Tsavo East National Park Day Safari from Mombasa

Tsavo East National Park

Tsavo East was established in 1948 and covers roughly 13,700 square kilometres of savannah, scrub and riverine woodland east of the Mombasa to Nairobi highway, which makes it the largest national park in Kenya. Its flat, open country, dotted with acacias and baobabs and crossed by seasonal rivers, is easier for spotting animals than the hillier Tsavo West next door, and the southern section around Voi is the part most visited on a Tsavo East day trip from Mombasa.

The park is famous for elephants in large numbers, lions, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, elands, lesser kudus, gerenuks and ostriches, with cheetahs and leopards present but shy. Birdlife is rich all year, with hundreds of species recorded. From the coast the drive to the Bachuma gate takes two and a half to three hours, so an early start gives you a full morning and early afternoon inside the park before the return.

The red elephants of Tsavo

No other park in Africa has elephants quite like these. Tsavo's soil is a fine red laterite rich in iron oxide, and the elephants coat themselves in it when they dust-bathe and wallow, turning the colour of brick. Tsavo holds the largest elephant population in Kenya, and in the dry months herds of dozens gather at the dam, the river pools and the waterholes near Voi, often with calves tucked between the adults.

Your driver-guide knows where the herds have been drinking that week and will position the van so that everyone has a view from the pop-up roof while keeping the distance the park requires. Watching a family bathe and spray red mud is usually the moment of the day. Elephants are seen on nearly every visit, though as with all wildlife nothing can be guaranteed.

Aruba Dam and the Voi River

Aruba Dam was built across the Voi River in the early 1950s and created a reservoir that has become the heart of the southern park. In the dry season, when the river shrinks to pools, the dam is one of the most reliable places in Tsavo East to see elephants, buffalo, waterbuck, zebras and impalas coming to drink, with crocodiles in the shallows and hundreds of waterbirds, from storks and herons to Egyptian geese and kingfishers.

Lions are often found resting under the trees along the river, and the swampy Kanderi area nearby is good for waterbuck and buffalo. The guide works a loop from the Voi gate through this river country, which is the most productive part of the park for a day visit. The game drive here lasts a couple of hours each way, with stops whenever something interesting appears beside the track.

Mudanda Rock

Mudanda Rock is a long outcrop of bare rock, about a kilometre and a half from end to end, rising from the plains between the Voi and Manyani gates. Rain running off its flanks collects in a natural dam at its base, and from the top you look straight down onto the water. In the dry season elephants, buffalo and antelope queue up to drink while you sit above them, one of the few places in Tsavo where you can leave the vehicle and watch on foot.

The climb is short and easy, with the guide leading the way, and the view across the red plains to the Yatta Plateau on the horizon shows the sheer size of the park. It is a good spot for a packed lunch and for stretching your legs between game drives. Many guests ask what the best time to visit Tsavo East is: for scenes like this, the dry months from June to October and January to February are hard to beat.

The road from the coast

The safari begins long before the gate. The route follows the coast road and then the Mombasa to Nairobi highway through Mariakani and Samburu, where the lush coastal strip gives way to dry bush country. Traffic is light at that hour and the drive is part of the experience, with the sun rising over the plains and the Taita Hills coming into view ahead. A short comfort stop is made on the way.

Day visitors enter through the Bachuma gate on the highway and exit through the Voi gate, which cuts driving time inside the park and leaves more of it for animals. Park entry fees are paid at the gate by card and are not included in the tour, and lunch is taken at a lodge inside the park or as a packed meal, paid locally. The van is back on the coast in the early evening.