MANGAT: Enchanted world in the wild

The Ark with panoramic views of a variety of game at the nearby waterhole and safaris further afield. PHOTO | RUPI MANGAT

What you need to know:

  • The game drive is fun with buffaloes popping in and out of the bushes and monkeys like the playful colobus guereza foraging high in the trees. The plan is to explore the waterfalls in the park. A thin river – the Chania - courses its way through the high mountain grasslands and reveals a waterfall with a spray of ice-cold water that tingles the skin.
  • In this enchanted world enveloped in a rising mist, there’s just us and the world’s fastest animal – a peregrine falcon that rules the ravine, flying high and diving deep into its folds. It’s almost impossible to move away from this site.
  • The Aberdare Ranges in which The Ark is found used to be called Nyandarua by the Kikuyu because it resembled the folds of a (cow) hide left to dry.

The animals come in more than two at a time, setting the stage for the evening entertainment at The Ark. Of two thousand elephants in the Aberdares, a herd of 20 frolicks at the waterhole. The baby among them fits squarely under the belly and between its mother’s legs. The floodlights from The Ark and the full moon make it a sight to behold!               

The elephants nudge clumps of soil with their toes to lick the salt. A huge male blows a trunk-full of dust over itself while some in the herd dangle their trunks in the waterhole for a drink. Meanwhile, a pair of grey crowned cranes – a bird that’s increasingly rare to find – come to the swamp as do the night birds. An owl hoots and lands on the rock by the water.

The elephant family leaves just as a trio of spotted hyenas lumber in. They play amongst themselves and lie down to rest for some time before something catches their attention. It’s a family of giant forest hog foraging on the lush scrub around The Ark. The giant hogs weighing up to 150 kilogrammes outstare the hyenas and the show is over as the hyenas skulk away.

As the night gets chillier, we move from the upper outdoor deck to the lower inner deck by the lounge. The midnight moon moves from atop the waterhole as a string of elephants wander in from the forest – the whole line of elephants is reflected in the water.

The night passes without a whistle (blown when a rhino or leopard appears) but in the first light of day the leopard makes an appearance – so fast that only the early risers see it slip into the forest.

IMPENETRABLE RAVINE

Armed with a packed lunch of cold meats, salads, fruit and coffee, we spend the day in the mountain park in the ranges – which is one of the five water towers in Kenya – and without which Nairobi would be deficient of drinking water.

The game drive is fun with buffaloes popping in and out of the bushes and monkeys like the playful colobus guereza foraging high in the trees. The plan is to explore the waterfalls in the park. A thin river – the Chania - courses its way through the high mountain grasslands and reveals a waterfall with a spray of ice-cold water that tingles the skin.

A few kilometres away on a higher ridge, we’re at the Magura Falls, a short walk to the Queen’s Cave, where the British monarch Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a picnic in 1952. At the foot of the crashing falls is the cave. A family enjoys a picnic as a pair of reedbucks nibbles on shrubs completely at ease despite being so close to people.

It is the last pair of waterfalls that makes us catch our breath. A few metres walk through the forest path, we’re looking at Karuru Falls crashing 273 metres down in three steps – 117 metres, 26 metres and 130 metres. Mirroring it, is the Gura which in a single fall cuts a sliver through the thick forest, crashing into an impenetrable ravine.

In this enchanted world enveloped in a rising mist, there’s just us and the world’s fastest animal – a peregrine falcon that rules the ravine, flying high and diving deep into its folds. It’s almost impossible to move away from this site.

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Amazing Aberdares

The 767-square-kilometre mountain park lies in a protected area that has an electric fence to protect the last of the natural highland forest and to stop the elephants from straying out into the farmers’ fields. The fencing is a project of Rhino Ark (rhinoark.org) in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and local communities and donors.

The Aberdare Ranges in which The Ark is found used to be called Nyandarua by the Kikuyu because it resembled the folds of a (cow) hide left to dry.

Take a full day to enjoy the waterfalls and the game drive and enjoy a picnic lunch at the park. There are no lions, but there are 10 black rhino and plenty of other wildlife. If yours is an overnight trip, you can stay at The Ark (www.thearkkenya.com ), a beautiful timber lodge with floor-to-ceiling windows and viewing decks on all floors for great photo opportunities of the animals, night and day.

Surrounded by highland forest, all rooms are ensuite, warm and cosy. Entry into the mountain park is via Safaricard only, which you can get from the Kenya Wildlife Service.