Samburu National Reserve

Samburu, we'll come back !

Coming from Lake Elmentaita, where we spent two nights there in the marvellous Sunbird Lodge (*****).
In Samburu we stayed at the Samburu Serena Lodge. Great place to stay.
The early morning game drive is a MUST ! Best chance to see the wild animals.

We did the whole tour with Phoenix Safaris Nairobi (our second tour with them!) , thanx to their staff !

Enormous variety of animals in one relatively small park

Our first trip to Africa and we chose Archers Direct as our tour company. We have found them to be a good choice for other tours in the past. Samburu was the first park we visited on our tourand unknown to us, an amazing variety of animal and birdlife was waiting to be seen.

When we arrived at the Samburu Game Lodge we were delighted with the well appointed accomodation under a canvas roof'. The lodges are located within a few yards of the river bank with a decking verandah to view the animals by the riverside. These include monkeys, baboons, black buck and a large family of elephants (on the other side!) not to mention several species of birds including kingfisher. Our lodge was about 100 yards from the main buildings, restaraunt etc., but after the evening meal we were always accompanied to our lodge by one of the security staff with torch, just in case a baboon might be roaming around. Security staff constantly patrolled the perimeter, which made us feel very safe

The food was buffet style with a variety of cooked meals including good vegetarian choices and was of very good quality. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful (as we found throughout our tour of Kenya).

When we were there most of the park was very dry and brown (unlike much of Kenya which was surprisingly verdant) but there was plenty of trees and bushes for animal cover. We were very excited at the start of the first ever game drive and were soon rewarded by the sight of several lionesses relaxing in the shade of an acacia tree. On this and subsequent drives we were regularly stopping to take photos of Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelles, various species of antelope, Elephant, Lions patrolling (super photo opportunity), birds (including bee-eater, eagles, goshawk, and various ground birds). It was wonderful to be so close to the animals, which for the most part ignored the presence of the vehicle (a six seat minibus). We saw more and more variety on each game drive and were lucky enough to spot a Leopard on the way back from our very last drive - Wow!

I recommend a long lens for your camera to get those close up and intimate shots and I found a camera bean bag for supporting the lens to be essential to avoid camera shake. All in all Samburu was a fantastic introduction to the Kenyan safari and I highly recommend a visit to this lovely place. We are looking forward to another safari trip in a few years time.

A truly wonderful experience, which fulfilled all our expectations. It was a holiday of a lifetime!

We thought that the wildlife was superb spotting all the big five including a glimpse of a leopard, the scenery was great and the weather was very good. The accommodation was excellent staying in a lodge in Samburu National Park. We had own our guide who could not do enough for us taking us on extra safaris and we even visited a Samburu village and tasted their way of life. The food was well cooked and we even tried crocodile and ostrich eggs. Cannot wait to go back again

A life experience never to be missed.

Our stay at the Samburu Game Lodge was a life experience I wish I could relive. The warm and hearty welcome by the lodge staff was excellent. The accommodation at the lodge my wife and I had was comfortable, clean, well furnished and beyond our expectation. A timber bungalow set in the bush next to the river within the Game Lodge boundary. On our two day stay we were taken on early morning, mid day and late afternoon safaris, to see the abundance of wildlife in the Samburu Reserve. The food was very good and served by friendly and well mannered lodge staff. Out of all the game reserves we visited Samburu topped as one of the best.

See Buffalo spring review.

Wild, top class

Though not on a migration path, one will not be disappointed with the game views at all.

Difficult to get to, off the beaten track, however, with animals that are difficult to see in other parks, such as the Oryx and the Gerenuk. Avoid in the dry season as animals tend to migrate south to areas with a bit more water.

Samburu is a great place to visit for a unique experience far from big cities and people. That said, time with Samburu or further north, the Turkana, is a great reason to head that direction. It is absolutely beautiful out there.

Samburu is an excellent NP, I felt more on the wild than on Masai Mara