Meru Wilderness

Back in the old days, going on safari was a journey (safari means journey in Swahili) and there were no lodges or permanent camps. Everything was carried into the bush. This is what Meru Wilderness is, a small camp for small groups set up just for your safari. Simplicity is the essence and if you love wilderness, and want to feel close to it, this is the best way to do it.

Meru National Park is warm and much lower than Laikipia, the two areas are so different that they complement each other perfectly. The park is surrounded by hills, and the great Tana river runs to the south of it. Inside the park there are a series of small, palm-lined rivers home to many woodland birds.

A typical stay in Meru is 3 -4 nights and combines beautifully with sister camp Laikipia Wilderness. You can choose which order you would like to combine the camps. For some ending a safari in the tranquillity of a very small mobile camp so close to nature is a fitting end to a journey in the wilderness.

Meru Wilderness camp comprises of the following:

• Light weight tents with proper beds and carpets, shelves for clothes and a side table and solar lighting.
• En-suite toilet set over a hole in the ground, known as a short drop loo.
• Bucket shower in a tent near your tent. When you would like a shower, water is heated in a metal drum on an open fire and poured into the bucket which is then raised using a rope.

All the food is freshly cooked in the kitchen which is set up under the shade of a glade of trees. Delicious pizzas, quiches, home-made bread, and lots of healthy salads are produced daily, as well as unhealthy treats such as chocolate fondant, sticky toffee pudding and lemon heaven!

A typical day on mobile safari looks like this.

Early morning starts at 5.45 are best to catch the sunrise and be out on a game drive whilst the animals are most active. After tea and coffee, fruit and cereal you will leave on safari around 6.30.

Breakfast is cooked out in the bush over a small gas stove. Your guide will knock up fried eggs, avocado, bacon and sausage with toast, whilst out on safari. Breakfast might be served next to a river or overlooking a herd of giraffes or buffalo.

Returning to the camp for lunch, you can take a paddle in a croc-free pool in the river, which also allows for cool dips, or have a beer in the shade of a palm tree.

An afternoon siesta in your tent, or in a hammock is popular before heading out after tea on a game drive in the afternoon. Night drives are not permitted inside the National Park so one needs to return to camp at around 7 pm for drinks around the fire, and dinner under the stars. There are lots of night-time noises, bush babies, lions calling, cicadas, reed frogs and owls.

Meru is tropical and full of rivers and palm trees, glades of magnificent fig trees, mahogany trees and many more. The vegetation can be thick meaning you have to work to see wildlife a bit, but the park is full of lions, giraffes, buffalo, elephant, lesser kudu, gerenuk, hippos, crocodiles, cheetah and leopard. Inside a rhino sanctuary are white and black rhino. With a huge range of habitats it is no wonder it has the greatest diversity of mammal species of any park in Kenya.

Fishing in the clear rivers of Meru usually produces enough tilapia for dinner one night, and you can fish with a fly here as the water is clear enough. Spinning rods and worms are provided.

Birdlife in Meru is exceptional and the guides are highly trained ornithologists, binoculars and bird books are carried in the vehicle, but do bring your own binoculars. Meru is full of water birds, birds of prey, woodland birds and many unusual birds not found in other safari areas of Kenya.