National Parks: More Than a Safari

One of my boldest, most starry-eyed dreams is to visit every national park in the world. Yes, I know, it sounds like the kind of bucket list you scribble down on a napkin and laugh about. But hear me out. I already live in Nairobi, the only capital city in the world with a national park inside it, where lions prowl within sight of skyscrapers. If that isn’t the universe setting me up for this journey, I don’t know what is.

But here’s the thing: national parks aren’t just pretty backdrops for safaris and Instagram shots. They are the beating heart of our planet’s heritage. They exist because someone, at some point in history, decided that certain places are too precious, too wild, too vital to be lost.

Why do we need national parks?

For starters, they are arks of biodiversity. From the great elephants of Tsavo to the coral reefs tucked inside marine parks along the Kenyan coast, they safeguard species that might otherwise vanish in the whirlwind of human progress. The UN has noted that protected areas harbor 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity (UNEP-WCMC, 2018). They are, quite literally, the last safe havens for life as we know it.

But their value doesn’t stop at wildlife. Parks are also cultural and historical touchstones. Think of them as storykeepers, landscapes that carry the memory of indigenous traditions, ancient migrations, and ecosystems that shaped entire civilizations.

And then, there’s what I like to call the soul factor. National parks are therapy disguised as wilderness. From time to time, I retreat to Nairobi National Park for what the Japanese would call shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing.” It’s where I shake off the heaviness of the week, breathe deeper, and remember I am small, but in a beautiful way. Research backs this up: time in nature reduces stress, boosts immunity, and even enhances creativity (Bratman et al., 2015).

A Journey Through History

The idea of setting aside land “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” began in 1872, when Yellowstone became the world’s first official national park (National Park Service, 2023). The model quickly spread across continents, reshaping how humanity thought about wilderness. Africa followed suit in 1925 with Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first in the continent, established primarily to protect mountain gorillas.

Since then, the list has grown into thousands: from Namibia’s haunting Namib-Naukluft, where red dunes meet salt pans, to India’s Jim Corbett, home to Bengal tigers. Each park tells its own tale. Some fun ones:

• The largest national park in the world is Northeast Greenland National Park, covering over 972,000 km² bigger than most countries.
• The coldest protected wilderness? Wrangel Island in the Russian Arctic, where polar bears outnumber people.
• The most biodiverse? The Amazon basin and Congo rainforest, both split across multiple reserves and national parks, are unmatched treasure troves of life—orchids, jaguars, frogs the size of a fingernail, and yes, my lifelong dream: mountain gorillas in Rwanda. One day I’ll trek through Volcanoes National Park to meet them face to face.

Parks aren’t just about animals either; they’re living testimonies of landscapes. Namibia’s Etosha salt pan is visible from space. Kenya’s own Maasai Mara is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. The list of marvels is endless.

The threats we can’t ignore

But even these sanctuaries aren’t invincible. Parks face pressure from poaching, habitat encroachment, climate change, and the endless expansion of human ambition. In the Maasai Mara, overtourism during the wildebeest migration clogs riverbanks with safari vans, sometimes blocking the herds themselves. Pollution within parks is heartbreakingly real too, plastic bottles discarded by visitors who came to “enjoy nature.” We need to respect these wild spaces when we enter them, the same way you’d expect a guest in your home not to leave trash scattered across your living room. 

And then, there’s the threat of time, the quiet tick-tock of extinction. I remember standing in Ol Pejeta, looking at the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, and feeling the weight of what “almost too late” looks like. Their survival now rests entirely in the hands of science and human responsibility. The saddest part? They are not alone. So many other species sit on the IUCN Red List, teetering on the edge, constant mirrors of our actions and decisions.

What’s Being Done

Thankfully, the world isn’t just watching. Community conservancies, like those in northern Kenya, are redefining conservation by ensuring local people benefit directly from protecting wildlife. Technology is playing its part too: drones monitor poachers, GPS collars track elephants, and even AI has joined the fight to help predict migration routes. There is a global push for sustainable tourism, fewer cars, more walking trails, and strict waste policies all helping parks breathe easier.

But most of all, there’s a growing realization: national parks aren’t just wildlife property; they’re human responsibility.

The Call

So, what’s the point of this article? It’s simple. National parks exist because somewhere along the line, humanity had the wisdom to say: “this matters.” They are gifts we cannot afford to squander. My hope is that you’ll feel the tug too that after reading this, your next free weekend finds you in a park, standing under a tree, lungs full of untamed air.

I’ll be back soon with deeper dives into individual parks, their histories, and their hidden gems. But for now, if you’re still here scrolling… the next step is obvious: I better catch you in a park.

My Wishlist

• Gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park
• Etosha in Namibia
• Kruger in South Africa
• Yellowstone in the U.S.
• A safari in Asia tigers in India, orangutans in Borneo

The list is long, but so is the adventure ahead.

References

• National Park Service (2023). History of the National Parks. https://www.nps.gov
• IUCN (2024). Protected Areas and Conservation. https://www.iucn.org
• World Atlas (2024). Largest and Oldest National Parks in the World. https://www.worldatlas.com

Sincerely,

Blue 💙