 AMBOSELI
NATIONAL PARK Location:
One of the main attractions of Amboseli is its
location, with the stunning back - drop of Mount
Kilimanjaro (5895 m, the highest mountain in Africa)
, located south just over the border in Tanzania.
The park is near Namanga Town, the Kenya border
town on the A104 road. In fact it is the nearest
town to Amboseli National Park. It is located
in the Eastern Province of Kenya.
Attractions:
The park is comprised of open plains, savannah
with areas of beautiful yellow - barked acacia
woodland, swamps and marshland and areas containing
thornbush growing amidst lava debris. To the west
of the reserve, close to Namanga, is the massif
of Oldonyo Orok at 2524 m. The main wildlife you
are likely to see here are herbivores such as
buffalos, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, Coke's
hartebeests, warthogs, gnus, impalas, giraffes,
zebras and lots of baboons. One of the most spectacular
sites is the large herd of elephants here (some
700 living in the park) and you may be able to
see the very rare black rhinoceros that has been
poached out of existence. There are also few predators
including the lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas
and the jackals. Birdlife is again abundant especially
near the swamps and seasonal lakes which include
a few flamingos.
How to get there:
Air:
There is a daily return flight from the private
aerodrome at Wilson Airport to Amboseli on Air
Kenya. The journey takes 45 minutes.
Road:
From Nairobi to Namanga is about 250 km and then
from Namanga to the park is 75 km down an appalling
road. The whole journey from Nairobi to Amboseli
takes about 4 hours. It is possible to get to
the northern and eastern gates by driving down
the A109 Nairobi/Mombasa road. From there take
the road southwest for the Lemeiboti/Iremito Gate,
the total distance is about 230 km. another possibility
is to drive further south past the town of Kimana
until you reach the C103 road on the right. This
is the road that traverses Amboseli National Park.
|
