Tsavo
Tsavo National Park was established just after the Second World War and with an area of 21,812 Km2, it is the largest park in Kenya. Even in the late 1800s it featured as the vast wilderness through which the aptly nicknamed 'Lunatic Express' railway line had to be constructed on it's way from Mombasa to Nairobi. Read more?
Over 130 railway construction workers were killed by the infamous man-eating lions while engineers tried to construct a bridge over the Tsavo River. During the first World War, British forces were based here to repel German troops who tried to destroy the bridge to cut off British communication. Subsequently divided into two parks, bisected by the Nairobi-Mombasa road, the twin parks have developed very differently.
Tsavo East suffered under the attentions of elephant poachers and a drought in the 1980s and tourism has not developed in the northern area of the park which is still wild and remote. There are a number of camps south of the Galana River where game and birdlife is abundant, particularly elephant, lion, buffalo and plains game. Lugards Falls and the Galana River offer good game viewing all year round while the rest of the park can vary depending on available water and vegetation. Tsavo is normally reached either by road from Nairobi or the coast or via scheduled or charter flights.
Tsavo West is an interesting and varied park with vegetation dominated by thick commiphora bush, grassy plains and rocky 'kopjes'. Features of Tsavo West include the Mzima Springs where the is a surprising underwater hippo observatory and the relatively recent lava flow of Shaitani, over 600 species of recorded birds and the odd very lucky sighting of wild dogs.
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