Mzima Springs is an oasis of green in the west of the park that produces an incredible 250 million litres of fresh water a day.

The springs, whose source rises in the Chyulu Hills, provides the bulk of Mombasa’s fresh water. 

A walking trail leads along the shoreline. The drought in 2009 took a heavy toll on the springs’ hippo population; the population is stable at around 20 individuals. There are also crocodiles and a wide variety of birdlife.

There’s an underwater viewing chamber, which gives a creepy view of thousands of primeval-looking fish. Be careful here though, as neither hippos nor crocs are always confined to the water. Impressive it may all be, but it’s not quite up to the hyperbole of the inscription at the entrance to the site and which claims Mzima Springs to be ‘undoubtedly the greatest attraction in 

Tsavo West National Park, if not the whole country’.