Sensational Samburu

I am lucky enough to be able to travel to some incredible National Parks across Kenya; but (whisper it) I do have to say that I have a favourite! Of course the title of this blog somewhat gives it away…. But yes I very much consider Samburu to be my home park in Kenya. It’s a place that I know very well and relish spending time there. But just why is it so special?

Elephants

Samburu is the very best place in the world for intimate elephant encounters

Samburu is home to huge herds of elephants. But the elephants in Samburu are extra special. You see unlike the elephants in other parks, the elephants in Samburu have lived a fairly conflict free life when it comes to humans. And because they have lived without this conflict they haven’t developed the wariness and aggression that you see with herds in other areas. All this means that they are extremely relaxed around vehicles and people; which is perfect for spending extended time amongst the herd. One of my favourite things to do in the park is to find an elephant herd - and get amongst them; this really enables you to get some fantastic portraits of the herd and of course the babies! It’s not unusual for us to be able to spend several hours with a herd, moving with them as they graze and slowly make their way down to the river. And let me tell you that there is no finer thing on a safari than spending time with elephants - it’s just a truly magical and moving experience. All the sounds; from the gentle breathing to the low pitched rumbling to sound of the grasses being tugged. And the chewing, don’t forget the chewing! But it’s the curiosity that is really special, the elephants will actively walk up to the vehicle to have a look at the occupants inside, you can’t ask for a better elephant encounter.

Just look at these two!

Samburu elephant babies are really special - they love to play and are so funny and gorgeous - nothing puts a bigger smile on peoples faces than a stroppy elephant baby playing with a twig!

Brilliant Birds

Samburu is also a brilliant place for birds, we have had some fantastic encounters with brilliantly colourful Barbets, Finches, Bee-eaters, and of course Rollers! In fact I have even christened a certain area of the park Roller alley, because it is where all the Lilac Breasted Rollers hang out. But there are also lots of majestic birds of prey there - including the wonderful Martial Eagle, and the ever present Pale Chanting Goshawk, and my favourite; the pygmy Falcon! And let’s not forget the characterful Hornbills - we regularly see three species, the yellow billed aka the flying banana, the red billed and Von der Decken’s Hornbill. One of the biggest fan favourites though is the exquisite Vulturine Guineafowl - this is a very pretty guineafowl species with deep blue feathers, and like all guineafowl species it is one of the biggest drama queens out there. A flock of guineafowl cannot just quietly go about their business - they must chatter about it constantly…. Such brilliant birds.

The majestic Martial Eagle

Colourful Little Bee-eater

The Vulturine Guineafowl and its beautiful blue streaked feathers.

The Samburu Special Five

Now if you need a nother reason to visit Samburu then may I offer you the Samburu Special Five? You may well be familiar with the African Big Five (Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Leopard & Lion) but the Samburu Special Five is a little more - well - special! The Samburu Five contains the Grevy’s Zebra, the Reticulated Giraffe, the Beisa Oryx, the Gerenuk and the Somali Ostrich, all pretty rare species, but in Samburu there is a very good chance that you can tick them all off.

The slightly comical looking Gerenuk - a specialist feeder with a long neck; it can reach higher than your conventional antelope species but not so high that it competes with the Giraffes

The Grevy’s zebra - lots of tight stripes, massive ears and a lovely white belly!

And Finally…

For our safaris we like to use only the very best in terms of ground agents; this is something that is often hidden by cheaper trips, but trust us - it can make all the difference. We run all of our Kenyan safaris in conjunction with Sunworld Safaris - one of the biggest names in Kenyan safaris. Why is this important? Well it means that our trips run with seamless logistics, even when the unexpected happens. This could be a client having to return home unexpectedly, or a vehicle developing a mechanical fault. With Sunworld behind us, we can deal with anything unexpected so that your trip does not suffer. It also means that we have the best possible drivers and guides, all of which are rated as Silver or even Gold level in terms of their guiding ability. So not only do they know about all the animals and birds, but they are safe and ethical drivers who care as much about the animals welfare as we do - which is absolutely essential to us and what we do. Oh and the Sunworld Camps - they’re not bad either! We may work hard in the field but the camps are some of the most relaxing and luxurious around - which we think is essential for that trip of a lifetime!

Your evening is not complete without drinks and snacks around a camp fire!