Kenya’s Biggest Park Is One of Africa’s Great Lost Worlds
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If you have your own vehicle and can explore farther afield – and even drive into the virtually unexplored region north of the Galana River – you’ll find that Kenya’s biggest national park (roughly the same size as Israel when combined with Tsavo West) is a unique adventure. Only the area nearest Voi (on the Mombasa–Nairobi highway) sees high levels of tourism. Ndololo Campsite, about 8km from Voi Gate, is a wonderful public campsite that is frequently the haunt of elephants, hyenas, lions and (unfortunately) big troops of baboons. After the ivory poaching horrors of the ’70s and ’80s, Tsavo East is once again becoming one of the gems of Kenya’s national parks and the great elephant herds are on the increase. A couple of decades back, the park was basically one immense thicket of scrub-bush and wildlife spotting was challenging, to say the least. Now the elephants are making massive inroads into opening the country up (with the help of occasional bushfires) and much of the park is once again covered in savannah, and even spectacular sections of open desert.