Meru National Park is wild and beautiful, straddling the Equator with numerous rivers and mountain-fed streams as well as Hemingway-esque green hills and savannahs.  Sitting on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, it would have been a popular safari destination without being the main camp of  Joy and George Adamson who raised Elsa the lion, made popular in the 60s by their book, "Born Free," and later made into a movie.  Large herds of lion and cape buffalo can be seen and the rivers abound with crocodiles and hippos. Other game to view includes elephant, cheetah, leopard, black rhino, gazelle, beisa oryx, and the more rare lesser kudu.  Meru is also a birder's paradise with over 300 species of birds recorded.