Rhino tracking in Samburu

Board a light aircraft for the one-hour flight from Nairobi to Samburu, where your Saruni Samburu guide will meet you and transfer you to your lodge. Every day is different on safari, so activities today might include a safari drive with a bush picnic lunch or an afternoon safari drive in the 200,000-acre Kalama Conservancy, ending with scenic sundowners. Then it’s time for dinner and an early night ahead of your morning adventures.

Rise early for a safari drive and bush picnic breakfast in Samburu National Reserve. The reserve is inhabited by rare ‘dry country’ animals including The Northern Species: reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich and gerenuk. Also keep an eye out for elephant, lion and leopard. Back at the lodge, a light three-course lunch and a relaxing afternoon await. In the heat of the day, you might like to take a dip in the infinity pool or enjoy a complimentary half-hour back and neck massage. Then set off on an evening safari drive in the Kalama Conservancy, ending with a memorable dinner deep in the wilderness, complete with Samburu warrior dancing, candles and campfires under the starry sky.

Head off on a two-hour drive with a Samburu guide to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in the nearby Namunyak Conservancy. You’ll arrive in time for the midday feeding session of the elephants; learn all about their milk formulas, ask the elephant keepers your questions and watch as the hungry elephants come racing out for their bottles. During your time at the sanctuary there will also be time to watch the elephants bathe and play. Another two-hour drive will lead you to an unforgettable experience, arriving at Saruni Rhino and the Rhino Sanctuary to begin your rhino tracking adventure. Once you’ve located an endangered black rhino, you’ll leave your vehicle and track the rhino on foot under the guidance of a ranger.

Leave early this morning with a picnic breakfast on a safari drive to nearby Kisima Hamsini, known as the Fifty Wells or ‘Singing Wells’. Here, Samburu pastoralists sing unique songs to their livestock at a series of seasonal natural wells. You can also hope to see an incredible birdlife spectacle, as thousands of sand grouse dip to take water in the natural wells and waterholes throughout the Sera Conservancy. Back at camp, take a refreshing dip in the natural infinity pool overlooking the dry river bed, tuck into lunch with views of a waterhole often visited by herds of elephants, or relax on your sandy deck. There’s the opportunity to go on a second rhino tracking experience before dinner under the stars.

Following breakfast in camp, or taking a picnic breakfast to enjoy en route, leave Saruni Rhino for your flight onward to the Masai Mara or back to Nairobi.