Meru National Park
Meru National Park lies eighty-five kilometers east of Meru town on the north-eastern lowlands below Nyambene Hills, and about 370 kilometers north-east of Nairobi. It was established as a County Council Game Reserve covering 1,167 Sq. Km. in 1957. Later in 1966, through a Government Legal notice, the area was gazetted as a national park under the Kenya National Parks trustees and the park area was reduced to 840 sq. Kms. It is a low-lying park on a semi-arid zone with mean temperatures of 70°F and erratic rains which amount to 300-400 mm on the east to 640-760 mm to the west. The western section, is a hilly upland of volcanic rocks with rich black volcanic or cotton soils and drained by 15 permanent streams.
The eastern section is an open plain of red leteritic soils where several hills of Precambrian rocks tower above the surrounding plains such as the Mugwango hills, Leopard Rocks and Gutich. The fifteen streams and seasonal luggas flow into the main rivers - Rojerwero, Murera and Ura which eventually converge later into Kenya’s mightiest river, the Tana which flows 1,014 Km. or 630 miles from the Aberdares and Mt. Kenya slopes to the Indian Ocean and forms the south-eastern boundary of the park.
The rivers are fringed by dense riverine forests or strands of Doum palms and Raphia palms. Combretum woodland prevails in the western elevated section of the park with the bush and Acacia commiphora woodland dominating the south and south-eastern sections. The northern and north-western zones are open doum palm grasslands dotted here and there by acacia woods. Several swamps found in the Murera, Mulika, Bwatherongi, Mugwango and leopard Rock areas become the centre of wildlife concentrations during the dry season when the rest of the park is sun scorched.
The park has a road system of over 600 Kms. which guarantee pleasant drives for game viewing. It is popularly known as Elsa Country where the late world famous Joy Adamson reared the orphaned lioness and later rehabilitated her in the wild. She also raided Pipa the cheetah, made famous in her book "The Spotted Sphinx" and later released her into the bush.
