Just north of Isiolo, and around
325km north of Nairobi, are the Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba
National Reserves, some of the most remote and least visited of Kenya’s
game parks.
They are located in Kenya’s hot and arid northern region. When you see a camel train walking single file along a dry riverbed,
you know you’re in a pretty parched area! The three reserves
cover around 300 sq km in total and are separated by the Ewaso Nyiro
River, which provides water for the animals, including the local goats
and sheep, and some relief from the equatorial sun. Vegetation is
a narrow stretch of palms and woodland along the Ewaso Ngiro
River. Away from this is acacia woodland and hot, dusty scrubland.
This desolate landscape is the less hospitable face of Africa,
but is the preferred habitat for some mammals well adapted to this
harsh environment. Some of them are rarely seen in milder climates. Among
these are Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and Beisa Oryx - species
only found north of the equator and not in other parks. There’s
also elephant, cheetah, vervet monkey and the hippo and crocodile that
inhabit the river. The long-necked gerenuk, also known as the giraffe
necked antelope, is an unusual animal that spends much of its time
on its hind legs reaching up to eat the withered bushes.
Buffalo Springs is south of the river from Samburu and, unlike Samburu,
has populations of the common zebra as well as the Grevy’s zebra. It’s an unexplained phenomenon why the common zebra
is not found on the north side of the river.
Shaba, the largest of the three and the most inaccessible (4x4 only) has
a doubtful place in the history of Kenya game conservation. It
was here that Joy Adamson was murdered in 1980 while she was attempting
to rehabilitate a leopard into the reserve.
The colourful Samburu people in this region continue their nomadic
pastoralist lifestyle as they have done for hundreds of years. Close
relatives of the Masai in the south, they wear similar bright clothing
and jewellery. If you want to visit this region, think carefully about when
to go. Daytime temperatures regularly reach 40°C
between January-October, even when it rains.
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