6 Days Kenya Samburu Aberdares Nakuru Maasai Mara Road Safari

6 Days Kenya Samburu Aberdares Nakuru Maasai Mara Road Safari begins with a visit to Samburu National Reserve – a not very well-known, but definitely worth a visit.

Samburu National Reserve is situated on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River in Kenya.

This means plenty of water, trees and shade to attract wildlife like elephant, lion, giraffe and zebra from the surrounding savannah plains. Leopards are also regularly spotted.

The reserve is not particularly well-known and is therefore not too crowded – a huge plus in Kenya where so many reserves are often overflowing with tourists.

It is often grouped together with the Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves as they lie so close together.

Our next stop is the Aberdares National Park – created in 1950 to protect the forested slopes and moors of the Aberdares Mountains.

The park has elephant, lion, rhino, black leopard and the beautiful but elusive bongo antelope. Both Treetops and The Ark are built above the ground beside floodlit waterholes with salt licks.

Visitors must book in advance and cannot make their own way to the lodges in private vehicles.

Instead check-in is at the Aberdares Country club for The Ark and the Outspan Hotel for Treetops, from where guests are bussed to their respective lodges.

Treetops is one of Kenya’s most famous hotels – this is where British Princess Elizabeth was informed that she had become Queen in 1952 on news of her father’s death.

Lake Nakuru National Park – renowned as a bird sanctuary with over 400 bird species, including huge flocks of flamingoes and many other water birds.

It is an excellent park for wildlife spotting and is home to many water-loving animals such as hippos and waterbucks.

Other animals present in the park include waterbucks, warthogs, impalas, buffalo, Rothschild giraffes, elands, endangered black rhinos, white rhinos and, occasionally leopards.

The Maasai Mara provides the best view of the famous wildebeest migration as the animals cross the Mara River between July and August.

The Mara is also home to the richest concentration of wildlife, including the “Big Five” (elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and buffalo), zebras, antelope, gnus, Oribis, hyenas, giraffes, warthogs, gazelles, hartebeests, hippos, crocodiles and others.

The park has the largest concentration of African lions, including the black-maned lion. Bird-life is as plentiful as wildlife at the Maasai Mara, which boasts over 400 different bird’s species.