Reviews of Tawi Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
13 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Tawi Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

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"Elephant heaven beneath Kilimanjaro"
Resident wildlife is charming - acacias full of weaver birds, little monkeys (you have to keep the tenting zipped as they are partial to expensive night cream), superb starlings and the mongeese which live under the lounge. The area around the lodge was very lush when we were there (January 2022) and as soon as you left Tawi you encountered elephants, zebra, gazelles - there was never any time spent driving around not spotting anything, and you can of course go off road as it's a private conservancy.
Once you get into the main reserve there are spectacular herds of elephants: the guides know when they are going from morning grazing to waterholes and back again so you can just wait in the road and watch them file past - dozens, hundreds in a single sighting, with Kilimanjaro in the background - extraordinary photos. The elephant families of Amboseli have been much studied and our guide recognised and named many individuals, understood family relationships and histories, and explained how to distinguish them, and the conservation issues. There is a copy of the study, "The Amboseli Elephants, a long-term perspective on a long-lived mammal", Moss et al, University of Chicago Press at the lodge and it is fascinating reading. There was so much else to see - flamingo lakes, baboons, ostrich, but really the elephants were outstanding.
One last point, the staff were all friendly, interesting, gentle and very charming - they really went out of their way to make our stay very happy. The manager, Alphonse, made a point of speaking to guests in the evening to check that the day had gone well - he leads an exceptional team." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Wonderful lodge"
The lodge is located just outside of the National Park, but a short 15 mins drive to the gate. It felt like the Kilitome conservancy is quite young, but that Tawi's presence in the area has the potential to really benefit conservation in the long run. When we stayed the whole area was waiting for rain, so it was very dry and dusty. We got the impression that there is normally more wildlife closer to the lodge at other times of year, but nevertheless is seemed particularly good for Gerenuk and Grant's gazelle. The rooms were amazingly spacious, and ours had a fantastic and very private view of Kilimanjaro.
I also have to mention the beautiful gardens and ponds surrounding the reception area which were full of birds and amazing tropcial flowers." See all these reviews: 15n in Kenya

Elephant
6 sightings

Gerenuk
6 sightings

Giraffe
7 sightings

Hippo
1 sighting

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Swim under a view of Mt Kilimanjaro"
We were somewhat lazy in our time here, doing one game drive in Amboseli, and taking a camel ride around the Kimana Conservancy. The garden at Tawi was so lovely that it was an inducement to sit beside the pool and just relax.
The food was delicious and inventive, with daily menus written on a blackboard. A lot of the food was grown at the lodge." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Gerenuk
1 sighting

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
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