Meru National Park Kenya

Marred by serious poaching in the 1980s and the subsequent murder of George Adamson in 1989, Meru National Park fell off the tourist map and has never quite managed to struggle back on. This is a pity, because it has all the essential ingredients for a classic safari destination with fine accommodation, excellent prospects for seeing lions and rhinos and a landscape that incorporates Hemingway-esque green hills and fast-flowing streams bordered by riverine forests, baobab trees and doum palms. The advantage of being one of Kenya's best-kept secrets is plain to see – you're likely to have much of it all to yourself.