SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE

In the Northern Frontier District, Samburu National Reserve has its unique flora and fauna. The arid climate causes animals and fauna to differ a lot from that in southern Kenya. Waller’s gazelles, Grévy’s zebra , Reticulated giraffe, and Beisa oryx (aka East African Oryx) are species that are only found here. Samburu’s heart is the Uaso Nyiro  River that cuts through the park, supporting the unique ecosystem. Buffalo, zebras, giraffes and big herds of elephants walk from the surrounding savannah to the river to hydrate.

SOLIO GAME RESERVE

Solio Game Reserve is a privately owned Wildlife Conservancy that focuses on the conservation of rhinos. One of Kenya’s true pearls, this is undoubtedly the best place in the world to observe rhinoceros. Solio Game Reserve also plays an important role in the protection and breeding of black rhinos in Kenya. The breeding has been so successful that Solio has provided parks across Africa with young rhinos. The park is also famous for its large pride of lion which are often close by. Other animals we can encounter here are buffalo, zebra, giraffe, impala, water buck, spring wine and cheetah.

ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK

As part of the volcanic Aberdare Mountains, Aberdare National Park offers a varied landscape with everything from steep ravines that passes through the landscape to lush vegetation and beautiful waterfalls that flow down the mountain slopes. Just as varied as the landscape is the wildlife of the park. Here we will be able to photograph everything from elephant and rhinos to African buffalo and with some luck even lions. For the birders, Aberdare offers over 250 different bird species, including Hornbill, Sunbird and African goshawk, with many opportunities for exciting bird encounters.

DAY 1 – (Nov 14) WELCOME TO KENYA  

Arriving at Nairobi International Airport in the morning, you are met and greeted by our staff and set off to Samburu National Reserve by jeeps. During the drive, we will make various photo stops so you need to have the camera handy all the time. We get our first “real” photo opportunity of seeing monkeys  jumping on the trees around the restaurant where we will have lunch today. If you’re fast with the camera you can snap some quick action pictures. The last leg of our journey to our lodge is through Samburu National Reserve and with bit of luck we might get a glimpse of the wildlife that awaits us during the upcoming days. 

We check in at Samburu Game Lodge, and head out for our first safari this afternoon.. This is arguably the best time of the day to experience the big herds of elephants that slowly make their way down to the river. Back at the lodge we enjoy a great welcome dinner together and to get to know each other before we return to our rooms filled with imagination for following days photo adventure. (B, L, D)

DAY 2 – (Nov 15) SAFARI IN SAMBURU

Today, we leave for a full day safari in Samburu from early morning to after sunset, and photograph when the light is the absolute best and the animals are most active. In the arid climate there is a rich flora and fauna with Grévy’s zebras, Reticulated giraffes, Beisa oryx, and some areas with a large population of elephants. In the rocky areas of the reserve we have some good opportunities to photograph leopards and with the help of our special off-road permits we have the opportunity to follow the animals beyond the roads. (B, L, D)

DAY 3 – (Nov 16) SAMBURU TO SOLIO

After another safari in Samburu this morning, we enjoy a great breakfast and pack our bags to travel along Samburu’s savannah, past Mount Kenya, in the direction of the Rhino Watch Safari Lodge. The lodge has a magnificent view of Mount Kenya, and will be our base for the second part of our photo adventure. On arrival at the lodge, lunch is served before we check in to our exclusive tents. During late afternoon we will make a giraffe walk in a private park. During this walk, giraffes and zebras are very close, and it is possible to take pictures from completely different angles. Back at the lodge we will have a common dinner before we work with some post processing of today’s photos. (B, L, D)

DAY 4-5 – (Nov 17-18) SAFARI IN SOLIO

We spend the following two days in Solio Game Reserve located in the vicinity of the lodge. Inside the park, we see the sunrise slowly coming up from behind Mount Kenya while looking out for the many lions in the reserve. With some luck we´ll find them feasting on their pray from last night’s hunt.

Few places in Africa offer such exclusive photo opportunities of African wildlife like Solio with such a large amount of animals. Fewer jeeps in the park allows us to position our vehicles in the best possible way not to distract the wildlife or our surroundings and as a result we can focus entirely on our own photography, without being disturbed by any passing jeep.

Solio’s landscapes offer varied surroundings that are not found in many other places in Africa. As we move from the open plateau with its white rhinos and beautiful vast landscape views, to the green and lush woodland, there are constantly new exciting photo opportunities. The sun’s rays filters through the foliage and fills the surroundings with a soft light. The bushes and trees in the green forest gives us endless composition possibilities and a depth in the pictures that triggers the photographic creativity. After a morning full of photo opportunities, we return to the lodge for breakfast. Afterwards, there will be time to edit pictures, or have a dip in the cooling pool before it’s time for today’s second safari. In this beautiful surrounding it is important to keep an eye on both the ground and the trees where we can find a Colobus monkeys, birds or perhaps a lion that has climbed up into the tree to cool off from the scorching afternoon sun.

When the sun slowly begins to descend during our afternoon safari, we move up to the plateau of the reserve to experience a sunset beyond the usual. Surrounded by rhinos, giraffes and lions we will have a magical experience when these animals pass in front of the sun, just like a scene from the Lion King. After this we return to the lodge for dinner. (B, L, D)

DAY 6 – (Nov 19) SAFARI IN ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK

In the morning we drive to Aberdare National Park and it is like driving into a whole new world. During the day we can see a vast landscape with views becoming increasingly more spectacular as we drive higher up in the mountain, and among the dense vegetation there are buffaloes, rhinos and elephants to be spotted.

The winding roads along the steep cliff sides and bamboo forests lead us to the National Park’s waterfall where we will take photos and have lunch. Late in the afternoon we are back at the lodge and there is time for image processing in the evening (B, L, D)

DAY 7 – (Nov 20) SAFARI IN SOLIO.

Today we enjoy our last full day of morning and evening safaris in Solio. In the evening we will have a great final dinner together and our photographer will pick the best photo of the tour which will qualify as a finalist in our contest “Photo of the year – 2018”. (B, L, D)

DAY 8 – (Nov 21) JOURNEY HOME

In the morning we will make the last safari before the time has come to return to Nairobi and transport back to your home country. (B, L)

TOM SVENSSON • Conservation Photographer

Tom Svensson is a world known conservation photographer. Toms major driving force in life is conservation, and he travels regularly around the world to document endangered species, anti-poaching and illegal trading of animals. His skill as a photographer is to take pictures that touches people and makes a difference, here is seen as one of the best in the world. Tom is the only Swede elected into the IEPA, the International Environment Photographers Association. He is also a global Manfrotto ambassador and he is also in the Canon Nordic photographers program.

PORTFOLIO: www.tomsvensson.se

RHINO WATCH SAFARI LODGE ****