7-Day Samburu, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara

Travel north from Nairobi past the foothills of Mount Kenya and across the Ewaso Nyiro river into Samburu National Reserve, arriving in the afternoon. An evening game drive introduces the reserve's distinctive dry-country species.

The country here is dry, rugged and quite different from the green south, with doum palms along the river and rocky hills beyond. Elephant come down to the water in the late afternoon.

A full day in the reserve, looking for the northern specials: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, gerenuk and the Somali ostrich. Leopard are regularly seen along the river, and elephant come down to drink through the afternoon.

Samburu holds species found nowhere further south, and that is the reason to come: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, gerenuk standing on hind legs to browse, and the Somali ostrich. The Ewaso Nyiro river draws everything down to drink through the afternoon, and leopard are seen along it with real regularity.

A morning game drive before departing south, skirting Mount Kenya and descending into the Rift Valley to reach Lake Nakuru National Park in the late afternoon. An evening drive focuses on the park's rhino population.

The road drops down towards the lake with the whole basin laid out below. Flamingo numbers rise and fall with the water level, but the birdlife overall is consistently excellent, with well over four hundred species recorded.

A final morning in Nakuru, with time along the lakeshore and the escarpment road, before travelling south-west to the Maasai Mara. Arrive in the late afternoon in time to settle in before dinner.

The park is compact enough to cover thoroughly in a day, which is exactly why it works: both black and white rhino are seen here with more consistency than almost anywhere else in Kenya. The acacia woodland along the escarpment road holds lion and, with patience, leopard. Rothschild's giraffe were introduced here and are now easily seen.

A full day in the reserve with morning and afternoon game drives. Your guide will track the resident lion prides and work the short-grass plains for cheetah, with leopard most often found in the riverine forest along the Mara River.

The reserve opens out as you enter, and the first drive is about getting your eye in: elephant families moving between thickets, giraffe browsing the acacia line, and the plains game that the predators follow. Your guide will read the ground for fresh tracks and set up the following morning around what is moving where.

A second full day in the Mara, which can be spent on a single long drive with a picnic in the reserve, or divided around a rest at camp. Between July and October this is the day most often given to following the migration herds and the crossing points.

Mornings begin before sunrise, when the air is cold and the plains are at their most active. Your guide works the riverine forest along the Mara River for leopard, then out onto the short-grass plains where cheetah hunt in the open. Lion here live in large, well-studied prides and are seen on most days. Between July and October the wildebeest herds dominate everything, and your guide will position for a river crossing if the herds look ready.

An early game drive as the reserve comes to life, then breakfast before the drive back to Nairobi, arriving in the early afternoon.

This is a transit and rest day. There is time to repack, catch up on sleep, and prepare for the next leg, and your guide will confirm the following day's timings with you before you turn in.