The most famous photograph in Africa, on a weekend. Amboseli is where elephant families cross dusty flats with Kilimanjaro behind them, and its compact size means even a short visit delivers: the swamps at the centre of the park hold hundreds of elephant on any given day, plus buffalo, hippo and huge flocks of waterbirds.
We time the drives around the mountain, which keeps its own schedule: clearest at dawn, hidden by lunchtime. Four hours from Nairobi, one night in the park, and back the next evening with the photo.
A morning drive south into Maasai country and an afternoon game drive among the elephant herds, with Kilimanjaro filling the horizon when the cloud lifts.
The mountain shows best at first light, so we drive at dawn, take breakfast back at camp, and squeeze in the swamp circuit before the return to Nairobi.