Enjoy early morning and late afternoon wildlife viewing in Kenya's hot and arid northern region. Your game drives will be in either the Samburu, Buffalo Springs or Shaba National Reserves, depending on the location of your lodge. Wildlife roams free between these vast protected areas situated within the tribal lands of the colourful and semi-nomadic Samburu people, who are close relatives of the Maasai.
This hot and arid region is home to a variety of wildlife, some mostly found only north of the equator - including the strange gerenuk, which stands upright on its spindly hind legs to browse from trees, the large Grevy's zebra, the reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx and Somali ostrich. Crocodiles can be found in the broad Ewaso Ngiro River, as well as large herds of elephants that wander along its banks. You can also hope to see lion, cheetah, leopard, Grant’s gazelle, the small dik dik and waterbuck, amongst others.
Birding is excellent with over 350 different species. Special birds to look out for include the Somali bee-eater, African pygmy falcon, Taita fiscal, black-bellied sunbird, golden-breasted starling, orange-bellied parrot, pink-breasted lark, fawn-coloured lark, Verreaux’s eagle, vulturine guineafowl, Von der Decken’s hornbill, eastern yellow-billed hornbill, northern red-billed hornbill, almost endemic Donaldson-Smith’s sparrow-weaver, black-capped social weaver, chestnut weaver and chestnut sparrow.
Whilst out on a game drive, you can also arrange to visit a local Samburu Village (pay entrance fee locally).
Note: If you are tall and remain in your chair for your game drives, please be aware there will be some restrictions on your viewing due to the height of the windows in the accessible vehicle. There are no restrictions if you transfer into one of the regular seats.