The river frontage is where you spend most drives. Elephants come to dig in the sand and cross between banks, crocodiles lie on the bars, and the doum palm forest along it is the best leopard habitat in the reserve — Samburu has a strong reputation for leopard sightings, often in the last light along the river road.

The dry country away from the river is where the Samburu specials are, and they are the reason to come. Grevy's zebra with its narrow stripes and huge ears, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, the long-necked gerenuk that browses standing on its hind legs, and Somali ostrich with blue legs — five species that between them do not occur in the Mara or Serengeti.

The rocky outcrops and hills hold klipspringer and are worth scanning for lion, which use them as vantage points in the heat.

The neighbouring reserves — Buffalo Springs and Shaba across the river — share the ecosystem and are covered on the same trip, with fewer vehicles.

The dry seasons of June to October and December to March are best, when animals depend absolutely on the river. Heat here is serious: game drives are early and late, and the middle of the day is for shade.

Practicalities

Samburu is a short flight from Nairobi or a long drive north past Mount Kenya. It pairs well with the Laikipia conservancies to the south, which offer walking and night drives that the national reserve does not permit.

This is Samburu land, and the community conservancies bordering the reserve are an important part of how the wider ecosystem is protected — several offer stays that put revenue directly into them.