Samburu Game
Reserve, Kenya
Samburu
Game Reserve, Kenya
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Samburu
Game Reserve, Kenya
|
Elephants
in Samburu, Kenya
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all Samburu National Reserve Accommodation |
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All Buffalo Springs Game Reserve Accommodation |
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all Shaba National Reserve Accommodation |
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Samburu
Game Reserve, Kenya
Samburu
National Reserve is situated on the banks of the Ewaso
Ngiro River in the dry northern reaches of Kenya.
It is a hot and arid area characterized by a parched
landscape of hills and plains. The presence, however,
of the river - and its shady trees - attracts plenty
of wildlife. Giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and zebra
(including the endangered Grevy's zebra) from the
surrounding savannah plains trek to the water. Lion,
leopard and cheetah are also quite easy to spot, thanks
in part to the lack of grass cover. Samburu is also
home to large herds of elephants, and the reserve
is well known for providing the opportunity to see
wildlife that only lives in the dry north of Kenya.
Be on the look out for gerenuks - these odd, yet distinguished
looking, gazelle have long necks, and stand on their
hind legs to feed.
For the birders, around 365 species have been recorded
and the river area is particularly rewarding. Across
the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve.
A bridge connects the two, and they are often grouped
together by tour companies. Nearby is the swampy wilderness
of the Shaba National Reserve.
There is a good selection of safari lodges and luxury
tented camps in the Samburu Region. Samburu Intrepids
and Samburu Lodge are just two of them. The Samburu
National Reserve was one of the two areas in which
conservationists George Adamson and Joy Adamson raised
Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best selling book
and award winning movie Born Free.
Buffalo
Springs National Reserve
The
Buffalo Springs Reserve, forms part of a large complex
of reserves- the other two is Samburu and Shaba. Buffalo
and Samburu are adjacent to one another and are only
separated by a river. The reserve boasts of a wide
mix of animal and plant life, most of which rely on
the Ewaso Ngiro River for survival. Wildlife found
includes buffalos, cheetahs, eland, elephant, gazelles,
gerenuk, hippos, leopards, lions, oryx. Four of the
'big five' can be seen with the exception of the rhino.
A huge number of bird species (365) have been observed
in the reserve including the heaviest flying bird;
the Somali ostrich and the kori bustard.
The
reserve is on gentle lowland plain and has a main
feature in the form of an ancient lava- terrace that
forms the Champagne Ride in the Southeast. The Ewaso
Ngiso is the main source of water and is replaced
by the Isiolo River when it runs dry-which is a rare
occurrence. The Buffalo springs on the other hand
are a permanent source of drinking water for the wildlife.
The vegetation in the reserve is mainly riverine forest,
grasslands and woodlands.
Shaba
National Reserve
The Shaba
National Reserve is a rugged wilderness featuring
bubbling hot springs, rolling savannah, miles of scrub
& desert and the Ewaso Nyiro River which supports
a diversity of wildlife. Shaba is part of three small
adjoining savannah National Reserves that lie on either
side of the Northern Ewaso Ngiro River, 340km North,
North East of Nairobi (Samburu, Buffalo Springs and
Shaba). They were established in 1948 as the Samburu
Isiolo Game Reserve. Now they are managed by their
respective county councils, Samburu and Isiolo. The
reserve consists of a low lying, semi arid plain on
the southern bank of the Northern Ewaso Ngiro river.
It lies 9 km east of buffalo springs national reserve,
from which it is separated by the main road from isiolo
to Marsabit. Its Northern section includes a 34km
stretch of the Ewaso Nyiro River; here and elsewhere
in the reserve are numerous springs and swampy areas,
although some have bitter tasting water. Major attractions
are Scenic landscape and riverine forest, Permanent
Springs. Shaba has 17 springs at which animals congregate
during the dry season, Reticulated giraffe, Somalia
ostrich, Grevy's zebra, Joy Adamson's monument.
