tsavo and Amboseli eco-systems with a short glimpse of the coastal city of Mombasa.

The view is spectacular. The vast expanse of Savannah bush and semi desert scrub, acacia woodlands — belts of riverine vegetation and palm thickets — is breathtaking.

There are dead rocky outcrops, ridges and fascinating dried volcanic lava flows as well as ash cones below us.

The porous Shetani lava in Tsavo West.

But breathing life across the Tsavo were large herds of wildlife. Down below, slow flowing Mzima and Galana rivers formed a haven for a rich wildlife pageant with elephants soaking half immersed in the waters, with light footed but ponderous looking hippo, apparently weightless, tip-toeing across the bottom. Crocodiles basked on the bank, gazelles, zebra and giraffe wandered around through the thick acacias and raffia palms together with hundreds of chattering monkeys and birds.

"This is stunning, almost unreal. It’s like a scene cut from a Hollywood movie. No, this is Africa, Kenya, the land of many wonders," I pondered aloud, mesmerised as our pilot took another low descent along river Galana.

Our pilot, Ian, descended downstream through Vipingo Ridge to Diani in Mombasa. The anxiety in the six-man chopper hit optimum levels.

Welcome on board.

On this particular Sunday morning, the sky was clear blue when we assembled at the Wilson Airport for a day long tour of the Tsavo mopping through Amboseli and down to the Kenyan coast.

For starters, 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 square kilometres. That was the area we were to survey on this adventure Sunday.

Luxury tourism

As it is with the case of luxury tourism, the rare opportunity was a tailored exclusive experience made for us to discover sights and sounds unknown and inaccessible to most local tour operators, thanks to top notch pilot, Ian Mimano, the CEO of Lady Lori, East Africa’s finest helicopter charter service.

A bird’s eye view of Nyali bridge in Mombasa.

Ordinarily, most of the tourists taking such an exclusive luxury adventure tour would be treated to the incredible attractions of the Tsavo in a span of about four hours.

A package of such attractions usually includes a sight of the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro as one flies past the Amboseli National Park down to Tsavo West National Park, the home of elephants, rhinos, hippos, lions, cheetah, leopards, buffalos, diverse plant and bird species including the threatened corncrake and near threatened Basra Reed Warbler.

By road, an exhaustive safari of the combined area of Tsavo East and West National Parks as well as the Amboseli National Park would take not less than five days. With a chopper, it merely takes a day.

Our time was unlimited and we could fly back and forth and back again. There was too much to see and we were spoiled for choice.

"The thing is, Kenyans are now getting exposed to domestic tourism. Unlike most air transport luxury tourism service providers, we are entirely flexible and can plan any trip entirely around you," said Ian, who bragged that his Eurocoper EC130 B4 is the world’s modern single engine helicopter that can virtually land anywhere on land.

"It is good for domestic tourists to know that air transport tourism services are unique and affordable. Using our unrivalled local knowledge, you’ll see the true face of this breathtaking country. And with our partnership with some of the most luxurious and exclusive private hotels in Africa, you’re guaranteed an unforgettable experience from beginning to end," added Ian.

Diversity

Sweet memories of my previous tour to Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge and the historical Kilaguni Lodge — opened by Britain’s Duke of Gloucester in 1962 — tickled my brain. From the demonic Shetani lava to the angelic bird species to the beautiful footpaths and drives across the swampy plains where I was treated to the adoration of the snow-capped Kilimanjaro.

Through the journey, the highest we flew was 500 feet above ground level and our camera lenses could virtually capture all the amazing scenario of startling Kenya below us.

There are only two permanent rivers in this vast area of the Tsavo, which begins its life from Mount Kilimanjaro and is greatly supplemented by a huge underground river flowing from Mzima Springs and the Athi in Tsavo East, which begins near Nairobi. Tsavo is a model national park in both layout and geophysical, animal and plant diversity. Tsavo West has more than 2,000 kilometres of well maintained, all weather roads. The amazing aerial view led us from one natural wonder to another.

As we flew across Mzima Springs, Ian explained that the springs are replenished with 220 million litres of crystal-clear water every day, from the underground streams stemming from the lava massif, the Chyulu Hills, which we had flown over some minutes before.

Desert rose

"Off the hills, the landscape is dominated by the giant baobab, which is reputed to live a thousand years. After the rains, the park is showered with white and pink ipomea plant, the morning glory family," informed Ian, adding that usually, the acacia trees are festooned in feathery masses of white and pink blossom.

The desert rose, somewhat like a miniature baobab, produces fuschia-pink flowers of striking beauty at almost any time of the year.

Back to Tsavo East, the team got treated to the sights of Elephant in Eden — the sight of dust-red elephants wallowing, rolling and spraying each other with the midnight blue waters of palm-shaded Galana River. The Mudanda Rock, which is a whale-backed rock, towers above a natural dam. This rock acts as a draw to thousands of elephants.

We were mesmerised by the enchanting Lugards Falls named after Captain Lugard, the first proconsul to East Africa. The falls feature bizarrely eroded rocks through which the waters of the Galana River plunge into foaming rapids and crocodile infested pools.

In no time, we landed at the relaxed and elegant Vipingo Ridge, a five-star residential development and golfing destination, which is one of the most beautiful locations on the Kenyan Coast.

As we got treated to a meal and a drink, the palm and baobab courses at Vipingo Ridge offered us spectacular panoramic views of the Indian Ocean to the east, and the vast rolling African interior with its stunning sunset to the west.

"You see, Kenya is such a beautiful country with such diverse natural heritage. It is embarrassing to say that only a few Kenyans have enjoyed. It is time we became proud of being Kenyans and told the whole world what we can offer in terms of tourism," remarked a jubilant Ian as we flew past the oceanic view of Diani and back to Nairobi.