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Go Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest

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Kibale forest is also known as the primate capital of the world located in western Uganda approximately 320 kilometers from the capital Kampala which is about a 4 hours drive using a standard car. The forest has about 13 primate species including the Uganda mango bay, red colobus, L’Hoest monkeys and the chimpanzees being the major attractions. The park has area coverage of 795 kilometers with vast equatorial rain forests that harbor the closet human being primate- the chimpanzee which shares about 98.4% DNA with humans.

Just like humans, chimpanzees are intelligent, can communicate amongst each other and have good food gathering skills for survival.

The life expectancy of these amazing primates is roughly 40 years. A well grown chimpanzee grows at height of about 2-4 feet with a weight ranging from 35 to 70 kilograms.

Chimpanzees in Kibale forest move and stay in groups ranging from 10-50 searching for food; they mainly feed on leaves, flowers, forest fruits, seeds and many other edibles the forest provides. Chimpanzee females have some typical characteristics of human beings of taking care of their young ones tenderly, being very protective, and baby sitting their close friends young ones. The chimpanzee mothers take care of their young ones up to the age of four.

Chimpanzee Tracking Day

On this day, tourists are expected to be at the Kanyanchu visitor center early for briefing before heading to the jungle. The forest expedition then starts at 8:00 am for the morning session and 3:00 pm for the after noon sessions lasting for 2 to 3 hours depending on how near the chimpanzees are. Trekking can take a long time because chimpanzees are very mobile and therefore jump from one tree to another in search for food or while playing.

After getting a chimpanzee group, tourists are given time to watch and interact with them while taking photos and this may take about an hour. Flash photography and a lot of noise making are however not allowed because it may distract the chimpanzees and even irritate them forcing them to attack you all which are very dangerous.

While in the forest, all tourists are required to avoid eating near chimpanzees, attempt to attack them and at least keep a distance of about 8 meters mainly because chimpanzees are wild animals and are very aggressive and unsociable incase provoked.

Important to note is that chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park are tracked in groups of six to minimize disease spread and minimize chances of behavioral changes. Earlier bookings are therefore highly recommended in order not to miss out on the unforgettable experience.

For safety and security purposes, Kibale forest national park has rules and regulations that all tourists must follow for example accessing the forest with the help of a guide, not allowing children below 12 years because the chimpanzee experience may traumatize them, avoiding flash photography, strictly following the guides instructions and keeping the tracking tourist groups.

Apart from tracking, tourists can also be allowed to take part in the chimpanzee habituation process. This is where tourists are allowed to be with chimpanzee researchers and habituates following the chimpanzee’sdaily activities of feeding, hunting, de-nesting until they rest. This is a full day activity intended to make chimpanzees get used to human beings presence in their habitats without altering their normal characteristics.

Tracking chimpanzees in Kibale forest is an advantage because it gives one a chance to view many other forest dwellers especially the impressive bird species (the forest has over 370 species), other primates like monkeys, beautiful butterflies and the evergreen plants and flowers.

The major essentials one should have while going for chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest include a water proof gear since rains are unpredictable and can occur at any time of the day, strong shoes with a good grip or boots to enable easy movement through the muddy areas in the forest plus a walking stick, enough drinking water and snacks because the chimpanzees may be got after long hours of trekking; and binoculars or a good camera for taking photographs.

Chimpanzees can be tracked at any time of the year but the best experiences can be got during the dry season because of limited rain fall disturbances.

The forest can be accessed by road and air transport; by road from Kampala via Kasese or Kampala via Mubende and fort portal or from Kampala via Mbarara and Kamwenge. This can be using a 4×4 or a local bus. Using air transport, charter planes fly from Kampala or Entebbe to Kasese airstrip 75 kilometers from fort portal, or to the airstrip in Semuliki wild life reserve which is 86 kilometers from Kanyanchu (Kibale forest visitor’s center) or to the Nyakisharara inMbarara 98 kilometers from Kanyanchu.

