Samburu and Buffalo Springs

Not as popular as some other parks in Kenya, but it is hard to see why. These two parks are divided by the sandy Ewaso Nyiro River but are essentially the same. This area of Northern Kenya is lower, drier and hotter than the Masai Mara but the rewards, especially along the river margins, are huge.

Ringed by vertiginous escarpments everything about the park is unusual from the geography to the species. Among the rarer species to be seen here are the gerenuk, endangered Grevys zebra, Reticulated giraffe, Vulturine guinea fowl and the Golden starling. For elephants and leopards it is simply sensational and it is not uncommon to see large herds crossing the river on the same game drive as leopards lounging on fallen trees.

 
Unfortunately despite rumours of some new bush camps opening there are few ethically decent places to stay. There are several large lodges, but much better places to stay are Larsen's and Odda camp. The park can occasionally be busy with sometimes badly behaved minibuses from large morally derelict European operators, but if you are prepared to undertake longer drives and look for the little stuff as well as the more obvious this is a superb park.