The Adamsons
Meru is the area where the passionate animal lovers and recluses George and Joy Adamson (he a hunter turned game warden, she a gifted watercolourist and writer) released their most famous lioness Elsa back into the wild in the late 1950s – a story that became the bestselling book and film, Born Free. After the couple separated, the misanthropic Joy conducted a series of long-term experiments with orphaned cheetahs and leopards in Shaba National Reserve – years of dedicated, lonely work cut short by her murder in 1980. George, meanwhile, moved to Kora National Park, adjoining Meru, where he lived in the bush and continued to work with orphaned lions. He was also murdered, in 1989, by poachers.
Exploring the park
Meru’s many tracks are all good gravel and most junctions have signposts and numbered cairns. A popular hook for a fairly long drive is the loop down to the grave of Elsa the lioness, on the banks of the Tana. And there are plenty of other enticing areas to investigate without going too far. Driving in through Murera Gate, for example, turn immediately sharp left up to the “Kinna Triangle”, cross the Murera stream at junction #102 and pass a stupendous fig tree on your left. You then enter a beautiful area of thick vegetation, tall trees and high grass.
The Rojewero River
The Rojewero River, the largest of the park’s twelve main streams, is an interesting watercourse: densely overgrown banks flash with birds and monkeys and dark waters ripple with hippos, crocs and freshwater turtles. Large and very visible herds of elephant, buffalo and reticulated giraffe are common, as are, in the more open areas, gerenuk, Grevy’s zebra and ostrich. Predators were once scarce, though numbers seem to be on the up, and lion (which prey mainly on Meru’s big herds of buffalo) and cheetah are increasingly seen, when they are not hidden in the long grass – the smaller grazers must have a nerve-wracking time of it here.
Rhino Sanctuary
Meru’s successful rhino sanctuary has been enlarged and is now protected by a fence and numerous rangers. The couple of dozen white rhinos are doing well, though the similar number of black rhinos suffer somewhat from tsetse flies. Finding the rhino in such a large area requires sharp eyes and a certain amount of luck, but these days they are monitored around the clock by KWS armed rangers, and the gate staff should be able to point you in the right direction.