Samburu Reserve

North of Mount Kenya the country turns to red earth, doum palms and dry riverbeds — this is Samburu, home to species you will not see in the south: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk and the beisa oryx. Elephants and big cats work the Ewaso Ng'iro river, the green thread running through the semi-desert.

Samburu is also about people — the Samburu keep their cattle and traditions here, and conservancy partnerships put fees directly into local hands. It is wilder and emptier than the Mara, and pairs beautifully with Laikipia to the south.