Kenya’s northern frontier is a land of contrasts—semi-arid scrubland where Grevy’s zebra and gerenuk roam, riverine forests where elephants gather, and a conservancy that shelters the last northern white rhinos on Earth. This six-day safari begins with a drive north from Nairobi through the central highlands, stopping at the Equator crossing near Nanyuki before arriving at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where the first night is spent among rhinos, elephants, lions, and rescued chimpanzees at Sweetwaters. Afternoon game drives reveal the Big Five against a backdrop of Mount Kenya’s snow-capped peaks.
The journey continues north across the Equator into Samburu National Reserve, a landscape of doum palms and rugged hills where the Ewaso Ng’iro River draws elephants, lions, leopards, and crocodiles to its banks. Samburu is famous for its Special Five—Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk, and Somali ostrich—species found north of the Equator and nowhere else in Kenya. Two nights here allow for morning and afternoon game drives, a visit to Buffalo Springs or Shaba National Reserve, and sundowners overlooking the river as elephants gather below.
The final two days unfold in Meru National Park, one of Kenya’s least visited and most unspoiled parks, covering 870 square kilometres of riverine forest, open plains, and acacia woodland. Meru is home to the Big Five, a thriving rhino sanctuary with over seventy black and white rhinos, and over four hundred and fifty recorded bird species. The park is also famous as the setting for Joy Adamson’s Born Free, with Elsa the Lioness buried within its boundaries. After a full day of game drives and a final morning visit to Elsa’s grave, the journey returns to Nairobi, carrying the memory of rhinos, rivers, and the quiet wild of Kenya’s northern frontier.
Safari Overview
A six-day northern Kenya safari from Nairobi to the Equator and beyond, exploring Ol Pejeta Conservancy’s black rhino sanctuary and rescued chimpanzees, Samburu National Reserve’s Special Five along the Ewaso Ng’iro River, and the unspoiled wilderness of Meru National Park, home to Born Free’s Elsa the Lioness. The journey crosses the Equator twice, traverses semi-arid scrubland and riverine forest, and returns to Nairobi carrying the memory of rhinos, elephants, and the quiet wild of Kenya’s northern frontier.
Highlights
- Crossing the Equator near Nanyuki, where water flows in opposite directions on either side of the line
- Ol Pejeta Conservancy, East Africa's largest black rhino sanctuary, with the Big Five and the last northern white rhinos on Earth
- Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only place in Kenya where rescued chimpanzees can be seen
- Baraka the blind black rhino, an up-close encounter with a hand-fed rhino
- Optional lion tracking by telemetry and night game drives in Ol Pejeta
- Samburu National Reserve's Special Five—Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk, and Somali ostrich—found north of the Equator and nowhere else in Kenya
- Over nine hundred elephants along the Ewaso Ng'iro River, with leopards draped in riverine trees
- Meru National Park, one of Kenya's least visited and most unspoiled wildernesses, with over seventy black and white rhinos
- Elsa's grave and George Adamson's original campsite, the setting of Born Free
- Over four hundred and fifty recorded bird species in Meru, including Pel's Fishing Owl and Peter's Finfoot
- Two Equator crossings in a single journey, through semi-arid scrubland, riverine forest, and acacia woodland
