Rainstorms and strange sights in Tsavo East, Kenya

Many years ago I witnessed a strange and powerful tropical storm here in Tsavo. It was on a bright and baking hot day with clear blue skies while me and my father were driving from the Galana River back towards Aruba Dam. It started as just a small patch of dark purple on the horizon but rapidly spread like a huge bruise. We thought it would take quite a while to reach us but in less than 15 minutes it was upon us and the rain came down in torrents. It is probably hard to imagine for those who have never witnessed one of these hot tropical storms. It is unbelievable how much water can fall from the sky in such a short period. Despite falling onto this fast draining sand it fell so fast that within minutes the water had risen above the lip of the road and it appeared as though we were on a lake covered with bushes. It was as heavy and violent as it was short. Rapidly the water drained away transforming the landscape once again. It was an event I shall never forget.

On this recent trip we saw another storm which reminded me of that one although nowhere near as powerful I think. We missed the storm itself but saw it go over our camp at Satao as we watched and I captured this image of it.

After the rain had passed we saw some strange things I had never seen before! One was this huge purple crab! This was many miles from the Voi river in one of those temporary pools that form in the rainy season. I have never heard of the purple freshwater crabs of Tsavo but it was a very strange thing to see. These crabs must bury themselves in the mud when it dries out and aestivate till the rains come round again. Tsavo is usually a very, very dry and hot place. Far more often the bush here is grey and brown rather than green and full of life as it is now.

Another thing we saw were huge groups of swallows together on the roads and in the trees. I belive they were drinking water out of the sand where the tire tracks of vehicles had been. I'm more used to seeing swallows drinking while on the wing by skimming over standing water with their mouths open but have never seen them drinking like this.

I also finally got an excellent view of a Rosy-patched Bush-shrike still soaked from the rain. He is probably hoping to look his best soon as it is belived that this species start breeding in response to rain.