Amboseli Bush Camp

We took a train from Mombasa to Elerai where David’s cousin, Jackson picked us up in his Land Cruiser. We met Jackson before we left for Watamu and David recommended he drive us around in Amboseli. Just like David, Jackson is a proud Maasai and he is about 15 years younger than David. We were happy to see a familiar face and the kids were delighted to be back in a safari vehicle. All safari vehicles are now nicknamed “David Car”.

Amboseli Bush Camp is located adjacent to Amboseli National Park at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arriving at Amboseli Bush Camp, we were blown away by this safari camp of our dreams. It is authentic and rustic but at the same time, has every amenity and comfort we could hope for. The camp has an open-air kitchen that is fully equipped with a gas stove, a refrigerator and all of the cookware we needed.

We were told by the owner of the camp that we would need to bring in all of our own supplies, so prior to arrival, we made a stop at the nearby town Kimana to pick up some groceries at the dry goods market and at the fruit and vegetable market. RY was especially enthusiastic at the chance to cook all of our meals in the camp kitchen.

Outside o the big cities in Kenya, there is very limited convenience or processed food that is common in the US and in China. There is no “supermarket”, only freshly butchered meat, live chickens, dry staples like rice, flour, beans, corn flour, locally grown fruits and vegetables and spices. Since young, all of the kids love cooking and helping in the kitchen and RY is turning into quite the passionate chef, with the others not too far behind. Over the course of the week, we cooked some delicious meals like coconut chicken curry over rice, tomato and mince-meat pasta, grilled chicken wings, cabbage and noodles, mince-meat and peas fried rice, dutch-oven crispy skin chicken and even home-made pizza baked in the pizza oven. It is incredibly satisfying to turn very simple, limited ingredients into a delicious meal with our family and then to sit down to enjoy it together.

The camp has three safari tents, each with its own bathroom. The safari tents were comfortable and warm at night. The bathrooms had running water but no hot water. On the first night, we all took quick cold-water showers which I didn’t mind so much but the kids complained that it was too cold. After the first night, Leo suggested we do warm water bucket showers. There is a solar water heater that provides plentiful hot water, but we need to transport it in a bucket to our bathroom. After we figured out how to do the warm water bucket shower, the kids were warm and clean and learned an important skill that will probably come in handy sometime in the future – how to take an efficient bucket shower.

On slightly higher ground, there is an open-air dining and living area with an expansive view of the surrounding environment. It allowed us to watch elephants, zebras, impala, gazelle and giraffes while we were eating dinner or hanging out on the couch. We observed so many animals over the course of the week without any time pressure or rush to move on. I loved sitting on the couch, binoculars at my side, while doing my work. Occasionally when I looked up, there would be a herd of elephants or giraffes having a drink of water at the watering hole.

We watched a group of elephants drinking at the water hole and then using their trunks to spray their bodies. A mother elephant stood by for about 30 minutes while a baby elephant played in the water, rolling around and getting herself nice and cool. Then they covered themselves in dirt from the ground and sprayed themselves all over to turn the dirt into mud, sunscreen for them. I felt a bit of a voyeur watching the animals go about their bathing routine, from my living room. They probably felt the same way, watching us watching them in our living room.

We spent five unforgettable nights at the Amboseli Bush Camp. We lived and ate simply in a kind of equilibrium with nature. We learned about the local people, the flora and fauna, and observed the wildlife. Our evening entertainment was lighting the fire and sitting around the fire enjoying each other’s company. I wish this feeling would never end.