Patty

Yes those hippos in the nice morning light were in the Tsavo river.

atravelynn

Did you see the Sykes Monkeys and the Giant Forest Hog on the Sandai property or in surrounding forest or on a drive or walk? Where were those guys?

Thanks.

joeyi

lynn,

Those were all seen in the Aberdares, which is about 15- 20 minutes from Sandai.

atravelynn

So you did a game drive in the Abaerdares? Or did you go on a walk and see them?

Was this an area that anyone could visit, such as someone staying at The Ark who had a guide and vehicle and did a drive?

Do you recall if you were told it was very rare to see these or if it was typical?

Thanks for the info.

Patty

Lynn,
We did an all day game drive in Aberdare NP. Anyone can visit the park though I'm unsure if a private guide could drop you off and pick you up at the Ark. Most Ark guests are shuttled from Aberdare CC in Mweiga but you could check. There are also KWS self catering bandas/houses inside the park. I've visited but not stayed at Tusk Camp and Fishing Lodge and they're both fine with Tusk Camp being a bit more rustic. We've seen Sykes monkeys on every game drive in the Aberdares but we saw a higher number this time. Prior to this trip, we'd seen 1 forest hog in 4 game drives so seeing so many on one drive was definitely a treat! I'd say we had a particularly productive day this trip.

joeyi

plus we also saw lots of colobus monkeys. one really active troop on our way back down.

On our first trip to Kenya (Dec 2006) we spent a night at the Ark and you had to meet and be picked up at the Aberdare CC like Patty mentioned. For an extra fee you could have a game drive on your way to the Ark as opposed to going in the bus. We opted for the game drive and it was well worth it. We did see one forest hog but way way way off in the distance.
We very much enjoyed our night at the Ark, it was a good experience and i would recommend one night there if you have never been.

atravelynn

Thanks for the additional info!

Patty

Updating with working photo links:

Sandai
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AZNnDlk5Ytmb5I

Nairobi
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AZNnDlk5Ytmb7A

Ithumba
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AZNnDlk5Ytmb9Y

Galdessa
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AZNnDlk5Ytmb_Q

Finch Hattons
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...ZNnDlk5YtmbCCg

sallysaab

Ha ha, I tried the old link 5 minutes ago, thanks for updating.
Lynda has done a "Packing List" so I think you and Leely should make up a "Possible shopping" list for people going to Ithumba!

Patty

At the top of our list would be wine and chocolate

CaliNurse

Patty, i am getting a "proxy server" error message when clicking on your recent photo links

Patty

Hi CaliNurse, I tried just now and can see them.

Can anyone else see them?

uhoh_busted

yep. I've had that problem with the "migration" of the photo galleries, too.

Patty

Uhoh_busted,
Are you saying you can't see the pics on the new updated photo links either?

sallysaab

Patty, I just looked at the Ithumba photos again and they work just fine for me.
Dot
P.S. I've crossed off fruit and vege and replaced them with choc and wine, lol.

Patty

<i>I've crossed off fruit and vege and replaced them with choc and wine, lol.</i>

Atta girl!

CaliNurse

Patty, Thanks. I tried again and all is fine. Thank you for the photos!! I wanna go back!!!

Darn, why does it have to be so darned expensive just to get there???