Your landfall in Africa is rewarded by a journey of a lifetime. Tsavo East holds the treasure that is Africa. Your journey takes you into the interior, where herds of wildebeest, prides of lions, solitary cheetahs, elephant, rhino and other animals roam. Tsavo East National Park occupies much of the hinterland between the Kenyan coast and Nairobi, a vast expanse of 8,000 square miles, one of the largest game sanctuaries in the world. Much of this huge area of savannah and acacia woodland, famous for its large population of elephants, is primitive and undeveloped.

Your journey inland from Mombasa will take you through towns, villages, and farmland. Many people travel this route – in trucks, cars, buses, and on foot. So a cornucopia of Kenyan life is on view as you journey the bumpy road that is life in the bush. Believe it or not this is the main highway into the interior of East Africa, and you can follow it all the way through Kenya and on to Uganda.

Your game drive will begin as soon as you enter Tsavo East. This park is a good place to see leopard, cheetah, eland, klipspringer, gerenuk, fringe-eared oryx and lesser kudu–a spectacular creature with spiral horns and a white-striped coat. Among the 500 species of birds that have been recorded in Tsavo National Park are the abundant white-headed buffalo weaver and diverse species of hornbill. The park is also home to thoUSAnds of elephants. Tsavo’s lions were made famous in the book The Man-eaters of Tsavo, and later portrayed in the movie The Ghost and the Darkness. In the midst of your game viewing, you will stop for a rest and a tasty bush lunch taken in the open, Kenyan style, which means a hint of European formality with a lot of African flavor.

Another game drive follows after lunch, as your driver expertly sets off in pursuit of the animals. Rocky hills, high viewpoints, and endless dry scrubland create a harsh beauty. Stunning landscapes and the sense of solitude you feel in this vastness really put you in touch with the heart of Africa.

Tsavo is also on the forefront of conservation; the black rhino is making a strong comeback, and here in this immense and untamed park also runs the Galana River. The river is the theatre for some of Tsavo’s best wildlife sightings, as elephant, rhino, buffalo and antelope come to drink while predators lurk in the shade. The wildlife remains very wild, less disturbed by safaris due to the sheer size of the territory.

Later in the afternoon you’ll leave the park and head for Mombasa to continue your odyssey on the Seven Seas Mariner. Dress in layers. A hat and sunscreen are essential. The roads are bumpy and the ride long, but the day will bring rich rewards in sightings of life in Africa--both wild and domestic.