Educational to Kenya
We flew out with Kenya Airways to Nairobi and then took a domestic flight to Mombassa. The poverty along the road leading away from the airport was an eye opener for me but everyone waved to us as we passed! We arrived at our hotel where we were due to stay for a week and as we several hotel visits planned within this trip so there was not a lot of free time. However, typical agents we made the most of our time here!
We stayed in the Mombassa Beach Hotel - we were only here for a day and one night, so we didn't get to experience all of the hotel, but the staff were friendly and very welcoming. It is close to Mombassa but the hotel exuded an air of tranquillity with huge and well maintained tropical gardens that provide welcome shade in the heat of the day. It was overlooking beautiful the Indian Ocean with a stunning white sand beach suitable for sun bathing. They feature a lot of wedding and public functions here and hold conferences. All the 152 rooms have sea facing rooms and balconies.
The next day we were collected from our hotel and had our own private guide and jeep for a three-day safari trip! So exciting and the crowd of travel agents were all good fun and we got on well, so I was looking forward to this!
Well, after a few hours of travelling on the 'roads' - in the loosest terms - we reached Tsavo East National Park! The fantastic scenery and wildlife was worth the discomfort! Kenya is one of the best places to see the Big Five and on our first day here we saw Cheetah and Giraffes - such magnificent animals and so elegant! We had a game drive and our knowledgeable driver pointed out all the different wildlife that was here and stopped a few times for us to take pictures and just take in the view! Amazing. We arrived at our first night hotel - the Voi Safari Lodge - a good three-star property with a fantastic view from the pool are overlooking the savanna. There is a water hole that is close to the lodge and elephants, impala, and zebra to name a few, use it regularly. The rooms were decorated in colonial style with 4 poster beds and the much-needed mosquito nets and the food was amazing.
But the biggest highlight for me was that I was lucky enough to be able to have a very early morning balloon ride from a point in the park and we silently took off and travelled over Tsavo east at sun break! It is something else watching the sun rise over Mt Kilamanjaro and then landing in the park for a champagne breakfast! It was a while ago now, but this still holds a special place in my heart and memories!
After the balloon landed we were then collected and taken again by jeep to continue of exploration of the park. More animals were seen, and we were lucky enough to see two sleeping lions in the shade of a tree! Our driver got quite close and it was great to see these magnificent beasts so close up!
Our next night stay was at a tented camp! I was a little apprehensive of this, but my fears were unfounded. The camps are fully equipped with bathrooms and they are sprayed every night with mosquito repellent and this was the first night that I wasn't bitten!
We had a magical evening around the campfire late into the night and the night sky was stunning! So many stars in the dark sky - we were told stories by a Masai Mari warrior all wrapped up with blankets and hot chocolate! Lovely!
The next day we looked at some other hotels on our way back to Mombassa and these included Sentrim Lodge – a great place for honeymoons and Lion Hill Safari Lodge. We had another game drive and this time were lucky to come across a large herd of elephants! We were sat in the Jeep and the driver answered his radio then started to slowly reverse back away from the herd - we were not that close - but out from behind a clump of trees the large bull elephant approached with his ears flapping and his trunk swishing! We left quite quickly.
We then headed back to Mombassa and spent a few more days just relaxing at the Reef hotel - a lovely beach hotel with an amazing pool area. It’s a lovely family friendly hotel and very friendly staff - its right on the beach and you can walk out of your room and go down to the Indian Ocean and have a dip before breakfast then meander back through the garden and sit outside by the pool to eat your breakfast. It was just what was needed after the safari.
I was very lucky to have gone on this trip and would do it again - but I would take a fly safari next time. Easier on your bottom!