Amboseli

Amboseli became a wildlife sanctuary in the 1940s and was declared a national park by Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta in 1974. Although first impressions when you arrive at the airstrip can be of a bleak dust bowl, any doubts about the park are allayed by its magnificent elephant herds and high counts of other plains animals which converge to graze and drink at the park’s permanent swamps and lakes. The wildlife can often be viewed against the strikingly beautiful backdrop of Kilimanjaro, towering behind and offering scenes that are instantly recognisable. Although Amboseli has a wildebeest and zebra migration (like the Maasai Mara’s but on a very much smaller scale as they disperse across the ecosystem and into Tanzania), thousands of animals are resident here all year round. The Amboseli region has several lodges and safari camps, from which Expert Africa has selected two of the most distinctive: Satao Elerai, in its own private conservancy close to the Tanzanian border and with dramatic views of Kilimanjaro; and Porini Amboseli Camp in the remote wilderness of Selenkay Conservancy, to the north of the park, where bush walks and uncrowded game-viewing are on offer.