Safari in Mombasa

The night before we docked in Mombasa, Kenya my dad gathered my mom and I around after dinner to look at some old photos. They were from about 17 years ago when my dad and his dad went on a bicycle safari that ended at a resort in Mombasa. I had seen them before long ago, but this time they meant so much more because we would actually be there. So I flipped through the vaguely familiar pictures, laughed at how much hair my dad had back then, and also realized something important. I think going back to Mombasa had a great deal of sentimental value for my dad because shortly after their trip, his dad passed away. Although unspoken, we all knew this stop would be special in that way.

To celebrate my dad’s return to Mombasa after nearly 2 decades, we splurged on a one-day safari tour to Tsavo National Park. The ship offered several safari opportunities, but they were all 2 or 3 days long and my dad had to teach classes during that time. So after docking on the morning of the 11th, we were greeted by several Kenyan women offering us beads for good luck. We then met our guide, Chabby, and got onto our safari car. The guides from the ship had warned us that the roads were not in the best conditions but we really had no idea what we were in for. Let’s put it this way, the potholes in PA seem rather insignificant now. The road out of the port felt like an old roller coaster. It was fun for about 5 minutes but I think the older generation was relieved when we got on the slightly better main road.

Driving through the towns we still saw poverty similar to that of Mozambique, but Kenya had a much different feel. The people seemed happier and the children would wave and smile as we passed by. At the street corners they would hold out their hands and ask for sweets or pens. The women dressed in colorful outfits and carried large buckets on the heads and babies on their backs. I gained a lot of respect for those women after just a brief glimpse into their daily lives.

It took about 2 hours to get to Tsavo and once we arrived Chabby opened the roof of the safari car so we would have an unobstructed view. Inside the gate, we were welcomed by a massive elephant skull. Since it was the middle of the day, I didn’t set my hopes high on seeing many (live) animals. However, after only a couple minutes a few warthogs crossed the road. They were pretty ugly but any animal life was a good sign. We did in fact see many animals during our drive through Tsavo including gazelle, ostrich, impala (not the car), and zebra. The highlight of the drive was when we came across a herd of elephant with several babies. We also spent nearly the whole trip looking for giraffe and finally spotted a few towards the end of the drive. One of the other ladies in our car put it nicely when she said that they seem so awkward in zoos, but when you get to see them out here they are very majestic.


What a tourist…





When we reached the end of the park, Chabby took us to a resort where we had lunch. To commemorate my grandpa, we ordered a round of the local Tuskar beers, which my dad said they drank quite a few of on their trip. After lunch we admired the view and explored the resort. It’s built on a hill overlooking plains as far as you could see and a watering hole where some elephants were splashing around. We took several flights of stairs down to a barred-in, dungeon-ish area to have a closer look at the elephants. It was better than watching the Discovery Channel on the biggest TV with the best sound system.




I think we got lucky because about 10 minutes into our drive back to the ship, it started to rain. At that point, I decided to add Kenya to the list of countries I’ve napped in. It was a bit of a rude awakening once we got on the road/series of ditches that lead back to the port. Despite a few aches from the car ride, we all agreed our safari in Tsavo was another great adventure.