Welcome to one of Kenya's most underrated parks. Marred by serious poaching in the 1980s and the subsequent murder of George Adamson (of Born Free fame) in 1989, Meru National Park fell off the tourist map and has never quite managed to struggle back on. This is a pity, because it has all the essential ingredients for a classic safari destination with some fine accommodation, excellent prospects for seeing lions and rhinos, and a landscape that incorporates Hemingway-esque green hills and fast-flowing streams bordered by riverine forests, baobab trees and doum palms.
The advantage of being one of Kenya's best kept secrets is plain to see - you're likely to have much of it all to yourself.
Other wildlife highlights include the endangered Grevy's zebra, but we were thwarted in our attempts to track down what the KWS website describes as a 'puff udder'.