Those who would love to spend more days in the forested national park to learn more about the forest has in stock should not worry about accommodation and meals because the park has various lodges that offer standard meals and accommodation facilities. They include; primate lodge Kibale, Kanyanchu river camp and Sebitoli camping ground; these are within the parks proximity. Accommodation facilities outside the park include; Kibale safari lodge, chimp’s nest, Kibale forest camp, crater valley Kibale lake side resort and many others.

Would you like to enjoy chimpanzee tracking? Most Uganda safaris include chimpanzee tracking or habituation as one of the major highlights. Kibale National Park is the third most popular national park and many tour operators offer fully inclusive tours including watching these primates in their natural home.

Top 5 Budget Safari Destinations in East Africa

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Today most travelers want to see money value in every holiday vacation they take, making the demand of budget holidays high across Africa. Being one of the most beautiful continents with a lot to see and explore, many travelers find peace, joy and unforgettable experience every time they visit year round. Taking into consideration the prices of public transport, car hire services, accommodation, meals ,park entrances and free attractions, East Africa is the most amazing and cheap region to explore for any exclusive Africa Safari holiday at any budget without breaking the bank.  The region has countries like Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania the most attractive in wildlife, gorilla trekking, mountain climbing, chimpanzee trekking, Bird watching, beach holidays and many more.

Tanzania-Land of Wildlife and Mountains

The Land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Serengeti  and a main tourist hub for those planning to visit for massive wildlife viewing, mountain climbing, beach break and cultural excursions. It’s one of the inexpensive countries in Africa offering friendly costs with value in every tour aspect of its visitors. Tanzania is a place that tourists enjoy before and after their Tanzania vacation holidays. Dare salaam and Arushia are the major cities for spending more time after Tanzania safaris and vacations. Did you know Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa covering 937,062 sq km south of the Equator? It borders Rwanda Burundi and Congo (DRC) in the west, Kenya and Uganda in the north and Zambia, Malawi in the south making it easy for interested in exploring other countries in the region. However, Tanzania caters for all travel interests like wildlife, beach holidays, honeymoon, family adventures, mountain climbing birding to mention but a few since its one of the great wildlife gems in Africa. Mountain Kilimanjaro is one in a million and the many wildlife parks like Serengeti, Manyara, Tarangire, Ngorogoro etc.

Kenya- the Magical Land of Wildlife

Kenya is the best budget camping and luxury safaris destination in Africa for wildlife lovers especially those to Masai Mara, Aboseli, Nakuru, Tsavo Aberdare and many other Kenya wildlife park. The Masai Mara community is something you can’t miss out while in Kenya on your Kenya wildlife safari. Also Kenya tour operators offer a wide range from Kenya Budget Safaris to Joining group safaris, budget camping ,student safaris, beach combined holidays among others at pocket friendly prices any time of the year. Also the country has several budget hotels of all kinds, campsites for those interested in backpacking travel. With affordable park fees, transport and accommodation all Kenya attractions are a quick add up for any budget Kenya safari any time of the year. However, to catch up with the great wildlife migration in Masai Mara, July-October is the best time to visit Kenya. Time when massive wildlife cross from Serengeti to Mara and make high risk river crossings.

Rwanda-the land of thousand hills

With its historical treasures and beautiful landscapes, Rwanda is a cheap, impressive country for travel in Africa. There is a lot to explore in Rwanda for free including the multiple cultural attractions, Lakes, Rwanda genocides, Butare Museum etc. Besides, even when it comes to world most exciting wildlife adventures, Rwanda offers the shortest and cheapest in volcanoes national park. Public transport is cheap, car hire services are available making it easy for tourists to move around and connect to different tourist destinations in a cheap and affordable way. However, I recommend private transport for those heading out to track Rwanda gorillas in volcanoes national park because it’s easy to connect to the park head quarters and where the trek kicks off from. Remember, Rwanda’s prime attraction is mountain gorillas and most tourists to the country come to see mountain gorillas on different Rwanda gorilla trekking holidays. If you travel during the low tourist seasons, you will certainly enjoy great discounts on hotel rates but not on Rwanda gorilla permits though the park has plans of revising the prices during low season months.

