silent is busy with the resident animals all scrambling for a drink at the water hole, one taking a midnight muddy bath in the shallow waters. Their antics are well- known amongst the staff.” If you look at the buffaloes, you’ll see that many are missing a tail. Its because of these hyenas,” says Daniel
The black rhino and her calf walk the exact path to the waterhole, drink ,linger for a while and then disappear into the darkness. Meanwhile, the rhino ranger has taken his digital pictures which he shows me on his powerful camera. The data will be entered into the national rhino database. The good news is that the Aberdare rhino population is increasing. There is an estimated 65 in the 776 square kilometers park.
Treetops has had its share of drama. The original tree house, constructed in 1932,was burnt down during by the Mau Mau freedom fighters in 1954. It was from this tree house that a princess climbed down as the queen of the British Empire – Queen Elizabeth.
Undeterred Sherbrooke Walker went on to built a new one in 1957.
THE Queen returned in 1983 and spent the night in the Queen Elizabeth suite, one of the two self contained suites facing the waterhole with its private balcony
Things have changed over time. In the 1950s, he animal migration routes were still intact between Mt Kenya and the Aberdares . Elephants and other mega- herbivores like rhinos and buffaloes have followed the grass routes for centuries, allowing the grasses to regenerate. Today, the Aberdare national park is farmed up to the fence line. In the hotel lobby , a poster catches my eye. Its from the Rhino Ark in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, the custodians of the