Amboseli 365
Amboseli National Park is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of free-ranging elephants – the majesty of these magnificent animals en masse with snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop is a special sight. It’s also home to buffalo, zebra, giraffe and a variety of plains game and predators such as lion and hyena, and visitors here also stand the chance of seeing the endangered black rhino.
Amboseli is one of Kenya’s smaller parks, and features mostly flat plains covered with low scrub vegetation and groves of striking yellow-fever trees. At the centre of the park, subterranean streams from Mount Kilimanjaro surface to create large swamp areas that attract a rich diversity of animals and birdlife. The short, sparse vegetation makes animals fairly easy to spot, while a visit to the swamps will offer spectacular sightings of the game that comes to drink. As the country’s second most-visited safari park you’re likely to see many other vehicles but the upside of this is that the animals are relatively relaxed around vehicles, which allows for close-up encounters.
The park is about 200 kilometres from Nairobi and is easily accessible by road and air. An Amboseli safari combines well with a visit to Tsavo National Park in Kenya and Kilimanjaro and Arusha in Tanzania.