5-Day Samburu & Aberdares Safari

6:30 am — Pick-up from your Nairobi hotel. Drive north on Thika Superhighway (A2) through Thika, Sagana, and Karatina, climbing through the Central Highlands. Cross the equator at Nanyuki (photo stop and coffee break, ~2.5 hrs into the drive). Continue through Isiolo and descend into the Samburu lowlands. Arrive by 12:30 pm. Lunch at your lodge overlooking the Ewaso Ng'iro River. 3:30 pm — Afternoon game drive along the riverbanks. Spot elephant herds, reticulated giraffes, and gerenuk feeding on hind legs. Scan the doum palms for vulturine guineafowl and the scrubland for prowling lions. Return to camp by 6:30 pm.

6:00 am — Sunrise game drive into the northern sector. Track lions and leopards in the cool dawn. Drive through Buffalo Springs to spot Grevy's zebra, Beisa oryx, and Somali ostrich — completing the Samburu Special Five. 9:00 am — Return for breakfast and midday rest. 3:30 pm — Afternoon drive along the southern riverbank. Nile crocodiles bask on sandy banks while hippo pods surface in deeper pools. Watch martial eagles soaring and dik-dik darting between bushes. Optional Samburu cultural village visit ($25 pp). Return to camp by 6:30 pm.

6:00 am — Final morning game drive in Samburu. 8:30 am — Breakfast and check out. 9:30 am — Drive south through Isiolo and Nanyuki, then west through Nyeri to the Aberdare Ranges. The landscape transforms dramatically — from semi-arid scrubland to lush highland forest. Arrive by 1:00 pm. Check in at your treelodge above a floodlit waterhole. Lunch at the lodge. 3:00 pm — Afternoon game drive through the bamboo and hagenia forest zones. Search for black rhino, giant forest hog, and the elusive bongo. The mist-wrapped forest feels primordial. Return by 6:00 pm for the night waterhole vigil — elephants and buffaloes visit under the floodlights.

6:00 am — Dawn drive to Karuru Falls (273 m), Kenya's tallest waterfall, cascading in three tiers down a forested cliff. Continue to Chania Falls surrounded by dense tropical vegetation. Watch for black leopard — the Aberdares are one of the few places melanistic leopards have been reliably photographed. 9:30 am — Return for breakfast. Midday birding from the lodge deck — Hartlaub's turaco, Jackson's francolin, and mountain buzzards are regular visitors. 3:00 pm — Afternoon drive to the moorlands above 3,000 m (weather permitting), where giant lobelias and tussock grass stretch to the horizon. Optional trout fishing in mountain streams. Return for dinner and the nightly waterhole watch.

6:30 am — Final dawn drive through the misty forest. Giant forest hogs root through undergrowth while colobus monkeys swing through the canopy. 8:30 am — Full breakfast and check out. 9:30 am — Depart the Aberdares through Nyeri, past Karatina and Sagana, and south onto Thika Superhighway. Packed lunch provided. Arrive in Nairobi by approximately 12:30 pm. Drop-off at your Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).