There is nothing like canoeing in the back country with the quiet, peaceful backdrop of the northern pines and the canoes ripple effects on the lake.

The worst part of canoe camping all depends on ones position and how to deal with the circumstances at hand. These might be some examples that you may encounter; daily rains and no chance to dry out, not being able to find the exact portage, getting lost and back tracking to get your bearings, windy days making it difficult to paddle, pesky mosquitoes and black flies, or maybe the unrelenting black bear in camp.

Yes, these are some tough challenges but rest assured they are part of the whole image and understanding of canoeing in the wilderness. Tackle each situation head on that comes your way. Therefore, providing the necessary survival skills required in everyday life.

Then what are the best of canoe camping? First, tantalizing smells of cooking over a portable stove, the mystifying call of a nearby loon, or the spectacular sunsets and sunrises. Next, the morning dew upon the tent, the lurking fog on the lake as you break camp, a moose and calf arrive at waters edge. How about the mysterious Native American pictographs telling stories of long ago, the busy beaver building a new home, or fast running water heard from a portage walking to the next lake. One of the top experiences, in my mind, is the incredible night skies of northern lights and star gazing.

Whatever the challenges that the wilderness may own take the bad with the good and roll with it. The best part is being with family or friends bonding in an environment away from busy schedules. Sharing fabulous outdoors exploration by camping, cooking, hiking, fishing, swimming and just relaxing are things stamped in your memories forever.

The savannah of the Amboseli National Park spreads across the Kenyan/Tanzanian border, about 240km south east of Nairobi. At just 392 square kilometres, it’s one of the smaller National Parks in Kenya. This can definitely be an advantage. It is famous for being one of the best places in Africa to see free-range herds of elephants up close in their natural habitat, and the Observation Hill at the south-east end of the Park gives spectacular views of the entire area. The swamp which lies at the base of the Observation Hill is also a great place to see elephants, as well as hippos and buffaloes, congregating to cool down in the mud and water.

Amboseli allows for myriad photo opportunities for the professional and amateur photographer alike. Imagine showing your friends and family a photo you took of Mount Kilimanjaro at dusk – that’s better than any postcard, surely? If you were planning on staying there, the Amboseli Serena Lodge offers uninterrupted views of the vast plains, with Kilimanjaro in the near distance.

One phenomenon of Amboseli you probably couldn’t capture on camera, however, is the mirages. They’re produced in the shimmering heat which rises from a vast, dried-up lake bed lying in the north-west of the park, and with a group of weary wildebeest sloping across the other side of the bed and the heat of the African sun beating down on your back, it really is an experience which can’t be reproduced.

Aside from the wildlife, Amboseli is one of the best places in Kenya to encounter the nomadic Masai people, who have occupied this land for centuries. Renowned for their fearlessness in battle and daring in fighting animals, these proud people rely on the grazing in these plains, and so must be attuned completely to their environment. Hastily throwing up huts made from poles and mud, the Masai abandon their temporary dwellings when the grazing is done and move to wherever the herds can feed. Amboseli is scattered with such dwellings, both occupied and abandoned.