Saying khwaheri to the Mara and habari to Samburu

It was our last day in the amazing Masai Mara.  We had time for a very short game drive before breakfast back at camp.

We knew the Lenkuyai pride were still close by, they had a kill in the bush after all.  We skipped sunrise pictures and headed straight to the thicket we left them in the night before.

The kids were up and playing, but unfortunately they were staying pretty much in the thicket.  Difficult to photograph, but still a joy to watch.

Notice the very full belly on the little one…

The cubs still require milk, but they are learning to eat meat, mostly by playing with it!

Back to the camp for breakfast, to pack up and to say goodbye to the 5 that wouldn’t be joining us on our next adventure.  Then it was time for our short flight north to Samburu.

We flew north east and Arnold told me to sit on the right side of the plane in the hope that I’d get to see Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in the country.

Although I didn’t get to see Mount Kenya, it was still a very nice flight.

Samburu is very different than the Masai Mara.  It’s hot, arid savannah and home to the “Samburu Special 5” – the reticulated giraffe, grevy’s zebra, Beisa oryx, gerenuk & Somali ostrich.  Between the 2 vehicles we had a little contest for bragging rights – whoever could see & photograph the Special 5 along with the vulturine guinea fowl, the golden pippit and the golden breasted starling would win.  Sadly, the other vehicle was able to get a photo of the starling, we did see some but weren’t able to get a photo.  It was a lot of fun, and a lot of trash talk!

So without further ado, here they are, the Samburu Special 5…

The endangered reticulated giraffe is native to southern Ethiopia and Somalia and northern Kenya.  Sadly, it is the most common sub species of giraffe in zoos around the world.

The endangered Grevy’s zebra has much narrower stripes than the common zebra you see in the rest of Kenya (and Africa) and Samburu is home to the largest population of these beautiful animals.

The hilarious Gerenuk…

The Somali ostrich is a separate species of Ostrich, and unlike the Common Ostrich whose neck turns bright red when mating, his neck gets bluer during mating season.

The vulturine guinea fowl is a very pretty ground bird with their beautiful bluish-purple feathers (and a face only a mother could love).

And a few other photos from that afternoon…

We stayed at the Saruni Samburu and it is an absolutely magical place.  Here are a few of the property and the villas…

All I can say is “Wow – this will do”!