Rhinos on the Laikipia plateau, then the dry, beautiful north where reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras and gerenuks gather along a palm-lined river: Kenya beyond the Mara, in five days.
Most Kenya safaris head south-west to the Masai Mara. This five-day trip goes north instead, to two places that show a completely different side of the country. Ol Pejeta Conservancy, on the Laikipia plateau below Mount Kenya, is the country’s great rhino stronghold. Samburu National Reserve, a few hours further north, is semi-desert country with wildlife you will not see in the south.
The trip suits first-time visitors who prefer quieter safaris, returning travellers who have already seen the Mara, and anyone keen on rhinos. It also works well before a beach week on the coast.
The two areas are close together, so the drive between them takes only a few hours, yet the landscapes, wildlife and cultures could hardly be more different. Ol Pejeta is green, open and full of rhinos, with Mount Kenya behind. Samburu is hot and dramatic, with a river lined with palms and species adapted to the dry north. Read our guides to Ol Pejeta and Laikipia and Samburu National Reserve.
At Ol Pejeta we use Sweetwaters Serena Camp, a tented camp facing a waterhole that draws rhinos, elephants and buffalo day and night. In Samburu, choose the comfortable riverside tents of Samburu Intrepids or the dramatic hilltop villas of Saruni Samburu in the neighbouring Kalama Conservancy.
Leave Nairobi in the morning and drive north through the farmland of central Kenya, with Mount Kenya rising ahead on a clear day. Stop at the equator near Nanyuki, then enter Ol Pejeta Conservancy in time for lunch.
Your first game drive crosses open plains below the mountain. Ol Pejeta holds the largest population of black rhinos in East Africa, together with southern white rhinos, lions, elephants, buffalo, Grevy’s zebras and Jackson’s hartebeest. Sweetwaters looks over a floodlit waterhole, so the wildlife watching continues after dinner.
Spend the day exploring the conservancy. In the morning, look for black rhinos in the thicker bush and white rhinos grazing on the plains. Ol Pejeta also protects Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos in the world, a mother and daughter cared for by keepers around the clock; a visit to their enclosure can be booked as an extra.
In the afternoon, visit Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees. Its residents were rescued from the bushmeat and pet trades in West and Central Africa. On the way back, the rhino cemetery, with a headstone for each animal lost to poaching, is a sobering reminder of why the conservancy exists. Ol Pejeta also offers night drives and lion tracking for an extra fee.
Drive north round the flank of Mount Kenya and drop down through Isiolo into a very different Kenya: hot, dry and rugged, with red earth, doum palms and the mountains of the north on the horizon. Arrive at your lodge on the Ewaso Ng’iro River for lunch.
The afternoon game drive follows the river, the lifeline of Samburu National Reserve. Elephants come down to drink and bathe, and you start looking for the ‘special five’ of the north: the reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, beisa oryx and gerenuk.
Head out at dawn, when lions, leopards and cheetahs are most active and the light on the river is soft and golden. Gerenuks stand on their hind legs to browse on acacias, and Grevy’s zebras, the largest and most endangered zebra, graze on the open plains. Samburu is also excellent for birds, from vulturine guineafowl to colourful rollers and bee-eaters.
After a midday rest, visit a Samburu village to meet the people who share this land with its wildlife, with their beaded jewellery, songs and cattle-keeping life. Your final game drive returns along the river at sunset.
Take a last early game drive before breakfast, then drive back south to Nairobi, arriving in the late afternoon. To save the long drive, take a scheduled flight from a Samburu airstrip to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport in about an hour, in time for an evening international flight.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
Nights 3–4
Yes, two nights in each gives you four full game-drive sessions in each area without rushing. Add a night if you want Ol Pejeta’s night drive and the lion tracking activity.
Yes. Ol Pejeta has all of the Big Five, including black rhinos, and Samburu adds leopards and many elephants. Leopards are seen often in Samburu but are never guaranteed.
Five species found in Kenya’s dry north but not in the Masai Mara: reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, beisa oryx and gerenuk.
June to October and December to March are driest and best for game viewing. Samburu is semi-arid, so it also works well in shorter rain spells.
Yes. Fly from Samburu or Nanyuki to the Mara for three nights; light aircraft connect the two regions without returning to Nairobi.
Adventure 6 daysAfrica’s second-highest mountain, with far fewer people than Kilimanjaro: up through the Mackinder Valley to the foot of the jagged peaks, sunrise on Point Lenana, and down the dramatic lakes and gorges of the Chogoria side.
Signature 18 daysThe ultimate East African journey across four countries: chimps and gorillas in Uganda, golden monkeys in Rwanda, the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Signature 10 daysThe best of both worlds: chimpanzees, savannah and mountain gorillas in Uganda, then a short flight to Kenya for three nights among the big cats and great herds of the Masai Mara.
Change the dates, add a night, upgrade a lodge or combine it with Rwanda or Kenya. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a revised plan and price.
