Samburu National Reserve.
Samburu national Reserve at the size of 165 square Kilometers is situated on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River, along side Sheba and Bufallo Springs National reserve on the opposite side of the River in Samburu county.
The wide stretch of the local immaculate wilderness, that was established in 1960’s is 200 miles away from Nairobi city in Northern Kenya, and geographically , its altitude ranges from 800 to 1230 m above sea level.
Samburu national Game reserve, though characterized by Arid or semi arid, is famous for the abundant wildlife, but also a home to the rare Northern special 5 which are found no where else including: Grevy Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and the Beisa Oryx.
The reserve also hosts about 900 Elephants, while predators like predators such as the Lion, Leopard and Cheetah are also important attractions, while it is the the best place to spot Leopards spotted in Kenya.(Kamunyak the famous Lioness that adapted a baby Oryx is a resident in the reserve). Not fogrettine Wild dog sightings and more than 450 recorded bird species.
Apart from the wildlife, Samburu also made up of several conservancies and group ranches nearby the main reserve namely: the Kalama Conservancy, West Gate Community Conservancy and Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy.
Since the reserve is not only among Kenya’s premier must visit National Parks, but also Africa’s, www.selfdrivekenya.com offers a useful guide to adventure seekers like: How to get there, the best time to visit, attractions, safaris and where to stay.
Getting To Samburu national Park
At 310km or 325km (depending on the entry gate) from Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, Samburu national Reserve can easily be accessed by both road and air. While flying from Nairobi Wilson Airport, to Samburu National Reserve is the most convenient and fastest way to get there in 90 minutes, Self driving or getting there by road, although it offers beautiful sceneries, takes approximately 5-6 hours to reach.
What Type Of Safari Vehicle is suitable for accessing Samburu
Majorly, there two types of basic vehicles that most group tourists use for their guided (Car rental with a driver guide) Kenya Safari, which includes Safari extended Land cruisers and Mini/Safari tour vans with pop up game viewing hatches, which the driver opens when on a game drive, UHF Radio Calls and Cooler Boxes. Some tour vans come with 4×4, but without ground clearence. Above all, both safari vehicles have a sitting capacity of 8 and 7 passengers respectively. That is Extended for 8, and safari tour van for 7, all inclusive of the driver.
However, one can also book an SUV Toyota xtrail (4 pax without pop up), Land cruiser LX, Land cruiser V8 with pop up roof, and hardtop land cruisers for a self drive safari to Samburu National Reserve. One may also opt for rooftop tent rentals and camping gear for self drive camping safaris.
Entry gates of Samburu national Reserve
Samburu national Park can be accessed through various gates of Archer’s Gate, West gate, Kalama gate, Uaso bridge gate, and the central Airstrip gate. All distributed in 4 well accessible directions. The gates open and close from 6:00 am to 6:00pm respectively, before & beyond which, no car is allowed within the reserve, except for special cases like car breakdown, or special request from the warden.
The best time to Visit Samburu National Reserve
Samburu National Reserve can be visited any time within the year, although we acknowledge the driest months from July-October, then December to March to be the best time to visit. Whereas, looking for wild animals during the rainy season fro March to June is very difficult, because of the long grass that has grown in the parks, which make it difficult to search for the safari vehicles to navigate through the mud, and the animals tend to hide as well.
No matter the season, we urge all adventure travelers to come handy with warm gears because the weather is always unpredictable, and most of the evening & morning times are usually cold.
Accommodations in Samburu game reserve
All accommodations in and around the park are categorized following the : room quality, food, service and location. These accommodations are arranged inform of budget, mid-range and luxury.
For budget travelers, Elephant bedroom, saruni Samburu, Sasaab camps for perfect locations as well as experienced guides., although they have limited number of rooms.
The mid-range recommendations goes to both Elephant Watch room and Ashnil Samburu camp. Both are located near the Ewaso Nyiro River, where you can easily watch wildlife as they come to drink. They are built out of reclaimed logs, thus blending with the bush setting
While for high end clients, we opt for Samburu Game lodge or Samburu Simba lodge, and Samburu Sopa Lodge
