SAMBURU & SHABA

This arid northern area offers a wealth of animals, good game viewing, and a highly contrasting landscape from the forests of Meru, the rolling hills of Lewa, and the open plains of the Maasai Mara. Samburu is remote, off the main tourist route, and offers some great cultural interaction and experiences.

The Samburu National Reserve lies 200 miles north of Nairobi on the hot and arid fringes of the vast northern region of Kenya. The Reserve is within the lands of the colorful Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and home to a number of wildlife species rarely found elsewhere in Kenya. These include the Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, gerenuk, and Beisa oryx, which are found only north of the equator. This dramatic landscape is blanketed by the hot equatorial sun for most of the year. Relief comes from the cool waters of the Uaso Nyiro (“Brown”) River, which rises to the west on the foothills of the Aberdares and vanishes beyond Samburu in the soggy expanse known as the Lorian swamp. The scenery in Samburu is magnificent and the birdlife is awesome.

The world-renowned Save the Elephants Research Project station, founded by Ian Douglas-Hamilton, is in Samburu and is a highlight for elephant lovers. All visitors staying in Samburu can visit the station but those staying at Elephant Watch Camp, owned by the Douglas-Hamilton family, have special access. Visitors to the area also have access to visiting hours at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, a beloved project with wide-ranging support from Kenya’s top conservation entities.

For those looking for other unique experiences, rhino tracking on foot is a fixture at Saruni Rhino in the Sera Conservancy. You might also take to the hills with a hike up the Samburu people’s sacred mountain, Ololokwe.