In the heart of Aberdare National Park was our next stop, The Ark. It was designed to resemble what Noah’s Ark was thought to look like and it overlooks a watering hole and salt lick.
The Ark has 4 levels and each level has a deck that overlooks the watering hole. Deck 1 gave you a head-on view with glass panes and also had a bunker where you could shoot pics without a window. Decks 2 and 4 have a glass window but deck 3 was the largest and provided an open air view of the savannah.
It was not possible to get a pic of the place so I grabbed a pic from their website.
The hotel was very rustic, rooms had a bed and a small table. The bathroom was a decent size but more than 1 person would be tight. Each room had a buzzer that you could turn on and off. It was a way of notifying guests that certain animals are in view from the decks.
One ring: elephant. Two rings: rhino. Three rings: leopard. Four rings: other unusual animals
No rings for us, there were plenty of elephants at dusk so they did not announce.
They offered tea at 4PM and at 5:00 they had a bird feeding. This is where things got scary yet exhilarating for Chuck. They have 2 metal trays that hang from the trees where they dump bird feed, bread, and other scraps. Then the swarm of birds came in.
The whole time we were watching the birds eat something else was watching from below..
Once the food was almost gone most people headed back to the hotel. I hung around with a group of other guests who were trying to get pics. I was talking to a man and didn’t realize I was standing directly next to the food tray. I turned around and came face to face with a very large baboon, and I mean maybe 2 ft away. Mark was watching from down the walkway and all he saw was me running like hell. As scary as it was, it was also exhilarating. One of those memories you will never forget. After I gathered my composure I snapped this pic.
The staff had to keep scaring them away, otherwise the birds couldn’t eat.
After the bird feeding we enjoyed watching the animals from the open deck.
This was the kill we thought would happen, but pumbaa got away unscathed.
The hosts give an interactive talk about the local fauna and animals and then word spread there was a large herd of elephants by the watering hole.
Our visit was very short, just one night. After dinner we sat out on the deck and waited to see what animals might show up. Nothing new, just the same animals we had already seen. Up early, breakfast at 7:00 and then we had to make our way across the boardwalk to be on the shuttle by 8:00.