Uganda – The Pearl of Africa

Uganda is a home for many budget safaris though most famed to the world for being the best budget gorilla trekking destination in Africa year round. Great discounts for gorilla and chimpanzee permits are found here in all primate parks including Bwindi forest, Mgahinga national park, kibale forest National park, Queen Elizabeth national park and Murchison falls national park. However, other Uganda parks offer great affordable experiences to travelers across the world. Imagine rafting the all with a bungee jump break in the afternoon on the source of the Nile at less than $200 dollars, seeing gorillas at $450 dollars, trekking chimpanzees at $50 dollars and also viewing wildlife at $20 dollars. What a great destination Uganda is in Africa with lots of fantastic adventures.

Experience a Safari in Ngorongoro Conservation Area

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Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a large area containing active volcanoes, mountains, archaeological sites, rolling plains, forests, lakes, sand dunes and Ngorongoro Crater, a true natural wonder of the world. The views at the rim of Ngorongoro Crater are sensational.

On the crater floor, grassland blends into swamps, lakes, rivers, woodland and mountains – all a haven for wildlife including the densest predator population in Africa.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The crater floor is home to up to 25,000 large mammals, mainly grazers – gazelles, buffalo, eland, hartebeest and warthog. You will not find giraffe since there is little to eat at tree level, nor Topi, because the competition with wildebeest is too fierce. On the ground floor, elephants are strangely mainly bulls.

A black rhino an endangered species

There are a good number of black rhino here, and the bird life is largely seasonal but superb.

In the northern, remote part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will find Olemoti and Empakaai craters and have a view of Lake Natron and Oldonyo Lengai.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority is the governing body regulating use and access to the NCA. The area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Land in the conservation area is multi-use, it is unique in Tanzania as the only conservation area providing protection status for wildlife whilst allowing human habitation. As such land use is controlled to prevent negative effects on the wildlife population, for example cultivation is prohibited at all but subsistence levels.

The area is part of the Serengeti ecosystem, and to the north-west, it adjoins the Serengeti National Park and is contiguous with the southern Serengeti plains, these plains also extend to the north into unprotected Loliondo division and are kept open to wildlife through trans-human pastoralism practiced by Maasai. The south and west of the area are volcanic highlands, including the famous Ngorongoro Crater and the lesser known Empakai. The southern and eastern boundaries are approximately defined by the rim of the Great Rift Valley wall, which also prevents animal migration in these directions.

The annual ungulate migration passes through the NCA, with wildebeest and zebra moving south into the area in December and moving north in June. This movement changes seasonally with the rains, but the migration will traverse almost the entire plains in search of food.

A Stroll in Tsavo West National Park

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According to most guidebooks, black rhinos charge out of fear, confusion, and panic. This happens frequently, due to their terrible eyesight. They have been known to charge tree trunks and termite mounds. I ask Karanja, the Kenya Wildlife Service officer I am following across the dusty thornlands of Tsavo West, a 3,500-square-mile national park in east Kenya, what the plan is in the event the rhino we are tracking charges. “You can dodge them easily,” he says, glancing at his transceiver, which he hopes will lead us to our subject. I hustle to keep up with his giant marathoner strides and think, What about the lions?

Photographer Kevin Arnold and I arrived here on assignment with a high-end safari company, but after a few days rattling around the desert in the van, dodging identical tourist vehicles, we realized we’d have to dig harder for a unique experience. We forced our poor driver to take us to park headquarters, where, interviewing the head warden, we asked if there were opportunities to accompany rangers on their scientific rounds. In fact, he said, there was just such a pilot program for tourists. Striking out cross-country on foot—normally a taboo practice here—sounded exciting. But it’s starting to feel like the time I embedded with a police unit and ended up helping arrest a meth addict who had a homemade bomb duct-taped to his hand.

