Shaba National Reserve
Expert Reviews (7)
Kenya Parks
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
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Joy and solitude
Shaba is perhaps best known as the park where Joy Adamson, of Born Free fame, met her demise at the hands of a disgruntled employee. The maverick conservationist, then working to reintroduce a hand-reared leopard, now gives her name to Joy’s Camp, an upmarket safari lodge. The park, which also provided a backdrop to the Oscar-winning movie Out of Africa, lies to the north of Mount Kenya and is effectively an eastern extension of Samburu. Its terrain is similar to that of the latter: largely semi-arid thorn bush, punctuated with dramatic volcanic formations – including the 2145m Shaba Hill. Its network of game-viewing roads also takes in natural springs, barren lava plains and ribbons of riverine forest along the meandering Ewaso Nigiro river, which forms its northern border.
Wildlife viewing at Shaba is generally less productive than in the better-known Samburu, at least in terms of quantity. Though all three big cats occur, sightings are unpredictable and during my three-day visit the only evidence came in the form of fresh lion tracks. Elephants pass through seasonally and large buffalo herds congregate around the springs. Other large mammals include arid-country species such as reticulated giraffe, oryx, gerenuk and the rare Grevy’s zebra. It is also a good park for seeking out such lesser-known species as bat-eared fox and aardwolf, and a striped hyena foraging in front of the lodge was a highlight of my stay. The impressive bird life includes numerous raptors, dry-country specials such as coursers and bustards, and – for the dedicated birder – the endemic Williams’ lark. Furthermore, Shaba is far less visited than neighbouring Samburu, and you will thus have the park’s impressive terrain largely to yourself as you seek out its more subtle charms.
Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.
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The Wild North
The twin sister (alongside Buffalo Springs) of the more famous neighouring Samburu National Reserve, Shaba is the connoisseurs safari destination. Wildlife here doesn’t grow on trees (which is lucky because there aren’t that many) and you need to work harder for your sightings than in Samburu reserve (where animals gather alongside the river banks), but despite what some people say there is a lot of wildlife in Shaba and, as with Samburu, many of these animals are the less commonly seen northern variations of animals you know and love so well from the southern park: the zebra here come with extra stripes, the ostrich with polar blue legs and the giraffes are of the ravishingly beautiful reticulated type. But it’s not just the animals of Shaba that are good looking. With its giant rocky outcrops and clusters of doum palms lining the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro River this is one of the most scenically impressive of all the Kenyan parks.
What I like about this park is how quiet it is. There are only two camps here (including Joy’s camp: one of the most ornate tented camps in Kenya) and I have spent full days here without seeing a single other tourist safari vehicle. This gives Shaba a wonderfully wild feel. One of my abiding memories of a safari here was climbing to the top of one of the granite outcrops known as a kopje for a sundowner drink. After twenty minutes we looked down towards the parked jeep to see three lionesses prowling around between us and the jeeps. I did what any sensible grown-up would do in such circumstances and quickly knocked back a couple more G&T’s (for gin infused courage and to numb the pain if we didn’t get back to the jeeps!)
Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.
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One of Northern Kenya’s desert gems
There’s a good reason why Joy Adamson set up her leopard research operations in Shaba National Reserve and these days many people return to relive those famous experiences (albeit on a markedly more grandiose scale these days) at the luxurious Joy’s Camp. Big Cat sightings are far from guaranteed but even if you just sit still at the waterhole where Joy camped (and was murdered) the procession of wildlife that passes through is truly astounding. Without even moving from your chair in front of your perfectly appointed Hemingway-style tented suite you are likely to have good sightings of elephant, oryx, zebra, giraffe and impala. When water gets extremely scarce in nearby Samburu Reserve then Shaba, with its springs, can often be the best bet. It can get hot and dusty in this area too but this park, with its sandy gullies, rocky lava plains and spectacular kopjes gives the feeling of remote, backcountry Africa and you will rarely see other visitors.
Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.
The Quiet Wilderness
Shaba gets very few visitors, and that’s why I love it. Yes, it doesn’t have as much wildlife as nearby Samburu or Buffalo Springs, and tourism infrastructure is limited. But there is a palpable sense of being in a Kenya that very few visitors see, of exploring wild northern Kenya much as the explorers did a century ago.
When it comes to wildlife, anything you see here is a bonus. I always find that with that comes an opportunity to change the way I explore, to be fully present in the moment and appreciate the smaller details that sometimes get overlooked in the rush to see the Big Five or watch a predator on the hunt. Shaba is rough and ruggedly beautiful. I wouldn’t go there on my first safari, but I’d definitely visit as part of a trip to deepen my knowledge of this remarkable country.
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
Samburu’s Wilder Eastern Cousin
Set in the same part of Kenya as Samburu National Reserve, from which it is separated by the main road running north to Ethiopia, Shaba is a little-known reserve that enjoyed a brief flirtation with fame when Survivor Africa was filmed there back in 2001. Fittingly, this tract of open acacia scrub has a wilder and more untrammeled feel than Samburu itself, with very little tourist traffic exploring the dusty roads than run east from its only large lodge, offering a genuine wilderness experience to those who do. However, while it protects a similar range of species to Samburu, including gerenuk, Grevy’s zebra and lesser kudu, wildlife is thinner on the ground, and relatively skittish, so best to come here for the overall bush experience rather than for pure game viewing.
Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Part of the dry-country safari ecosystem in Northern Kenya
On the fringes of Kenya’s desert region, Shaba shares the Ewaso Ng'iro River system with neighbouring Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves on the other side of the Isiolo–Archers Post road (A2). I spotted elephant, jackal, bat-eared fox and plains game, including the beautifully-marked Grevy’s zebra and the handsome reticulated giraffe, but my experience was you have to work harder to find the animals. Unlike Samburu and Buffalo Springs where almost all game drives are concentrated along the flat riverbanks, Shaba’s wildlife is also drawn to the marshy areas and scattered natural springs. Some of the tough four-wheel-drive tracks to get around the reserve negotiate steep hills, rocky kopjes, thorny scrub and gritty volcanic surfaces and can be bumpy and uncomfortable. The advantage is that Shaba is more scenic and solitary than the other two, but in terms of animals, I found it not quite the equal of its neighbours for population density and ease of locating them. As such, it’s a good idea to combine all three national reserves on a combined safari.
Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.
Samburu’s Off-the-Beaten-Track Neighbor
Shaba National Reserve, nestled alongside the more renowned Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves, offers an off-the-beaten-track safari experience. While wildlife sightings might be less frequent compared to its neighboring reserves, the exclusivity of Shaba makes it worth a visit.
The reserve doesn’t boast easy sightings of the Big Five, but it is home to a fascinating array of rare and localized dry-country specials that are the true highlights of this area. Among the reserve’s distinctive inhabitants are dik-dik, a cute antelope with a charming demeanor, and gerenuk, known for its strikingly elongated neck. The oversized Grevy’s zebra and the stunning reticulated giraffe, with its unique web-like patterns, are also easily seen. One of Shaba’s most distinctive features is its flat-topped acacia trees, which dot the landscape like natural umbrellas. These iconic trees create pockets of shade in the harsh midday sun, offering a vital refuge for the wildlife.