| 1888 Articles Home | Travel Articles | Travel RSS |  |
||
Travel Tips Kenya |
||||
|
A brief article of what a visitor wanting to visit the World Famous Amboseli National Park expect to see. |
||||||||||||
| Author: Dave |
|
|||||||||||
The Lake as usual is dry, mirages shimmers from afar offering hope for the thirsty that are about to come upon the waters only for them to find that its only a trick of the eye-sun’s rays playing on the barren sand.
Amboseli gets its name from this dry pan of a lake. The Masai call it Emposel, meaning the salty dust that lies on the lake. The lake only fills a few inches during a good rainy season and the sun suck it’s all during the dry season leaving noxious salts where not a blade of grass grows.
Apart from the lake Amboseli is fascinating, the whole landscape is filled with Africa mega and mini herbivores and the cats all in a tiny 395 squire kilometer National Park. But its most notable mega giant is Mount Kilimanjaro all highest peak which lies just beyond the border in Tanzania.
At Namanga, the border town we stop to buy some Masai artifacts from the local Women who are the undisputed queens of bead work in which color and design traditionally communicated more than just interesting combination.
Past this busy town we turn left and head to Amboseli.The terrain is filled with grass and the graceful Acacia tortilis.A herd of Giraffes and Zebras appears tiny dig-diks darts into the bushes and on the umbrella spread of the thorny acacias hang golden nests of weaver birds.
This is Eden and we not even reached Amboseli.Our spirits begin to lift despite the cloud keeping the might Kilimanjaro hidden. No problem though, with two night in Amboseli we’re sure to see Africa tallest mountain.
We drive through the Meshanani gate and a swirling dust devil begin from the base of the earth, gathering the dry dust particles with its force driving the dry brown dust plumes sky high.
The scene changes again from the tall grasses and dry forest to a more stark terrain, the mirage appear so blue in the distance that UN innocent onlooker would take it for water. More dust-devils, ore giraffes, zebras and plain game in the dry lands. And then the vivid stark changes from dry to green of the swamp where Amboseli animals are gathered for water and food.
I have never been here before and am surprised with this forest with wilder beast, pretty gazelles and antelopes taking a rest in the midday sun.By the time we reach our perch for the night its lunch time and a herd of seven elephants standing by the fence of Kenya wildlife services compound welcome us. Up close they are massive the true giants of the Amboseli and our kids are thrilled. The elephants continue to foliage unperturbed by us and we drive to the lodge after a few minutes. Here we are received by the lodge manager and a short while later ushered into our room to wash our dust.
Outside the savanna awaits, after lunch we take a little walk around the lodge to digest our food as we await the evening game drive. As we stroll to the fence the elephants on the other side are so close we can see the bump on the big elephant knee as he walks with a stiff leg. It’s so peaceful the elephants so huge and lumbering around the fence as the monkeys playing without care in the world.
After tea we are off to our evening game drive and follow the swamp thread flanked on either side with dry white dust so that even the elephants look comical with white-dust backs. Ostrich dance and parade on the plains and there’s just about every animal on this part of the world. All too soon its 6.30 and we’ve not even been to the other side of park, we`ve just to leave that one for tomorrow.
Driving back to the lodge, we all remark that the animals seem to be setting for Kilimanjoro especially the elephants and the Wild beast.This mystery is explained by the senior resident warden. These are not resident there are only 200 resident elephants in the park.
The Amoseli ecosystem which the National park is part of is surrounded by some group ranches where more than 1000 elephants live. During the day the elephants and other game come to the swamp for water and in the evening move to their dispersal areas. It all got to do with water explain the senior warden.
After two nights in the Amboseli we head back to Nairobi with great memories of this fascinating Amboseli the land of the giants.
By :David Kiarie
Email;dkiarie@beyondkenyasafaris.co.ke
About Author
Am a Travel operator and writer in Kenya.I have a vast knowledge of the Tour and Travel industry in Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda and Rwanda.
http://www.beyondkenyasafaris.co.ke
Article Source:
http://www.1888articles.com/author-dave-3429.html
Other Related Articles Enhance business prospects though Commercial Business Loans by Bonnie Castle Slender and Strong: Samsung D900 by grace Benzaclin: Managing Acne Effectively by Adam Frazer Travel Tips Kenya by Dave Fake Grass is Growing by Nick Warren |
