Justin from USA, Colorado, wrote me the following inquiry:
"I've been trying to book a 5-day camping safari that goes from Nairobi to Mombasa, but I'm travelling alone, and the only company I found needs a minimum of 3 people in order to take the trip. So it's likely that it won't work out. Do you offer camping safaris as well? I could always catch the train from Nairobi to Mombasa and then take some trips from there. I wanted to see Tsavo and Amboseli if possible."
I made Justin an offer and itinerary for the whole safari. It turned out to be exactly what he was looking for. We exchanged phone numbers to be able to text message/call each other when he would arrive in Kenya, and I promised to pick him up from his Nairobi hotel.
On the 24th of June I drove from Mombasa to Nairobi to meet Justin in the evening. The following morning we woke up at 6:00 am and hit the road 30 minutes later. By 09:00 am we arrived in the town of Emali for breakfast, filled up the gas tank, did some shopping and headed towards Oloitoktok. Justin wanted to visit the town. It was a market day so there were a lot of people, including some Masai, everywhere selling and buying goats, sheep, cereals, and fruit.
From Oloitoktok we drove towards Amboseli national park, Kimana public camping site. We pitched the tent, prepared some fruit salad for lunch, visited a Manyatta Masai village and went for an evening game-drive and sighted a group of lions. I was the chef and Justin helped me to prepare ugali and beef for dinner. We were the only campers during that night.
On the second day we had breakfast and packed our lunch ready for the full-day game drive. There were lots of baboons, hundreds of elephants, zebras, gazelles, on our way to the observation hill. The place is so beautiful and amazing with the Lake Amboseli lying beneath. We saw hippos grazing on the grasslands, countless elephants, gnus, birds, warthogs, hyenas, and giraffes. Unfortunately Mt. Kilimanjaro was covered in clouds, but the weather was warm. Back in the camp we prepared early dinner before dark.
On the third day we drove to Kimana gate to inquire escort convoy, but the officers told us that it wasn't too dangerous so we drove back to Oloitoktok again for shopping. Then we headed towards Tsavo west stopping on the way for taking photos of schools, animals, and landscapes. We had ample time all alone at the Shetani lava before any tourist van made its way to the site. Then we droveto the KWS Tsavo west camping site a kilometer away from the Chyulu gate, the best camping site in the area. A friendly warden organised us some firewood for the evening bonfire.
I prepared a fruit salad and we headed to the game drive to Mzima springs to see the beautiful forest of Acacia and other trees, hippos, crocodiles, fish, and countless monkeys. When Justin saw the Chaimu hill, Justin wanted to hike up. For me, it was the first time to climb up the hill. On the top we took some photos and spotted an eagle. That was a great moment. When driving away we saw a young dick-dick (What is this? Never heard of that. Perhaps you could explain it a bit to readers?) in front of us. Justin took a photo and just after that, the the eagle grabbed the poor animal. We witnessed the eagles feast in the bush. Rhinos in the Rhino sanctuary were a bit camera-shy and hid under thickets. We saw loads of antelopes, giraffes, elephants and buffaloes on the way back. For the dinner we prepared some beef with pasta. We were again the only campers around.
On our fourth safari day we headed to game drive and exited the park through the Mtito Andai gate. We stopped in a town called Voi to get some food and refuel our van, and continued to Tsavo east national park through the Voi gate. There were hundreds of elephants, a lot of giraffes, and zebras. Before pitching our tents in Ndololo public camp site we went to witness lions mating near Aruba. This exclusive and exceptional performance happened five times in 20 minutes. Lions are aggressive during this 2-week mating period, so one has to be very careful. Before dinner and camping, we drove a bit around and got attacked by a mob of crazy monkeys trying to steel our cabbage. The park ranger came to our rescue and scared them away with a sling.
We managed to cook the dinner in turns to fight the intrusive parasites, mosquitoes, while elephants were gazing at us. We heard that there were lots of lions around, too. Our campfire kept the wild animals away from our tent at night, but in the middle of the night, Justin woke up and whispered that the fire was off. We were again the only campers - this time among screaming hyenas, mooing elephants and roaring lions. The fix to the problem was sleeping the rest of the night in turns.On the fifth and last safari day we washed the dishes after breakfast and packed the car. On the game route we saw many animals including a mating ostrich couple. The male ran incredibly fast away from the female right after he had finished. We travelled through Bachuma gate down to Mombasa, had a late lunch at the Coast dishes restaurant. I booked Justin to Baobab beach resort for the next night.
Our safari ended on the 29th of June. We made our own plans and schedule, and realized them as agreed. According to Justin, the safari had fulfilled his wishes and he was happy. Thank you for choosing me, Justin.
