March 2018 and the office is so boring, being a branch office, most people had the feeling that it was just the branch that was boring since the rest of Kenya seemed to be having fun. The year started rough with incidences here and there, mistakes, meetings and lots of stern conversations. My desk being so swell, I really did not have the time to engage in the ‘fact find mission’ on why the branch was such a boring place to be; however, I was ready to participate in any plans that came up to make the office a more lively and homely place to be at. So yeah a fun committee was formed best believe the Kenyan National government teaches its citizens a lot and let’s just say it was only fair if we borrowed a leaf 🙂 .The committee came up with this amazing plan that was pocket friendly and still within the coast but yet again a couple of days to the trip…7/30 folks only made the commitment. I know I felt like bailing on this considering the fact that a good number of the folks on board were mainly acquaintances but i still gave it a shot and here goes the adventure.
Saturday April 28th 2018
The morning pick started as early as 0400hrs and I was among the last to be collected from the CBD at 0500hrs. The crisp chilly morning had us all quiet in the van and covered in tiny blankets. The driver was left with the company of the gentle whispers from the radio that could hardly be heard from the back of the Safari van. The van…she was a beast with tyres screaming out loud ‘ I am from Michelin and not Pirelli 🙂 , the fresh roar of the engine, smooth switch in gears as we drove off and zero emission from the exhaust was a safety assurance in the wild. Yes, I love cars and had to inspect the basics of this ride. Slowly day light brightened the environment and so did the attempted chill that came with the morning fade off. The coast is hardly ever cold but at this time of the year Kenya gets a bit cold hence the reason why I refer to the chill as attempted. The squad now gets into an upbeat mood and convos get loud, laughs more vibrant as the whispers from the radio now disappear. ‘John what music do you have in this thing? and can we give you a flash disk…’ a common phrase from any Kenyan squad on a road trip and that just means let’s get the party started 😉 The music goes up and the van just warms up in the most magnificent way right before we stopped for breakfast at MacKinnon road. I bet most of you have spotted the curio shop on the road but never really known that they serve scrumptious meals as well. Breakfast was earlier planned so by the time we got there our food was ready in a few minutes. Fried beef, chicken, tea and chapatis heavy as it was we finished it all. Some face beats for the girls a little freshening up by all, a few pictures and off we drove into Taita-Taveta county. Tummies now full the only next thing to be emptied was the cooler box that we had stuffed with liquor earlier. The party was great already and the small office representation now turned into good friends with chuckles and jokes here and there. No ground rules set except for bring all the fun music and jokes to make this trip the best of them all.
We arrived at Voi at around 1100hrs and filled up our cooler box with more supplies from a local store at a petrol station since we were headed into a deep area and generally supplies were cheaper at a station away from the main lodge. The terrain now exceptionally beautiful with the few rains already transforming the environment into a vibrant green. The hills stood majestic at a distance with perfect cloud cover and oh the temperatures were just perfect. The drive was so breathtaking, the country feel was so crunchy and air so crisp I could feel the freshness with every breathe making this one of the best choices I ever made. Travel has never been a wrong choice from my experience anyways. We then got to a dirt road now with the Sarova signage clear every few meters and one or two animals grazing on the tantalizing vegetation cover.
1230HRS and we check in at the Taita Taveta Lodge, this is the central check in point for guests at the Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge. We were a happy group of people and there were many other groups of tourists from all over the world. The locals were a hand full though just goes to show how we need to tembea Kenya a bit more as locals.
Taita Taveta Lodge is also the place where we had lunch and this being sarova, it was definitely a ten! All filled up and set we headed back into the dirt road and drove in now seeing more animals and the Safari feel in full gear. The views got more natural and we spotted the lodge rooms standing on the stilts from afar and all of us were all so wowed and taken aback by the beautiful architecture of the salt lick lodge from afar. Serenity redefined!
We had a few minutes in our rooms then headed out for an evening safari which started at exactly 1600hrs. Several other travellers with their vans and the drivers coordinated on the walkie-talkies every so often on where to find the animals. The lions, the wild beasts the dikidikis, zebras, heart beasts, and more were all scattered within the vast park. This being a wet season, most animals were away in the deeper sides of the park and it wasn’t so easy to spot as many animals as one would during the dry season. In the dry season, the animals come into the lodge in search of water at the waterholes below the stilts and food. I reckon the name salt lick may have gotten its origin from these iconic manmade waterholes under the stilts at the lodge.
The season did not make the lodge any bad in fact I loved it then since the views were so serene and we still spotted herds of buffaloes, zebras, dikidikis and more grazing until the sunset. We then got back to the lodge just after sunset and the stilts looked so beautiful lit up from a distance as we approached the lodge.
Dinner started from 1900hrs onward and I must say the service was exceptional with the staff working efficiently and timely; hardly did we have to seek for help with anything since the waiters served us at the right time. After dinner, some guests continued having convos and chill at the lobby and others went down the underground tunnel and bunker that had ground level windows to see the night creatures. This being a wet season, there weren’t so many animals on sight but we still appreciated a few creatures. Guests are now allowed to go to bed at their own time but highly discouraged from getting out of the lobby since there is a risk of bumping into wild animals as the lodge has no electric or man-made perimeter walls.
SUNDAY 29TH April 2018.
The day starts with the guests stepping out for the morning safari with hopes of spotting more animals and in this case the king of the jungle for us since we spotted two lions from very far the previous day. We were lucky to spot a lioness and her two cubs just chilling, we also saw a few more animals then drove back to the hotel for breakfast and check out.
We checked out at around 1100hrs and the drive back was extremely therapeutic. We got to know each other better via exciting games and opened up to each other and till date the trip remains special to the seven of us. The trip brought us together and made us understand each other better us colleagues and in the end strengthen our relationships as individuals. Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge is highly recommended and stands highly rated in my travel experience.
Have a lovely travel Tuesday!
MY MELANGE 