5-Day Samburu and Ol Pejeta Safari – Rare Species and Rhino Haven

Your Samburu and Ol Pejeta safari begins early with a departure from Nairobi heading north on the A2 highway. The scenic drive passes through the foothills of Mount Kenya and across the equator as the landscape gradually transitions from green highlands to the semi-arid plains of Samburu County. After approximately six hours, you arrive at Samburu National Reserve and check into your riverside camp, set on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River where elephants and crocodiles share the sandy banks. A welcome lunch is followed by your first afternoon game drive, focused on locating the famous Samburu Special Five. Your expert guide navigates the acacia-studded terrain where reticulated giraffe move gracefully across the red earth, gerenuk reach skyward on hind legs, and Grevy’s zebra gather near the riverine forest in the late afternoon light.

A full day dedicated to Samburu National Reserve offers morning and afternoon game drives through the reserve’s diverse semi-arid habitats. The early morning drive follows the Ewaso Nyiro River where large elephant families drink and play in the cool dawn light, and your guide searches the dense gallery forest for leopards that favour the shaded riverine canopy. The rust-red landscape of volcanic rock and scattered doum palms creates a stunning photographic backdrop as you track the remaining Special Five members: the Beisa oryx on the open plains and the Somali ostrich with its distinctive blue legs striding through the scrubland. The afternoon drive explores different areas of the reserve, watching for lion prides adapted to the arid conditions and the smaller predators such as wild dog and bat-eared fox that emerge as the afternoon heat softens.

After a hearty breakfast at camp, check out and drive south toward Laikipia County and the renowned Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The three to four hour drive retraces the route through the central highlands, passing through the fertile Laikipia plateau with views of Mount Kenya’s snow-capped peaks on clear mornings. You arrive at Ol Pejeta for lunch at your safari lodge. The afternoon is dedicated to Ol Pejeta’s most moving experience: a visit to the northern white rhino enclosure where Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, live under 24-hour protection. Your ranger guide shares the full story of their subspecies and the cutting-edge conservation science aimed at preserving their genetic legacy. The afternoon game drive continues through the conservancy’s highland grasslands in search of black rhinos, lions, and cheetah.

Enjoy a full day at Ol Pejeta Conservancy with morning and afternoon game drives through its 90,000 acres of diverse highland wilderness. The morning begins with a visit to Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only facility in Kenya caring for orphaned and rescued chimpanzees, which offers a fascinating and uplifting insight into primate conservation. Your guide then leads a game drive targeting Ol Pejeta’s remarkable black rhino population, with patient tracking through the highland bush offering excellent photographic opportunities at close range. The afternoon drive explores the conservancy’s open grasslands where lion prides rest in the shade of acacia trees and cheetah scan the plains from elevated positions. An optional night game drive reveals the conservancy’s nocturnal world of aardvark, porcupine, and hunting leopard.

Enjoy a final breakfast at the Ol Pejeta lodge with views of the highland plains before checking out for the drive back to Nairobi. The journey takes approximately two and a half to three hours through the Laikipia plateau and the rolling farmland of the central highlands, passing through Nanyuki and Nyeri before descending into Nairobi. Your driver arrives at your Nairobi hotel or the international airport by midday. You leave with extraordinary wildlife memories from one of Kenya’s most diverse and ecologically important northern safari itineraries.