​Expert Reviews – Amboseli NP

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Expert
Lizzie Williams   –  
South Africa ZA
Visited: Multiple times

Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

7 people found this review helpful.

Guaranteed Wildlife-Viewing at the Foot of Kilimanjaro
Overall rating
5/5

Amboseli has instant likeability and although it can be crowded with game-viewing vehicles, there are plenty of good reasons for its popularity. For a start, it’s a straightforward drive from Nairobi via the A109 and C102 roads. Once there, it’s easily navigable and there’s a great choice of accommodation, from Kenya Wildlife Service campsites to 5-star safari lodges. More importantly, animals are everywhere and well used to vehicles, and there’s a variety of landscapes from sandy dust bowls with endless horizons to glistening lakes and swamps fringed with lush foliage. Highlights for me are watching the (many) elephant and buffalo half-submerged in the reed beds of the marshes, thousands of tail-flicking herbivores scattered across the open plains around Ol Tukai, and views of the emerald-green Enkongo Narok Swamp from the top of Observation Hill. Predator numbers are lower than in some parks, but they are there, so look hard – I’ve seen a lioness escort her young from a thicket to drink in a stream and a family of cheetah emerge from the woods to eye up prey on the savannah. While animal action is guaranteed, the sight of Kilimanjaro is not – except for occasional glimpses at sunrise and sunset, the formidable mountain is usually shrouded in a thick shawl of cloud.

Average Expert Rating

  • 3.9/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

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  • 4 star 7
  • 3 star 2
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0
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