Meru
My Safari
Call a specialist to talk about Meru now.
One of the most unspoiled of Kenya’s National Parks, Meru straddles the equator covering an area of 1810 sq km covered with thorny bushland and wooded grasslands. There are 13 rivers and numerous mountain-fed streams flowing into the Tana River.
The Park was opened in 1968 and gained its fame through Joy Adamson's 'Born Free' book, the story of George and Joy Adamson's life and research here among lion and cheetah. Joy Adamson herself was buried at the same site as Elsa the lioness near to the Adamson Falls.
During the 1980s the park suffered badly through Somali poaching, but, due to the determined efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service has since largely recovered, and now houses large quantities of exciting game.
Visually the park is outstanding - wild and beautiful, accommodating classic savannah, dense riverine forest along the waters’ edge surrounded by Doum palms, and rocky outcrops.
Wildlife Highlights:
Game found in Meru includes lion, elephant, leopard, cheetah, black rhino, zebra and buffalo. Among grazers and browers are Grevy's zebra, the reticulated giraffe, lesser kudu, duiker, dik dik, hartebeest and oryx.
Naturally, the rivers abound with hippo and crocodile, and there is also fishing for catfish and barbus.
There are also hundreds of bird species here, including Somali ostrich, Pel's fishing owl, red-necked falcon, Heuglins courser, kingfishers, rollers and bee-eaters.
Getting to Meru:
There are several airstrips here, including one at Elsa's Kopje.
Road access exists from Nairobi, although the distance is a somewhat daunting 348 km.
Within the park itself the road network is fairly good, although, as elsewhere, the use of 4 x 4 vehicles is recommended.
