MOST safaris are memorable because the wildlife that you see up close and in the wild provide unique experiences. It doesn’t help, though, if some in your group –usually male for some reason –have cameras and bazooka-sized lenses that literally get in your face. A more discomforting factor is one that lasts for the duration of your trip: if, when you’re not totally absorbed by seeing lion cubs cavorting or a cheetah on the prowl, the quality of your creaturely comforts drops below a certain standard then something essential for a successful safari holiday risks going off the radar. What is needed, in other words, is a wildlife experience laced with luxury.
Riverside location for Galdessa Camp
East Kenya lets you have your cake and eat it, combining time in an under-visited national park with a beach holiday and guaranteed sunshine.
Elephant herd drinking near Galdessa Camp
Tsavo East National Park is not up there with the country’s iconic game park, Masai Mara, but that means no convoys of giant 4X4 jeeps snaking across savannah and halting at the same time to look at the same animals. Tsavo East is within half a day’s drive from Mombasa on the Kenyan coast and the most discreet accommodation is to be found at Galdessa. It is not close to the park’s entrance but quietly tucked away on the banks of the country’s second-longest river, the Galana, and this lends it a special quality.
Inside a Galdessa tent
The waterside location translates into activities in addition to game drives, most notably guided walks by the river and bush breakfasts, and whatever you do there will be no crowds. Tsavo East is huge in size and you could easily spend a morning looking at the wildlife – the chances of seeing lions is high and leopards are not rare — without ever coming across another vehicle. At Galdessa itself you may well see elephants at very close quarters as young ones like to follow the bank of the river to eat the fruit of the Rousseauesque doum trees. An escarpment prevents animals from entering the camp grounds from the river but your luxury, en-suite tent is close to the water so you may unzip and look out in the morning to find a baby elephant chomping away at a distance of a few metres.
After some days in Galdessa it will be time to see the island that is Mombasa. Half to one full day is enough time to see the town’s sights, principally the ochre Fort Jesus that the Portuguese built towards the end of the sixteenth century. A tour with African Mecca Safaris also brings you to the Akamba wood carvers’ cooperative just outside of town. You’ll see the carvers at work and the factory shop is choc-a-block with sculptures of every size and description. Bring an empty piece of luggage with you.
A room at Saruni Ocean hotel
There is nowhere decent to stay in Mombasa itself and the nearest place worth mentioning is the gregarious Voyager Beach Resort. Further north brings you to Malindi, a package-holiday resort area with all the virtues and vices that you might expect but before you get there look for Watamu, a Swahili village where nothing much happens. There is a five-mile stretch of beach here, with coral reefs, which keeps its low-key attractiveness intact because there is only one place of distinction when it comes to accommodation.
Lonno Lodge is perfect if you want to chill out in comfort for the Italian owners have built a lovely place that benefits from a pool, Mediterranean-style food and the beach 30 metres away. The tone of the place is set by your first drink that comes decorated with petals from the bougainvillea and frangipani that have been planted in the grounds.
Saruni Ocean infinity pool
Beaches are also to be found south of Mombasa and the most popular beach resort area is Diani but if you want to keeps the luxury lacing then head for Msambweni Beach. Few footprints are to be found on the sand because there are only two places to stay and they’re both on the small size. Saruni Ocean is the more attractive has better facilities, including a glorious pool and a spa that offers yoga sessions.
The pool at Saruni Ocean looks out to the Indian Ocean and the stretch of it that in 1496 Vasco de Gama sailed by, bringing the attention of Europeans to antique lands they had previously known nothing about. A trip to Tsavo East, with its multitude of wildlife and relatively few visitors, followed by a few days basking in the Kenyan heat to the north or south of Mombassa, and you will share some of the wonder that must have been experienced by de Gama and his crew when they explored a new part of their world.
by Sean Sheehan
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.