Instead of finding the rhino—the transceiver turns out to be broken—we stumble upon eight frisky lion cubs, all of whom are delighted to see us, and two lionesses, who aren’t. You have no idea how loud a lion’s roar is until it’s directed at you. “Just keep walking,” says Karanja, his stride lengthening as we veer directly up a hill. The lionesses stand down. Karanja has had closer calls, he says later over a beer, with the assurance of a man who has it all under control. I ask him how many other people have gone out with him on this program. “You are the first,” he says.

DO IT: The Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, in Tsavo West National Park, allows volunteers to help with the full-moon rhino census in exchange for donations to the program. kws.go.ke/parks.’

Enjoy a Big Five Safari of Uganda

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The big 5 includes Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Cape Buffalo, Rhinos Plus Africa’s Best in Uganda comprising of the Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees the Forest Elephants and Forest Buffalos

The Big 5 was established by the Big Game Hunters in another time, big 5 was not just the size of the animals but the difficulty of hunting them. Nowadays the term is used by Tourism companies as well as Safari travelers to Africa and usually the only hunting is with a camera.

If you are planning to take a visit in Africa, Uganda safaris offers travelers not only the Big Five, but Big Five plus including Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Forest Elephants and Forest Buffaloes. To be able to see Rhinos, they are found in Zziwa Rhino Reserve on the way to Murchison Falls National Park where you can see most of the big 5.

The Lions in Uganda: Known as the King of the Animals is found in several Uganda national parks including, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park home to the tree climbing lions in the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park and a few found in the remote Kidepo Valley National Park and Semuliki National Park. There have also been sighted in Lake Mburo National Park and the lion is the most sought Big 5.

Leopards in Uganda: The leopards are found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park and Mount Elgon National Park. The leopards are mostly nocturnal, but touriats can take a nocturnal Game Drive at Queen Elizabeth Park and might spot some or during an early game drive in some of the above parks.

The Buffalos: Tourists can find the Cape Buffalo and also the smaller more reddish Forest Buffalos here in Uganda. They are quite powerful and can be found in many of Uganda’s national parks such Lake Mburo Park, Murchison Falls Park, Queen Elizabeth Parkand Kidepo Valley Park. The Buffalos are strong animals and no wonder was included on the list of the Bog 5.

Elephants of Uganda: Uganda comprises of both the savannah Elephants and the Forest Elephants which look bit smaller and hairier than the savannah cousins and you can find them in many Uganda National Parks and various settings such as the savannahs and in near forests. Elephants of the savannah or Forest variety can be found in all National Parks except Lake Mburo. The best parks to see Elephants includes the Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Parkand Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The Mountain Gorillas in Uganda: These are normally skipped out of the list of the big 5, the Mountain Gorillas are sought out by thousands each year and its featured attraction since it is the only East African country where you can find not only the Mountain Gorillas but a diversity of other African wildlife such as the Big Five. They are found in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga National Park.

Chimpanzees in Uganda: There are lots of chimpanzees found in Uganda and best park to track them is the Kibale Forest. A dense rain forest and a perfect habitat with more primates than any other place in East Africa. Tourists can also track chimpanzees in Budongo Forest near Murchison Falls, at the Kyambura Gorge at Queen Elizabeth Park and Semiliki Park. You can also partake in a habituation project for chimpanzee that will last all day long.

Another habitat for Chimpanzees is Ngamba Chimpanzee Island where orphaned Chimpanzees can seen close and actual interaction with chimpanzees can be arranged. Don’t miss out on the Chimpanzees of Uganda.

Best 8 Family Safari Experiences in Southern Africa

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There are lots of safari experiences that you can enjoy while on a family safari in Southern Africa. Here is a list of top family experiences…

“…Southern Africa has so much to offer:Beginning with leisure time in scenic Cape Town and Victoria Falls

  • Close up Big Five viewing in the private game reserves near Kruger in South Africa,
  • The unique water/land ecosystems of the Okavango Delta and grasslands of Moremi in Botswana,
  • The abundance of riverine regions in Botswana (Linyanti and Chobe), Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa in Zambia. In these areas you can view game by motorized boat, dug-out mokoros, and traditional canoes
  • Walking and tracking safaris in remote areas with top professional guides
  • The bushmen culture in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, and cultural visits to schools, village and schools in remote towns.
  • Dramatic scenery and remote wilderness of Namibia.
  • Beach getaways on the Garden Route, the Wild Coast or Maputaland Coast of South Africa.
  • Voluntourism at Matobo Hills, Mana Pools, and Hwange in Zimbabwe.”

