Day 1: Entering Samburu National Reserve

   Entering Samburu National Reserve

The Ewaso Ng'iro River

Everyone took a deep breath as we passed through the entry gate to Samburu National Reserve. This is our first wildlife stop on the trip. We arrived mid day and our wonderful guides took us towards Larsen's Luxury Tent Camp, our home for the next 2 nights.

Our Safari Rides

Samburu landscape

   The environment around us is very dry, with lots of shrubs and acacia trees, but not much grass. It is home to many of the famous African animals like elephants, zebra, giraffe, lions, leopards, and hundreds of species of birds.  The dry landscape is pierced by a river who's waters provide the lifeblood of this area.

Babies in tow

Reticulated Giraffe

      Because of the transition to this arid environment Samburu is a hot spot for those in the know looking for some of Kenya's rarer species. There are 5 big animals here in Samburu that you probably won't see in other parks from here to South Africa, and they are locally known as the "Samburu 5". They are the Reticulated Giraffe, Somali Ostrich, Grevy Zebra, Geranuk, and the Beisa Oryx. By the time we had reached our camp we had already seen 4 of these species!

Not your normal back yard

View from Larsens Tent Camp

  After checking into our luxury bush camp we spent some time walking around to get a feel for our new home. The view from the tents is pretty amazing as they are perched right on the bank of the Ewaso Ng'iro river. The banks were deeply carved showing that rains had come recently, although the level of the water had gone down drastically. Then as we admired the view a family of elephants came barging down the bank, a few hundred yards down stream. Our group gathered and watched as the elephants played in the water, spraying themselves down. I never know what people will expect when they have their first African wildlife experience, but I'm sure they never expected to be watching this from their front porch. Not a bad start. All of this and we hadn't even been on a real game drive yet.

Giraffe and Us

   So to change that we met our drivers, Peter and James, at 4pm for our first afternoon game drive of the safari. The two vehicles set off to explore the beautiful landscape and its inhabitants. Pretty quickly we had more giraffe encounters and then everyone's first up close encounter with elephants. A large family of elephants was noisily eating their way along the river banks when we came across them. Things really amped up when we noticed two of the tiniest elephant babies tagging along behind one of the big females. They were probably only a month old. I am pretty sure that Maggie wanted to take one home with her. I jokingly told her a tiny dik-dik would probably fit better in her pack.

Jack and Fiona

Lilac Breasted Roller

More encounters with elephants, zebra, and different antelope continued at a rapid pace. It was a dynamite first game drive experience as Samburu really brought its best. At the beginning of the trip I also told everyone that Africa can make a bird enthusiast out of just about anyone. After a few sightings of beautiful rollers, parrots, and bee eaters everyone was hooked.

John and Ale

  It is pretty amazing for anyone to see a place where animals still rule. These parks in Africa are the definition of wilderness. It is a place where you don't get out of your car to go for a walk, and where you are constantly reminded that you are not on top of the food chain. It has a way of putting things into a different perspective. This is what I was thinking as we watched the sun setting over the river on our first day in Samburu.