Samburu boasts the most unusual fauna of all East Africa’s major savannah reserves. There is the densely striped Grevy’s zebra (twice as heavy as the more familiar Burchell’s zebra), the Reticulated giraffe (neat, geometrically marked coat), the regal Beisa oryx and a comically long-horned race of the Grant’s gazelle.

The most unique of them all is the Gerenuk or antelope giraffe, distinguished by its extraordinarily distended neck and freakishly small head. It also possesses a unique manner of feeding, standing near-erect on its hind legs to stretch two metres above the ground and nibble on the leaves that other browsers can’t reach.

Less crowded than the Mara or Ngorongoro, this reserve is serviced by excellent upmarket lodges situated along the riparian forest fringing the Ewaso Nyiro River - an incongruously luxuriant ribbon through the surrounding dry scrub. A unique activity on offer at Samburu is the camel back safaris.

LODGES IN SAMBURU · SAFARIS IN KENYA
MAP OF KENYA