North of the equator the highlands drop into arid scrub, and Samburu National Reserve sits on the Ewaso Nyiro river, which is the only permanent water for a very long way. The reserve is small at 165 square kilometres, and together with adjoining Buffalo Springs and Shaba forms a single ecosystem of about 500 square kilometres.
The special five
Five dry-country species define the north and are rare or absent further south: the Grevy zebra, larger and narrow-striped, of which fewer than 3000 remain worldwide and most of them here; the reticulated giraffe with its sharply defined polygon pattern; the beisa oryx; the gerenuk, an antelope that stands on its hind legs to browse; and the Somali ostrich with blue-grey legs. Seeing all five in a day is realistic and is how visitors keep score.
The river
The Ewaso Nyiro is the reason everything is here. Doum palms and acacias line it, elephants dig in the sand when the surface flow stops, and crocodiles hold the pools. Game drives follow the banks, and the best sightings are early morning and the last hour of light.
Predators
Leopard are unusually visible in the riverine forest. Lions are present, and Samburu was the home of Kamunyak, a lioness who repeatedly adopted oryx calves between 2002 and 2004 rather than eating them, which remains unexplained. Wild dog pass through the wider ecosystem.
The Samburu
The Samburu are close relatives of the Maasai and speak a dialect of Maa, but they live further north and in a harsher landscape, and their dress leans on brighter colour and more elaborate beadwork. Several community conservancies in the region, coordinated through the Northern Rangelands Trust, run their own tourism and anti-poaching operations; Sera conservancy runs the first community-owned black rhino sanctuary in East Africa.
Getting there
Five to six hours by road from Nairobi via Nanyuki, or an hour by scheduled flight. Reserve fees are around 70 US dollars per person per day. Accommodation runs from public campsites to some of the best-designed lodges in the country along the river.
Season and warnings
June to October and December to March are dry and reliable. The Ewaso Nyiro can flood violently after rain in the highlands, and lodges on the bank have been damaged more than once. Northern Kenya beyond the reserves has security considerations; check current advice for anywhere north of Isiolo before travelling independently.