We enjoyed a very scenic flight up to Meru today. While the bush planes are pretty cramped, they are comfortable enough and get us to our destinations safely. Meru National Park used to be one of the “must see” national parks, but fell on hard times after the significant poaching of the 1980s and the murder of George Adamson (think “Born Free”). The differences between Amboseli and Meru are stark. While Amboseli is flat, dusty, sparsely forested, and has precious little water, Meru is lush, hilly, heavily forested and has multiple spring-fed or snowmelt-fed rivers. The other major difference is that in Amboseli, much of the wildlife is somewhat far away and you have to stay on the roads. At Meru, you get up close and personal with the wildlife (sometimes a bit too close!). Part of the reason for that is that the trucks go off the road and follow the wildlife (not sure it is totally legal though).
As I noted in the last post, all the national parks here are known for something. For Meru, that something is lions and rhinos. Well, to use a fishing analogy, there is “fishing” and there is “catching” And we did a lot more fishing than catching related to seeing lions and rhinos. But to keep the analogy going, sometimes you are fishing for rainbow trout but catch whitefish. While a disappointment, it’s still fun to catch whitefish. For us, while we didn’t see much of what we expected, we saw (and had close encounters with) lots of elephants, giraffes, hippos, and many cool birds.
We are staying at Elsa’s Kopje, a beautiful lodge filled with antiques and historic photos in the hills overlooking the site of the Adamson’s camp. Of course, Elsa was the lioness of “Born Free” fame. The cottages we are staying in look like Hobbit houses, are each unique and charming, and have very panoramic views. Because we the lodge is in the national park, we pretty much have the place to ourselves, especially in the late afternoon/evening and got to do some off-roading that led to some interesting encounters, especially with the elephants that were plentiful and somewhat aggressive.
One of the things we were most interested in seeing was the Rhino Sanctuary, preserved in a large fenced compound where over 70 black and white rhinos graze. This is both a good news story and very much a work in progress. The rhinos (especially the black rhinos) had been nearly hunted (or poached) to extinction. They received some donations They are such majestic animals. Luckily, several rhinos were reintroduced here from the Lake Nakuru National Park starting in the early 1990s.
It seems that everywhere we went, there were obligatory “sundowners” — cocktails and snacks out in the bush (even if it was getting dark and you had interesting creatures surrounding you on all sides! But it was a great way to get the group, who were always in two different vehicles, together to celebrate the day.
By the way, one of the other “attractions” of Meru is the “miraa,”a combination of small shoots and leaves that are chewed not only in this area, but also through the Muslim parts of Kenya. I guess it’s a little like chewing coca leaves in South America in that it is a stimulant and supposedly gives you energy. But unlike chewing coca leaves, chewing mire is somewhat of a social and cultural thing — it is done in groups and is meant to stimulate discussion.
Tomorrow, we are off to the Laikipia Plateau and the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
As I said, room with a view!
This entry was posted in Africa, Kenya, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
