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Game
Viewing
 The Yasabara
waterhole and salt-lick is frequented by great numbers of
animals, elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, bushbuck,
besides other rare creatures such as the suni, and genet cat. To
enable guests to continue watching late into the night, the
waterhole is floodlit from 06.00 p.m. to dawn. Spare blankets
from the foot of each bed may be carried down, if guests wish to
wrap themselves warmly and sit in a chair.
Park
Regulations The National Park safety
regulations forbid people to roam in a forest with such a high
concentration of Big-Game.
Park
Entry - KWS Smart Card All clients
entering the Park who are resident of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
are obliged to have a valid Kenya Wildlife Service "Smart
Card". These are obtainable from KWS and are free of
charge. Entry will not be allowed into the Aberdares National
Park without the Smart Card.
Etiquette
Wild animals are very conscious of noise, movement
and colour contrasts, and guests will see more if they are as
quiet as possible, moving quietly and slowly when in view of the
animals. children under the age of 7 are not permitted at the
Ark unless on special "children’s nights".
Photographic flashlights are not permitted as some animals are
startled by flashlights and will be scared away at once.
Vantage
Points:
‘A’
Deck - Lounge The ‘A’ Deck has a
glassed-off viewing lounge, overlooking the waterhole. Settees
enable you to view the game in comfort. Decorated in warm
earth tones, the lounge affords guests a modicum of privacy in
their viewing experience. Capacity - 10 seated.
‘B’
Deck - Balcony
 The ‘B’ Deck has an
open balcony just above the salt-lick and waterhole, where the
spotlights are aimed from. As it is open, it is exposed to a
bracing chill and the view is literally breathtaking - an
uninterrupted horizon, with below you a vista of wildlife at
close range. Capacity - 60 people standing.
‘C’
Deck - Enclave Just ahead of the main
lounge, there is another glassed-off lounge, a designated
non-smoking area, which affords a spectacular view of the
waterhole. Four o'clock tea is served here. Capacity - 30
people.
Balcony
The open-air balcony off the side of the
lounge provides guests with an angled view of the waterhole
and the small clearing before the advent of the dense forest,
one of the routes used by game on their way to the waterhole.
Chairs line the balustrade. Capacity - 25 people,
seated.
‘D’
Deck - Photographic Hide There
is a non-smoking "bunker" at ground level through a
door leading from a front lounge, from which animals can be
seen at close range. As it has an open window guests are
placed eye to eye with the game, and photographs taken from
here are startling in quality. Capacity - 8 people.
Glass
Enclave Another glassed-off,
non-smoking lounge is located here. Based on the ground floor
level, this viewing area gives guests a life-sized experience
of the game. Capacity - 20 people seated.
The
Catwalk
 The catwalk is a
useful place to observe both animals and birds, and is a
pleasant place to walk. Birds are fed here every evening at
05.00 p.m. Guests are not allowed beyond the gate.
Game
Alarm There is a buzzer alarm in each
cabin which is sounded by the game-spotter on duty to alert
guests when an interesting animal appears or something unusual
happens. If guests do not wish to be disturbed, the buzzer can
be turned off.
Visit
to the Moorlands: Why
not visit the moorlands in a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a
superb packed picnic lunch? Travelling through the Salient, you
gradually climb in your 4x4 vehicle to the National Park gate at
a height of about 8000 feet. As you ascend, you see the
vegetation change to tall cedars, Podo trees, thick Bamboo
forest and varieties of Alpine trees. Wild mountain flowers
bloom in a riot of colour. Profuse bird-life (including such
species as the scarlet tufted malachite sunbird) reside here.
Despite the dense vegetation, you may have glimpses of elephant,
buffalo, zebra, colobus monkey and waterbuck. At 10,000 feet in
the upper tundra region you see the majestic peaks of Mt. Kenya,
Batian and Nelion.
Clients
staying two nights at the Ark or one night at the Aberdare
Country Club and one at the Ark also have the option of a
half-day game drive in the Salient, with a fantastic Noah's
Lunch on board the Ark upon their return. Contact us for more
details.
As
Lonrho Hotels Kenya does not as a rule allow children under the
age of 7 years to visit the Ark, due to the increased noise
levels of the excited children, we periodically hold our
"Children's Nights". On these occasions, there
is no age limit for children, and our Resident Naturalist and Young
Explorer's Club representative take charge of the children's
activities at the Ark. These could be art competitions, group
games, game spotting just to name a few. A special children's
dinner is on offer at 06.30 p.m. for the younger children, and
the adult's dinner remains at 07.30 p.m. This is an ideal
opportunity for families with younger children to view the
amazing game at the waterhole, and we also cater to school
groups and other study groups during these times.
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Set
in the heart of the Aberdare National Park, this unique game
lodge overlooks a floodlit waterhole and salt lick which
attracts a host of wildlife - elephant, rhino, leopard, bushbuck
and occasionally an elusive bongo or giant forest hog.
Resembling and named after Noah's Ark, The Ark comprises three
decks from which numerous balconies and lounges provide superb
vantage points for game viewing. A ground level bunker provides
excellent photographic opportunities and takes you closer than
you would believe possible to the animals. The Ark is reached
via the Aberdare Country Club and is a forty minute drive. It is
16 km from Mweiga airfield, a one hour drive from Nyeri airstrip
and a two hour drive from Nanyuki airstrip.
There are a total of 60 en-suite rooms
set up in the following manner: 8 triple-bedded State Cabins, 36
twin-bedded State Cabins, 10 double-bedded State Cabins, 5
single-bedded State Cabins and 1 courier / guide room (single
bedded room, not ensuite). All rooms are cabin-style
rooms, with bedside lamps and carpeted floors to ward off the
evening and morning chill, small luggage racks and views of the
forest or waterhole revealing game in the proximity. 
Also located on 'C' Deck, the Lounge
has a fireplace which is lit in the afternoon, late into the
night. Comfortable leather settees surround the fireplace and
the glass walls, while the bar sports leather padded stools. The
walls are graced with paintings of wildlife. Above the fireplace
in the lounge hangs the preserved head of a black rhino, the
creature having been trampled by an irked elephant at the
waterhole. The lounge remains open throughout, the bar is open
until last requests in the evening, or 11.00 p.m.