This year we decided to turn our vacation also into an adventure. After loads of research, we settled on visiting Kenya because we love animals and would like to observe them in the great outdoors. “A safari has long been at the top of my bucket list!”Another reason we decided for Kenya was the possibility that you could combine the safari experience very well with a beach holiday. “We thought that two days before and a few days after a beautiful thrilling safari with so many impressions about the land and wildlife of Africa, a few days at the beach would provide us with the perfect balance!”
Kenya has the well-known, beautiful Diani Beach, where at the most southern point you’ll find a small island, about 500m away from the mainland. On this island is a very nice, cozy resort, The Sands at Chale Island with private and dreamy beach. It has a wonderful hotel in a dream location on the Indian Ocean, surrounded by jungle and mangrove forest and with warm hosts and staff.
“Our first destination was Tsavo East National Park. As we drove into the park, we immediately saw the magic of Kenya, the vast expanse of the country and the breathtaking colors, the streets glowing orange-red and framed by green plants, and radiant blue sky. It took less than a minute and we encountered the first elephant herd! What a breathtaking experience it is to see these majestic animals up close and personal as well as in their natural habitat. It was followed by other wonderful sightings of various animals such as buffalos, wildebeests, zebras, antelopes and even a pack of lions that were just about to devour one of the before mentioned buffalos.”
“After this wonderful experience we arrived in the first of the three lodges we would be staying at. We were staying in a large comfortable tent with a pool and an incredible view of the national park. At breakfast, a huge herd of buffalos and a herd of elephants came right past our tent. A breathtaking experience! Unfortunately, we had to leave Tsavo East to go onto the next stage of our safari. As excited, as we were to follow our next adventure, we actually wanted to stay another night. Our recommendation would be to stay in a lodge, two or three nights consecutively, to give yourself more time to truly enjoy and take in all that Tsavo East has to offer!”
Our tour took us through the beautiful land of the Masai, at the foot of the mighty Kilimanjaro to the Amboseli National Park. Kilimanjaro shines most beautifully both at sunrise and sunset. “From my point of view, the elephants in the Amboseli National Park are even bigger and more imposing compared to the ones at Tsavo East. At the wonderful lodge, our group of Masai warriors visited us whom we sang and danced with, which was one of the highlights for me!”
We arrived at our third camp where the food and service was amazing! You could almost compare it to a five star hotel right in the middle of the bush. Another reason we were very excited was because the camp is in the wild without any fences or boundaries. To get into the room in the evening, a Masai always accompanied us just in case a lion or an elephant wanted to greet us at our way back from dinner. In the room itself there was an alarm bell and whistle for safety reasons, which added another sense of adventure to the experience. In front of our tent arrived a herd of zebras, which we clearly heard throughout the night. The next morning we left the Mara and went back to Chale Island.
We can highly recommend such a safari in Kenya. The national parks all had their own charm and for us the most beautiful trip with the most animals was at Tsavo East national park. Our entire itinerary has worked perfectly for us and would highly recommend to everyone who wants to experience Kenya in its full glory!
Article sourced from Discovering Kenya
