Greetings from Amboseli National Park

While in Nairobi, Kenya recently, my companions and I took a train ride and the experience was fascinating.

The anticipated trip started off on a good note with an early breakfast. It signalled the beginning of our long adventurous day in Kenya.

At 6:30 in the morning we were picked from the Ole Sereni hotel to Syokimau train station. We arrived early enough for checking in formalities for our train ride to Emali.

We boarded our first-class cabin in the Madaraka Express, a passenger train serving the Nairobi -Mombasa route.

The Madaraka Express runs on Standard-Gauge Railway (SGR) line. It takes up to four and a half hours to travel between Mombasa and Nairobi. A bus drive on the same route takes more than 8hours, so the new SGR line optimises on passengers’ time and is liked by both tourists and locals.

Way down towards our destination, the vegetation changed to signal the beginning of the expansive savannah grassland which covers much of Ukambani and Maasai land.

The serenity of vegetation and landscapes came into view often until we alighted at Emali station.

After one and half-hours of experiencing the services of the Madaraka Express, which included a cup of coffee or Tea with pastries, it was good to see a new day in Kenya after daybreak.

At Emali we found land cruisers ready to take us to Amboseli National Park, nearly two hours drive away. Julius from Kenya Tourism Board, a cheerful driver cum guide was a man on the wheels. He took the time to engage us with different information about the areas we were passing until we reached the gate of the Amboseli National Park which stands out from the surrounding jungle.

Julius said “there are two reasons to visit Kenya’s Amboseli National Park: One it is a great park for viewing elephants because they always seem to be on the move throughout the park. Two, to witness the extraordinary view of Mount Kilimanjaro which is in Tanzania. It is from Amboseli National Park that you can see the fullness of the iconic view of the rooftop of Africa.”

We were cleared at the Amboseli National Park gate around midday. After a short drive into the Park, we started seeing various wildlife species such as zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, impalas, gazelles and later, a herd of elephants.

With the top of our safari Land cruiser popped open we got fantastic views across the surrounding plain landscape of the Park, including plenty of bird species such as flamingos, vultures and more.

What I liked about Amboseli, a UNESCO Man Biosphere Reserve, is the fact that it provides the chance to easily see large herds of elephants. I counted at least 20 elephants in a single view before arriving at our base, Ol Tukai Lodge.

After having our late lunch at the lodge and a few minutes break after checking in, we headed out to find the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP)

AERP is a scientific arm of Amboseli Trust for Elephants, a non-profit organisation that has spent decades to promote elephant conservation, among others.

We had a detailed briefing from Mr Saruni on different activities carried by the elephant project since it was started in the 1970’s.

Next was a visit to Ilkangere, a Maasai village which is found near the Park. Here, Daniel Ketukei took us through the Maasai lifestyle which revolves around herding and keeping cattle and the wealth of medicinal plants. Visitors are taken around the Maasai Boma as part of the visit, where the Maasai selling Maasai ornaments.

To end our day we were invited to a sundowner which offers a perfect view of the sunset against the Mount Kilimanjaro backdrop at the Observation Hill. The Observation hill is one of the highest spots in the park that gives visitors a 360-degree view of the park and here we enjoyed our drinks and eats.

The senior warden of Amboseli National Park, the veteran Kenneth ole Nashuu gave us a full and comprehensive history of the park, including the meaning of Amboseli which means ‘salty dust’ in Maasai language.