5-Day Samburu Mt Kenya & Ol Pejeta Northern Explorer Safari

Your Samburu Mt Kenya Ol Pejeta northern explorer safari begins with an early morning departure from Nairobi, driving north through the central highlands on the approximately five-hour journey to Samburu National Reserve. As you cross the equator near Nanyuki and descend into the semi-arid lowlands, the lush farmland transforms into the rust-red earth and doum palm landscape that defines Kenya’s northern frontier. Upon arrival at your riverside camp within the reserve, you enjoy lunch overlooking the Ewaso Nyiro River before setting out on an afternoon game drive. Your guide navigates the riverine corridors where reticulated giraffe browse the canopy, gerenuk perform their characteristic bipedal browsing stance, and elephant families splash in the shallow waters. As the afternoon light softens, you search for leopards in the gallery forest and Grevy’s zebra gathering on the open plains.

A full day in Samburu National Reserve provides comprehensive exploration on morning and afternoon game drives. The dawn drive follows the Ewaso Nyiro River where large elephant herds come to drink, Nile crocodiles sun themselves on sandy banks, and martial eagles survey the landscape from the tallest trees. Your guide tracks lion prides across the sandy terrain and searches the volcanic outcrops for klipspringer and rock hyrax. The semi-arid landscape of ancient lava formations and rust-coloured soil creates an otherworldly photographic backdrop. After a relaxing midday break at camp, the afternoon drive ventures into the open plains sector to complete your Samburu Special Five checklist, targeting Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, and any species you may have missed in the morning. The late afternoon golden light is ideal for photography as animals become active after the midday heat.

After breakfast at your Samburu camp, you depart for the drive south and uphill to Mount Kenya National Park. The three-hour journey traces a spectacular ascent from the 900-metre semi-arid plains through the transitional scrubland and into the cool misty forests that blanket the lower slopes of Africa’s second-highest mountain. Your lodge on the slopes of Mount Kenya sits at approximately 2,500 metres, surrounded by ancient cedar and podocarpus trees draped in old man’s beard lichen. After lunch in the cool mountain air, an afternoon nature walk or game drive through the montane forest introduces you to a completely different Kenya. Black and white colobus monkeys leap through the canopy, giant forest hogs root through the undergrowth, and bushbuck emerge at forest clearings. The mountain’s diverse birdlife includes turacos, sunbirds, and the spectacular crowned eagle hunting above the forest canopy.

Depart Mount Kenya after breakfast and drive approximately two hours south to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia County. This 90,000-acre sanctuary is a conservation powerhouse, protecting the largest population of black rhinos in East Africa alongside healthy populations of all Big Five species. After checking into your lodge and enjoying lunch, you visit the northern white rhino enclosure to stand in the presence of Najin and Fatu, a deeply moving experience that brings the global extinction crisis into sharp focus. Continue to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only chimpanzee rescue facility in Kenya, where orphaned and rescued chimps live in a forested haven. An evening game drive through the conservancy reveals black rhinos emerging to feed in the fading light, lions patrolling the grasslands, and herds of zebra and eland silhouetted against the spectacular sunset over Mount Kenya.

Rise early for a final morning game drive through Ol Pejeta as the sun illuminates Mount Kenya’s glacial peaks in pink and gold. Your guide tracks black rhinos and the conservancy’s resident lion pride while elephants graze peacefully across the open plains. The highland air is crisp and the visibility is exceptional in the early hours, making this an ideal time for photography and birdwatching. After a hearty breakfast at the lodge, you check out and drive approximately three hours south back to Nairobi through Nanyuki and the central highlands, arriving in the city by early afternoon with an extraordinary collection of memories spanning Kenya’s most diverse northern landscapes and its most inspiring conservation stories.