24 Hour Bird Race in Madikwe Game Reserve

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I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days at Jaci’s Lodges in Madikwe Game Reserve as an initial attempt at a 24 hour bird race in the reserve, revolving around BirdLife South Africa’s Big Birding Day. The idea was to come in for a couple of days prior to the actual Big Day to scout around on the reserve and get a feel for the different habitats and where one could find the different birds and then have a go at the 24 hour race.

Jaci’s Lodges provided a great introduction to the reserve and what better way to get started than with the friendly welcome of the staff and the extremely comfortable accommodation in a very pleasant setting. With the units interspersed in some lush riparian woodland, a habitat that is pretty restricted on the reserve, one can get started on your bird list from the comfort of your own stoep. The continuous calling of Red-chested Cuckoos and the typical summer bushveld sound of Woodland Kingfishers churring away set the scene and, as one searches a bit more intently, you will also find things like Yellow-bellied Greenbuls, Kurrichane and Karoo Thrushes, African Paradise Flycatchers, Grey-headed and Orange-breasted Bush-shrikes and raucous groups of Meyer’s Parrots amongst others right around your room.

One of the other attractions at Jaci’s is the waterhole and sunken hide accessed from inside the camp. Other than the continuous stream of animals coming in to drink (we had incredible low level experiences with African Elephants in particular), the waterhole was literally an oasis for birds, whether they be waterbirds that are there almost permanently or other bush birds coming in to drink. Giant and Pied Kingfishers are regular while several species of heron and waterfowl were also present. Numerous Doves and other seed-eaters were also regular visitors and, even although we didn’t spend all that much time there, we still managed to accumulate a reasonable list of birds from there.

The one thing that one immediately notices about Madikwe Game Reserve is that it is a mixture of typical bushveld and more arid Kalahari thornveld, in other words, a typical east meets west situation. This is particularly obvious within the suite of birds available as well where, in a single morning, one can encounter both Black-chested and Tawny-flanked Prinias or both African Red-eyed and Dark-capped Bulbuls.

Birding Madikwe

During our short time at Jaci’s Lodges, we were also hampered a little bit by the weather having strong winds and heavy rain at times. Nevertheless, the birding activity never really slowed down too much and, during the heat of the day or during a storm, one could always find some activity around a small waterhole at least or get distracted by looking at any one of the myriad of amazing mammals that we also encountered there. Some of the birds that we really enjoyed seeing included the many calling Monotonous Larks, stately Kori Bustards, displaying Red-crested Korhaans, regal Martial and African Fish Eagles and colourful Black-cheeked and Violet-eared Waxbills while it was also great to enjoy species like Red-billed Oxpecker, Mocking Cliff-chat, Short-toed Rock Thrush, African Green Pigeon, Barred Wren-warbler, Temminck’s Courser, Grey-rumped Swallow and Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark.

Perhaps one of the most memorable things for me about Madikwe Game Reserve was the ease with which we encountered Yellow-throated Sandgrouse. The extensive plains of black cotton soils in the one section of the reserve are certainly a favoured haunt for this species and we had some of the best encounters there that I have ever experienced with this species. Out of the 4 Sandgrouse species occurring in Southern Africa, I have always found Yellow-throated to be the toughest one to pin down and I was blown away with the opportunities that we had on the reserve.

Bird MAdikwe

We effectively had just 1,5 days to scout the reserve before we attempted our Big Day and, with a final total of 170 species for the Big Day, I don’t think we did too badly at all. There were some common species that we had seen on the preceding days that we just couldn’t find on the Big Day, but that always happens anyway. Our efforts were also confined to just the eastern half of the reserve as that was the area that we had managed to scout beforehand. Given more time to get to know the reserve a little better and to stake out a few more species, I think it could certainly be achievable to be pushing the 200 species mark in a day, but that will take a lot of work… and a little bit of luck too!

