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Park Information
At the foot of Africa's highest mountain, 5895m Kilimanjaro, is one of Kenya's
most popular parks. It lies some 240kms. south-east of Nairobi very close to the
Tanzania border. The snow capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above a saucer
of clouds dominates every aspect of Amboseli. Gazetted as a national park in 1974
it covers only 392 sq kms but despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem
it supports a wide range of mammals (well over 50 of the larger species) and birds
(over 400 species). Years ago, Amboseli was the locale around which such famous
writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big game hunting
in the wilds of Africa. It is also the home of the Maasai people, those tall,
proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery
in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. The Maasai have learned
to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife which surrounds
them. A part of Amboseli National Park is composed of a dried-up lake bed which
in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground
rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for wildlife
throughout times of drought. The lake bed is subject to sporadic floods and noxious
salts in the gravel bed are dissolved to serve as a deadly poison for what is
left of the local woods; very few of the fine acacias, once a feature of this
region, remain. The snows of Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, form a majestic
backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant,
leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains' game, creating Kenya's most
sought after photographer's paradise. But the Park's popularity is also causing
serious concern. The combination of wildlife, tourist vehicles and Masaai cattle
are destroying the delicate but precious grassland. Park rules now insist that
vehicles stick to roads and tracks. The Park's best game runs are around swamps
and there is a fine lookout on Observation Hill which offers views over the whole
of the Park and beyond.
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