Tsavo West National Park Safari Guide | Kenya

Tsavo West National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya. Here is my Tsavo West National Park Safari Tour guide for Kenya.

Decide which park to visit

First of all, you need to decide which park you’ll want to visit. We booked a road trip which included Tsavo East, Amboseli and Tsavo West National Park.

• Nairobi National Park: Small park but perfect rhino sanctuary.
• Tsavo East National Park: Lots of wildlife
• Tsavo West National Park: Leopard and lion habitats!
• Amboseli National Park: Elephants, hippos, and view of the Kilimanjaro!
• Maasai Mara: Most famous reserve in Kenya where you can spot the big 5. This wasn’t on our trip but I definitely want to do this one day!

Read my Tsavo East National Park Safari Guide below!
» Tsavo East National Park Safari Guide | Kenya

Read my Amboseli National Park Safari Guide below!
» Amboseli National Park Safari Guide | Kenya

What wildlife can be spotted in Tsavo West National Park?

As I already said above, we chose Tsavo West National Park. This park has a lot of wildlife to show.

Driver & Guide

You can easily arrange a safari tour at your hotel, we did it with our travel agency.

Get up early or sleep in

We did a day safari in Tsavo West. We found that there were lesser animals in these parks than the other ones we did.

Bring along…

Let’s go do some safari!

Last chance to see our 5th and last animal to complete our big 5 bucket list!

1) Hippos

When we followed the river we eventually saw some hippopotamus but not that many. This is due to the extreme drought in 2008/2009. 90% of the hippopotamus died then (global warming is real people) and they are still trying to repopulate.

2) Elephants

After a while, we encountered an elephant climbing the nearest mountain. “When it’s going to rain, the elephants go up the mountain”, our guide said.

3) Giraffes

At a sudden moment, there was a big group of giraffes near the road. With every minute passing by, another giraffe appeared.

4) Lions

We almost went out of the park until our guide got a call. Someone had spotted another lioness. We all decided to turn back to see it. We were in awe. The lioness was eating a zebra (something you just cannot see in the zoo). Our guide informed us that the zebra was killed at around 11 AM (we arrived at 4  PM), yet there was no smell? Well, lions eat the intestines first in order to prevent the corps from decaying. They also eat out the eyes of their prey immediately because it’s the juiciest part of their prey, you can call it a delicacy. Afterward, the lioness sat down under a tree to regain her strength and to wait for the other lionesses to return with the alpha lion (which we did not see, unfortunately).

5) Leopards

When we just thought we wouldn’t see a leopard, then suddenly the guide told us to be very quiet and to not make any sound. The leopard was right in front of us. The leopard decided to pass our jeep (1-meter distance!) before going into the bushes. When the guide drove away, he told us that a leopard could get into the jeep in 3 seconds and kill everyone. Definitely a rule to remember.

Mzima Springs

We had our lunch at Mzima Springs in Tsavo West National Park. In Mzima Springs you can enjoy the view of an area covered in dried up lava. You can also visit a water tank. If you’re inside the tank, you can see a part underwater and a part above water. Unfortunately, we spotted no hippopotamus due to the drought.

This safari was so wonderful and adventurous! We were so lucky to see all of the above animals. We returned to our hotel with big smiles on our faces.

I hope these tips will help you with your safari in Tsavo West and that the photos have given you a taste of what a safari in Tsavo West could be!

Life of a Passion