THE STORIES
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Tsavo Safari

"A Safari is a must to do if you are on holidays in Kenya."
I told my sister and her husband deciding to visit the mysterious country in Eastern Africa.
Pursuaded by stories of my previous safaris we made the booking and let the most reliable tour organizator Victor arrange each and everything for us. Two days should be enough to see some of the big five in the huge Tsavo National Park. As a bonus included in this tour to Tsavo we even got a half day Mombasa Tour for free some days before the real Safari started. Thank you Victor.

In the early morning of our tour to Tsavo we waited at the hotel gate for the safari driver. After the obligatory African half-an-hour-late-time he showed up to pick us at the road. Our group of five people and one driver got the whole safari bus for it's own, so we could really feel comfortable in that good conditioned vehicle.
From the coast we were taken via Voi and straight after some hours to the gate of the Tsavo Park. The Tsavo Park is a wonder of the nature. The soil is red and all types of animals were waiting to be photographed. After a short round in the Park, saying 'Hello' to the first antelopes, pigs and birds we checked in in the Red Elephants Lodge for our overnight and got a delicous lunch, which was so much better than the tourist's standard dishes down the coast. After getting our rooms and resting a little bit my brother-in-law and I observed the nearer area.
"Okay, let's make some photos. There the entrance of the Lodge - click - and there this nice flowers - click - and the hotel watchguard over there. Now, let's walk a little up there."
We went to a open fire place of the hotel and there he was, a big baboon was looking at us. Never seeing such an anmial from such a distance we ran away as the baboon was coming a little closer.
"Stupid cowards we are, it's only a monkey - okay a big one, let's go up again and take some photos." We went again but bad luck the baboon was gone. Back near our rooms my sister decided to do her excursion just few meters from the room terrace she was amazed about the vegetation, spiders and other for Europeans unknown things. Suddenly she shouted: "Iiiihh, a snake a snake a snake."
Running to her husband and hiding behind his back, getting our laughter she from now took care about where to walk.
After some rest and further rounds through the Safari Park with many different animals, after an nightlight open air dinner with traditional entertainment we went to bed to be ready for the early morning stalking.

The mornings in Kenya can be cool. Driving in the bus we were happy to have some jackets to keep us warm. The safari driver was doing his usual route giving us impressings about elephants and giraffes. An elephant just few meters away from our bus can really give you respect, good luck the elephant this morning was in good mood just going on with his business after a while observing us. We were driving up a small hill when the driver found a huge herd of buffaloes. Hundreds of buffaloes were eating plants, coming step by step nearer to our bus. What an impression to be in this wilderness, sun rising, no other human being and this lot of big animals. Later on the driver informed his collegues using his radio to let their guests participate. After much more animals we were already back on the way to the Lodge to have breakfast the driver suddenly got a message from one of his collegues: "Mzee, mzee simba hapa! Wanasaka nyati!"
Our driver turned the bus and speed up so fast we got frightened. But then we understood, the collegue told him that he has seen lions, the royal family of the world of animals, hunting. We came back to the place where we already observed the buffaloes and while the buffaloes were gone there were three lions killing a big buffaloe. The animal was groaning but then the lion stopped it's pain biting the throat until the buffaloe died. We did not see the hunting as the guest of the other tour bus did, but to see this lions killing and eating was so exciting. A woman of the other safari bus could not hold it, she started weeping, overwhelmed by her emotions confronted with the true brutality of nature. This audience learned that national parks are not a zoo and wild animals are no cuddly toys. Letting the lions eat their meal we went on to have ours. We met the buffaloe herd again and they crossed the road in front of our bus. The driver was going on really slowly and the huge animals respected us and waited right and left to let us pass.

After much more creatures of the Tsavo Park, and a meal in Voi in the late afternoon we found our way back to the coast resorts. The driver got a big tip for the show he let us see and Victor was praised his arrangement done.

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