Guys

I'm flying into Moshi, Tanz next March to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.. With the climbing outfit we are booking with, we can include a photo safari into any of the numerous Parks in the area for any number of days we wish after the conclusion of the climb. They provide safaris in Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengetti, Arusha, Tarangire, etc, on the Tanzania side..

My question is this.. We'll be flying into Moshi for the climb.. From there, how far would it be to cross the border into Kenya and drive to Tsavo. I terribly want to see the Voi country and take a day to drive up to see the Tsavo bridge while there. We were kind of thinking about overnighting a night or two in a safari area within Tsavo, then make the drive over to Amboseli to see the backside (northside) of Kili from the plains.. Take a day or two there as well then make the loop back into Tanzania through Arusha and back to Moshi to fly out.

Could this be done? Would it be too much of a streach to rent a car in Moshi and make the drive myself to Tsavo and Amboseli? Safe? How far would all this driving be from Moshi and the whole loop back?
Would these Kenyan Parks be worth seeing over the Tanz Parks that are offered by our climbing company?
If the Kenya leg doesn't pan out, we figured we'd see Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro. But boy o' boy do I want to see Tsavo!!

Any recomendations or input on this leg of the trip? The climb is straightforward. We show up and climb.. It's after the climb that has me into the unknown..

Thanks for the help.

Although I have not driven from Moshi to Tsavo, I would imagine it would take about four houres plus Customs clearing at Tavita.
I would try for at least four days and after Tsavo drive up to Amboseli then on through Namanga and down to Arusha where most Safaris start.

Tsavo Station.

We drove from Mombasa to Tsavo in a few hours in an Avis Toyota 4runner rental car.

Kili from Amboseli.


Approaching the summit

customs at Kenya can take forever depending on who's there and what day it is. The drive is not to bad. Kenyan roads are never good. if you have time drive up to windani(spelling)it's between Voi and amboseli in the tita taveta hills it's beautiful high hills area great veiws

Thanks guys.. Adam, I remember when you did your EA tour, but I had no idea you climbed Kili while you were up there! Have any pis you'd care to share? Which route did you take up? We're either doing the Machame or Lemosho route. Have not quite decided yet.

If you recomend 3-4 days in Tsavo, what do you recomend doing and seeing besides the station and bridge? Any camps or places to stay in the Park? Same question for Ambolseli as well.

We are planning on taking the exact route you described.. Leave Moshi after the climb and take off for Voi and cross at Taveta, up to Manyani and the bridge area, over to Amboseli and then onto Namanga and back to Arusha and Moshi.

DD, I will remember to take that name down before we go. We'll be right in that area so I don't see why we wouldn't stop and take in the sights from the hills.. I'm sure that Kili is still visible from there. I'm just excited to see the country and as much as possible while there.
AS for Kenyan Customs, what do you think would be an average time for a land crossing? Is there a Visa charge in Kenya like Tanzania? Along those lines, would Tanz tap me for another 100$ when I return back from the 5-6 days in Kenya or would my initial visa still be valid?

Is March a good time for the Parks where we'll be going? It's a decent time to climb the mountain, but it's getting close to the rainy season in late March/early April. We are going to try and go the 1st two weeks of March.

Thanks for the tips, guys..

Scotty,
I thought I'd ad that photo, but in actual fact it was a mountain in NZ and certainly not Kili.
We traveled in May just after the rains, and Tsavo having a lot of thorn Bush made it difficult to view game.
Would recommend more dryer times.
Some places of interest and notes from east to west are;
Buy fuel and drum at Voi, Tsavo Bridge, the game on the trail between Voi and Aruba Lodge, Lugards Falls, Hippo Point, Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, Ngulia Lodge, Chaimu Crater, Lunch at Killaguni Lodge, Poachers Lookout, Mizima Springs, Kitani fly camp (better than the lodge), Finch Hatton's Camp, Shetani Lava Flow, Amboseli lodge, Tortillas Camp, Fuel at Namanga, Arusha Nat Park with Buffalo in Swampy Crater and HATARI's Mommella Lodge.
This would take about five to six days.

Re. the Kili climb I would try the Umbwe Route if everyone in your party is fit and prepared. A day extra also really helps altitude acclimatisation.

Umbwe is nice becuse there are almost no other people for the first 2 or 3 days, but it is a bit more demanding.

Thanks for all the info and ideas, Adam. I will most certainly look into all of those should the Kenya leg of the trip pan out. All of those sound really interesting to see. Hatton's camp and Hatari's camp would be HIGH on my list.
AS for the pic you posted, I kinda thought it looked mighty steep and snowy for the top of Kili! But hey, I thought maybe you took some class 3 pitch I didn't know exsisted!!

JT, we aren't set on a route yet.. The Lemosho route we're thinking about doing is pretty
isolated for the first few days as well (so I hear). The Machame and Manguru routes are the crowded ones.. I'll look into the one you recomend. Thanks.