All of the guides that drove us around were incredibly knowledgeable on the reserve and its animals, but two of Jaci’s guides in particular, Armand and Thomas, had good knowledge of birds as well and this certainly aided our cause as I was able to ask them lots of questions about where they had seen certain species on the reserve which we could then try and fit into our itinerary for the Big Day.

Madikwe Water Birds

One of Madikwe’s biggest avian attractions, which we unfortunately did not see on this trip, are the regularly occurring yellow morph Crimson-breasted Shrikes and this is certainly something that we hope to find on our next visit there…

Thank you to everyone at Jaci’s Lodges for a wonderful few days and some amazing birding. We are already looking forward to our next visit there and, hopefully, with a little more experience of the reserve now, we will be threatening that 200 species mark on our next Big Day!

Sylvester the Lion: Released into the wilderness at last

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Sylivester the Lion

There’s a big difference between 200 and 15 000 hectares, and it would appear as if the country’s most talked about lion, Sylvester, was all too aware of this.

It took him only minutes to move out of the enclosure that he’s been in since November, into the larger Kuzuko contractual area of the park, when the fence was cut over the weekend.

The two lionesses were released on Friday afternoon when a SANParks vet darted them and fitted one with a tracking collar. As they are never far apart, one collar will provide the location of both at any given time.

“On their first night out they caught a kudu and the very next morning a red hartebeest, confirmation that they can successfully fend for themselves in the wild,” said Addo Elephant National Park Conservation Manager, John Adendorff.

Sylvester the Lion
The lionesses of Sylvester’s pride have also been released ©SANParks

Sylvester and the other male were released on Saturday afternoon. A carcass was placed about 50 metres from a corner in the fence, the fence was cut and Sylvester was out first.  He headed straight to the carcass and started feeding, followed shortly thereafter by the younger male. “Sylvester is already showing signs of being the pride leader, on Sunday night chasing the females off their kill,” continued Adendorff.

Sylvester, too, has proven that he hasn’t forgotten how to hunt, having caught an adult black wildebeest on Monday morning.

“Now that it appears he finally has a place where he belongs, without threat, and the fact that he has bonded so closely with the younger male, we are confident that Sylvester will have no need to ever stray again.  His satellite tracking collar location is monitored regularly and easily provides us with an accurate assessment of where the two are,” Adendorff said.

Sylvester the Lion
Sylvester at home in the wild ©SANParks

Sylvester the lion – history: 

Sylvester first escaped from Karoo National Park on 5 June 2015 and managed to evade capture for over three weeks. After his capture he was fitted with a combination satellite/VHF collar to find his location should he manage to get out again. This collar then alerted authorities on 28 March 2016 that the lion had once again left the park’s boundary, and played a big role in tracking him and returning him back to the park much quicker – three days later on 31 March. There was then much deliberation about where he could be relocated to, and in May 2016 he finally arrived at Kuzuko.

The two lionesses arrived at Kuzuko in May 2015. They became a national news item in December 2014 when park authorities made a desperate plea for visitors to report any sightings of them after their mother died of a suspected snake bite. More than six weeks after they were last seen and long after park staff had given up all hope of finding them alive, new light arose when a guide alerted rangers that he may have spotted them on 10 January 2015. Although sceptical, the park’s rangers still went out and miraculously found the cubs – albeit severely malnourished and lethargic.

Finally, the younger male also has a tale to tell – being the only male in a litter born to Josie last year. He would have experienced the same fate Sylvester did had he been left in Addo’s main camp section of the park – being driven out of the pride and having to fend for himself, possibly even killed by older, more dominant lions. He was moved to Kuzuko to join Sylvester in June last year.

Exploring Tsavo East National Park

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The Tsavo East National Park is Kenya’s one of the largest and oldest Parks. Established in April of 1948, the Park is situated near a village known as Voi in the Taita District of Coast Province. The Park extends around 21,812 square km. The road and railway divides the Park into two sections- east and west.

