Meru National Park- Meru Kenya Wilderness Park-Best Kenya Animal Park   by Robert Muhoho
 

Meru National Park is simply the best wilderness animal park in the whole of Kenya; Meru Kenya National Park has lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, cheetahs, leopards among other Meru Kenya animals. The wild life in Meru Park is wild and harder to find. Meru National Park was reopened recently after 15 year closure. Accommodation in Meru park is in the form of Meru National Park Lodges, Meru park camps, Meru park campsites and Meru park KWS Bandas.

Meru National Park

This national park is the cornerstone of the Meru Conservation Area, a 4000-sq-km expanse that also includes the adjacent Kora National Park, and Bisanadi, Mwingi and North Kitui Nation Reserves (which are closed), covering the lowland plains east of Meru town.

KWS has big plans for this park. In the 1970s the population of rhinos and elephants could pull in up to 40,000 visitors a year, but banditry and poaching during the 1980s effectively put paid to tourist here, wiping out the white rhinos and leaving the area almost abandoned until in the 1990s.

Today, substantial foreign investment, notably from French development agencies and the international funds for Animals Welfare (IFAW), has enabled a flurry of rehabilitation projects: a new rhino sanctuary opened in 2001 and now houses 25 rhinos (24 of them white), a new sealed access road is half completed, all the main park roads have been upgraded, and there's now a bridge across the Tana River at Adamson's Falls (worth a visit) accessing Kora National Park.

With security long since settled, these improvements are starting to payoff and visitor numbers are steadily climbing, from a meager 1000 in 1997 to well over 10,000 in 2004. With two luxury lodges and some of the best budget option in any Kenya's national parks, Merus's fortunes should soon be on the up again. Visit soon and you'll still feel like you have this blissful to yourself.

This resurgence is definitely is a good thing, as the park is a complete constant to the nearby savannah reserves of Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba. Abundant rainfall and numerous permanent watercourses flowing down from the Mt Kenya massif support a luxuriant jungle of forest, bush, swamp and tall grasses, which, in turn, provide fodder to a wide variety of herbivores and shelter to them and to their predators.

This is one of the geographically diverse parks in Kenya and a favorite with the Safari cognoscenti; you need to spend a few days here to fully appreciate what the park has to offer.

While on the rise, wildlife is still not as abundant here as in other parks. To make things more challenging, the limited elephant numbers have led to an increase in vegetation cover, making it difficult to sport those species that do exist. However, with a little patience you can see elephants, (often found in the marshy Bisanadi plains in the north of the park.)

Leopards, lions and cheetahs along with, lesser kudus, elands, waterbucks, gazelles and oryxes. Buffaloes, reticulated giraffes, and gravy zebras are common while monkeys, crocodiles, and a plethora of bird species, including the palm nut vultures and Marshall Eagles, can be found in the dense vegetation along the water courses. A drive through the overgrown jungles that shadows the Tana River is well worth the trip to Meru alone.

Meru National Park Information

Entrance to Meru National park (adult/child US$27/10) doesn't entitle you to enter the adjacent Kora National Park (child/adult US$27/10). Visit into Kora must be prearranged with Meru's warden.

At present you need to have a 4WD or be on a tour to visit. Most road junctions are numbered, so KWS' Meru National Park map (Kshs450), sold at the gate, its essential if you want to find your way around.

Accommodation in Meru National Park

Bwatherongi Bandas & Campsite (adult/child US$ 10/5, bandas per person US$ 15;) perhaps the best KWS camp in all of Kenya, this site has great showers, toilets, barbecue pits, a swimming pool and an askari (security guard) in attendance.

There are also four excellent thatched bandas with shady verandas, twin beds, kerosene lamps, mosquito nets, decent bathrooms and small sofas.

Special Campsites (adult/child US$15/5; plus set-up free KShh5000) there are about a dozen of these bush campsites (on Facilities) located through out the park. The gate will let you know which are currently open.

Murera Education Centre (bandas per person US$15) this center's bandas by the main gate should only considered if Bwathereongi's bandas are full. Ask at the gate for details.

Elsa's Kopje (mid-Mar-Mid-Jun & Nov-Mid-Dec full board s/d US$320/600, Jan-Mid-Mar, mid-Jun-July & Mid-Sep-Oct US$450/760, rest of the year US$520/920) wake to glorious panoramic views and sweet breezes in this gorgeous open-fronted thatched cottages that blend seamlessly into in the upper ranches of Mughwango Hill.

This place is the definition of sensitively designed luxury. A rock out crop seemingly burst through the floor of cottages number one, where steps lead down to a stunning outdoor bathtub hewn into the cliff itself. The pool and surrounds are equally sublime. The hefty prices include three wildlife drives (one at night), walking safaris, fishing and transfers.

Leopard Rock Lodge ( Apr-Jun full board s/d from US$285/440, Jul-Mar US$340/515;) with landscape gardens, a stilled restaurant on the Murera River and comfortable cottages, this lodge would shine anywhere else in Kenya, but here its entirely outmatched by the stunning beauty of Elsa's Kopje. The lodge arranges similar activities to Elsa's, but charges extra.

Getting there and away

Simply put, there's no point reaching the park without a vehicle. If you don't want to join a tour, your cheapest option is to acquire a 4WD (and drive) from a local in the village of Maua, which is 31km from the gate. Regular matatus service Maua from Meru town (Kshs100, one hour).

Every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday Air kenya (tel 020-605745; www.airkenya.com) connects Meru to Nairobi (one way/return US$150/300) and Samburu (one way/return US$60/120). From Nairobi to Samburu with a stopover in Meru is US$190 one way. Give your lodge your flight details for pick-up.
 
 

About the Author

Robert is a tour consultant with landmark safaris in Kenya. Click here to plan your Mt Kenya area mountain Meru Kenya vacation/holiday www.landmarksafaris.com/planner