We left Sweetwaters for the drive (several hours) to Samburu National Preserve. As was the case two days ago, the drive itself was an exciting and absorbing experience. We eventually left the “pavement” and drove on a good dirt road. You will see roadside pictures again which will remind you, perhaps, of some parts of Mexico and will most definitely show you that not all the world lives as we do. It is simply different; neither better nor worse.
We spent two nights at Samburu which is named after a local tribe. The accommodations were pretty plush and the game drives just got better. The Ewaso Ng’iro River runs through this 116 square mile National Park which typifies Kenya grassland plains. One nice thing about being in rolling hills grassland is that we had long-range visibility on the game drives and our guides used this to our very great advantage. More than once we would stop and hear the guide muttering “That Impala is watching something out there; I wonder what it is?” Usually it meant a big cat predator and we would drive off looking for it.
There are several parts to this chapter of our journey: The Road to Samburu, The Samburu Serena Lodge where we stayed, and 4 Game Drives filled with birds and mammals.