Entry to the Park can be made through main gates, from Voi through the Manyani gate, from Malindi through the Sala gate, from Mombasa through the Bachuma gate. Savannah grassland is the core vegetation around the Tsavo East National Park. The River Galana, an important river in Kenya, passes through this Park. The landscape is unique and so attractive.

Wildlife

The Park is definitely one of the world’s largest game reserves providing a natural wild environment to its residents. If you can note down the list of animals you will be spotting, then your list would certainly contain aardwolf, yellow baboon, bat, cape buffalo, bushbaby, bushbuck, caracal, African wildcat, cheetah, African Civet, dik-dik, African hunting dog, African dormouse, Blue Duiker, bush duiker, red duiker, eland, African elephant, bat-eared fox, greater galago, gazelle, large-spotted genet, small-spotted genet, gerenuk, giraffe, African hare, springhare, Coke’s hartebeest, hunter hartebeest, East African hedgehog, spotted hyena, striped hyena, rock hyrax, tree hyrax, impala, black-backed jackal, side-striped jackal, klipspringer, Lesser Kudu, leopard, lion, banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, large grey mongoose, marsh mongoose, slender mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, black faced vervet monkey, Sykes’ monkey, fringe-eared oryx, clawless otter, ground pangolin, crested porcupine, cane rat, giant rat, naked mole rat, ratel, bohor reedbuck, black rhinoceros, serval, spectacled elephant shrew, bush squirrel, East African red squirrel, striped ground squirrel, unstriped ground squirrel, ibex, suni, warthog, waterbuck, common zebra, and Grevy’s zebra.
The Park also accommodates a vast and vivid variety of bird species. You can easily find at least 500 bird species here including kestrels, ostriches, buzzards, weaver birds, secretary birds, hornbills, herons and starlings.

Camping & Lodging

Tsavo East National Park has got one lodge, several tented camps and public campsites. Voi Lodge is a very scenic lodge you don’t want to ever miss. Being a hinge shaped and perched on the top of a cliff-faced hill, this excellent Lodge is appears to be overlooking the beautiful Tsavo East plains of Kenya and extending as far as the undulating terrain of the Yatta Plateaus.
The tented camps at Tsavo East are Satao Camp, Tsavo Safari Camp, Galdessa camp, Epiya Chapeyu Camp, Patterson Safari Camp, and Sobo. Ndololo, Kandri, Main gate campsites are the camping sites even though these lack even the basic facilities.

Fees/Permits

Tsavo Park is open from 6.30am to 6.30pm daily. To enter the Park, you should have a Smartcard. Smartcards can be obtained and loaded at Voi gate. The entrance fee for Adults is $40, $20 for Children and for Students it is $10. There is also reduction in fees for Kenyan citizens and residents.

When the Most Elusive of the Big Five Changes its Spots

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African Leopards

The wild is a strange place. You can spend years searching for something, always missing it by inches or seconds. Years hearing how everyone else has seen the most elusive creature of the African bushveld. You’ll stop and stare at every branch, discoloration or hanging vine hoping to be lucky enough to just catch a glimpse of a leopard in the wild. And then the next week? 3 of them will just wander up to your car in broad daylight.

This was the reality for Wild Frontiers director Debbie Addison on one of her trips to the Serengeti. Not one, not two, but three leopards. A mother and her almost fully grown cubs.
But, the best was yet to come. The mother brazenly wandered up to the car and Debbie was able to snap this smiling face as the leopard peered up towards her. What a stroke of luck! One moment that even left our guides awestruck.

We at Wild Frontiers specialize in trips to East Africa, with 3 of our own camps in the Serengeti, our own fleet of specially designed Safari Vehicles and the best guides in Africa. Currently, we’re running Ladies Only Safaris and a Serengeti Free Night Special so you can make 2017 the year you finally visit the Serengeti.

Email reservations@wildfrontiers.com to speak to a specialist Safari Designer today.

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