The first park we visited was Samburu where we spent 2 days/2 nights. We were picked-up on time, stopped at bank and grocery store to buy supplies where we found perfect snack: Wedel chocolate (the best Polish chocolate!), and were on the road quickly for 5.5 hour drive from Nairobi to the entrance of Samburu NP. Samburu was our favorite park! We loved it. Varied and beautiful landscape with dry hills, termite and ant mounds, red soil, lush Evaso Nyiro (Ewaso Ng’iro) river, volcanic mountains in the distance, rare animals absent in other parks and not so many tourists. A lot of dust (true for all places we visited). We saw so many animals just on the way to our camp (Samburu Sentrim lodge) located at the end of the park far from the entrance. The lodge is on the river with plenty of birds and monkeys. We had lovely cottage (no hot water in the shower the first day) and open dining room was visited by vervet monkeys stealing sugar packets. Very few tourist. The staff was the nicest of all the lodges. Some other places had better amenities – this was our favorite. We had 2 afternoon and 2 morning game drives (it was hot midday). We saw beautiful Gravy’s zebras, common zebras, reticulated giraffes, oryxes, kudu, Somali ostrich and many other birds, many elephants, mating pair of lions, baboons and vervet monkeys, warthogs, impalas, Grant’s gazelles, dik-diks, gerenuks, common waterbucks, mongooses…
Ostrich, Samburu
Zebras, Samburu
Lion couple, Samburu
We were searching for leopard for hours, as Samburu is the best place to see them, but no luck. We were waiting under a tree that some people saw leopard climbing and Piotr saw it for a moment from distance among dense branches, but it didn’t come down before we had to leave. There were many goat and cattle herds grazing illegally inside the park, people fishing or even hunting crocodiles in the river (apparently for food). These activities scare most wildlife away. Unfortunately, unlike in Masai Mara, Samburu people are not engaged in tourist business and don’t benefit from it, so there is conflict of interest. Park management works to implement solutions that are successful in other places.
