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You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – way2blue – TSAVO NAT’L PARKS, KENYA IN JULY [8 of 8]

On The Road – way2blue – TSAVO NAT’L PARKS, KENYA IN JULY [8 of 8]

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way2blue

[Last OTR submission of a 10-day trek along the Tsavo & Galana Rivers in southern Kenya.  Whew.]

We began to feel the influence of the Indian Ocean in the change of vegetation during the final days of our walking safari.  The mornig after we finished our last walk, we drove to Malindi.  Driving out, the landscape shifted from open land, to small huts, to small farms, to villages, solar panels…  Graceful women in lovely colorful skirts walking along the side of the road to fetch water, with yellow, 5-gallon containers balanced on their heads (~40 lbs when full).  From Malindi we flew to Lamu Island in the Indian Ocean.  An OTR for another day… 

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MORNING CATTLE.

As we moved further east, we saw evidence of (illegal) cattle grazing in the park.  Given the dryness of the terrain and the sparsity of grass, the cattle were competing with wildlife for food.  And wherever they grazed, the fragile soil turned to sand.  Desertification.  Alas.

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CATTLE.
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LAJORI SYLING.

Lajori posing for a photo at an afternoon rest stop.  We hiked all day our last day (16.8 miles).  Stopping for a picnic lunch and a very brief siesta (too windy)…

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RESTING.

Washii, Ekutan, and Chui.  Washii was the spotter who held my hand during river crossings so I wouldn’t lose my footing, and also helped me along one hairy, canyon traverse (narrow uneven ledge, impressive drop to the river…  )

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RESTING.

Lokori before the final river crossing.

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ELEPHANTS.

Across the river.  A few miles later, we spotted a group of lioness with cubs lounging by a fallen tree.  We spooked them—since they didn’t know what we were—and they moved away.  But our guide said if they’d spent some time observing us, we’d have shifted from being classified as potential predators to prey.  And they’d have moved closer… 

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ELEPHANTS.

Two guys on the left have spotted us…

On The Road - way2blue - TSAVO NAT’L PARKS, KENYA IN JULY [8 of 8]
TSAVO EAST GATE.

Our last full day of hiking, we crossed the river four times.  First in the morning to start the trek, then back again for lunch at a temporary camp, then back across the river to continue the trek, and finally back again for another few miles to the park gate.  I made the mistake of keeping my Tevas on after the last river crossing rather than taking time to switch back to boots.  

We covered 110 miles in 10 days of hiking.  After a soda pop break at the gate, we climbed in the field vehicle and headed back to camp.

Reader Interactions

7Comments

  3. 3.

    JanieM

    Thanks again for sharing this adventure. You’ve brought something very far away (in distance *and* in imagination) right to my living room.

  5. 5.

    way2blue

    Thanks to all.  It was a trip that I’d been pondering for about 10 years.  Ever since a geology friend from undergrad years had urged me to go.  He & his wife had undertaken the ‘great walk’ twice.  Just took a while for me to find a space to pull it off…

    So unique to walk through the park for days—becoming part of the landscape in a region where animals rarely see humans.  Tuning into the animals (& geology) around you in a way that’s not possible sitting in a land rover.

  6. 6.

    J R in WV

    I’m curious about the rifles some of the guides carry, what caliber round, specifically. Pretty obviously bolt-action, which is probably a good thing.

  7. 7.

    way2blue

    @J R in WV: I’m not the right person to ask.  The guide simply called them ‘elephant’ rifles.  Although he said if he ever had to shoot an elephant he would quit these safaris.  (His rifle was custom, with a hollow stock to lighten its load.)

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