Aberdare National Park
On the edge of the rift valley, around 100km from Nairobi, the Aberdare National Park is described as 'the most exciting of Kenya's parks' due to its intrinsic beauty and the wide diversity of flora and fauna within a variety of habitats. The western slopes of the range are principally part of the Rift wall, affording steep slopes not conducive for game, although the moorlands possess stunning waterfalls and views. The lower and warmer 'Treetops salient' still has steeply-sloped forest ridges with fast flowing trout streams, but this area is stocked with wildlife, many specific to the Aberdares. The water run-off from the mountains (and Mount Kenya) is critical for the provision of drinking water for Nairobi.
We were fortunate to be staying at the private Rhino Retreat, a 3 bedroom cottage (built by British Royal Engineers in 1993 as an aid project) secluded in the hills above the Ark and controlled by the 'Rhino Art' charity. Rhino Ark is a fund raising initiative to benefit the local communities around the Aberdares, through fence and forest management, and the creation of wildlife sanctuaries - notably for the rhino as its name suggests (the charity has a website - www.rhinoark.org). The Retreat has its own waterhole, with an almost constant stream of animals, in particular 3 bull elephants, herds of buffalo and bushbuck.
We were unsurprised when one bull elephant charged the drinking buffalo, who were sharing the waterhole. He lowered his head and tusks in the charge, but at the last minute, he raised his head so as not to gore the buffalo. Interestingly, the buffalo did not run far, appeared unperturbed and kept trying to come back to drink.
We visited the Ark; inside it looks like a ship, with decks and small cabins. At one end there is a balcony (on the B deck) overlooking a large waterhole which is lit up at night. The restaurant overlooks the waterhole on the lower of the 3 decks. Interestingly there was a hanging table on which food was being put out for the birds to eat. Many of the guests were waiting with their cameras to take pictures as the birds ate. We noted that in Botswana feeding animals, fish or birds has now been forbidden in the parks!
During most of our game drives, the low cloud and mist (a frustrating feature throughout our stay) precluded major game sightings, yet we were lucky enough to see several colobus monkeys, although at some distance. Unfortunately we did not see any rhino on this visit, or the renound 'bongo' or sitatunga - maybe next time! We had a wonderfully peaceful couple of days, as it was especially good to be able to watch elephants so closely.
