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Northern Game Parks

 Although not included in the itineraries of most major safari companies, there are numerous national parks and game reserves in the northern area of the country. Most are difficult to get to, have few facilities, and, sadly, the recent activities of bandits have left tourists vulnerable to attack. Several parks are in the planning stages including one in the Mathews Range north of Wamba, an area currently designated a rhino and elephant sanctuary.
Samburu, Shaba, and Buffalo Springs, probably the most accessible of the parks in the region, are situated along the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River just north of Isiolo. The parks combine to cover some 300 sq km of mostly scrub desert and open savannah plain. Small rugged hills break the monotony and provide a perfect habitat for leopards. The river supports a variety of game including elephant, buffalo, cheetah, lion, dik-dik, and wart hog. While Grevy's zebra, gerenuk, and the reticulated giraffe are especially abundant in these parks, human tourists are not as common. Except for the lodge entrances, travelers often find themselves enjoying the environs in virtual solitude.
Situated on the edge of the desert outback surrounding the upper reaches of the Tana River is a cluster of interlinked parks that includes Meru National Park, and the Bisanadi, Kora, North Kitui and Rahole national reserves. Together they cover 5,281 sq km and include most every form of habitat from open woodlands to dense bush to dry scrub. In the mid-1980s, the English Royal Geographical Society and the National Museums of Kenya selected Kora as the sight to implement the first and largest comprehensive study of an ecosystem. Another park boasting a history rich in habitat research, Meru is the most famous of the regional parks and is the only one with visitor facilities. This is also the park where Joy and George Adamson did most of their research and where both were murdered. Meru National Park was once the home of Kenya's only herd of white rhinos, originally imported from South Africa. Although steadfastly guarded day and night, heavily-armed poachers sadly shot the herd and their keepers too. Despite it's tragically violent history, Meru is a beautiful area that supports a lush jungle of forest, swamp, and tall grass as well as numerous species of wildlife.
Further north are the national reserves of Maralal, Losai, and Marsabit. On the eastern shores of Lake Turkana, near the Ethopian border, sits the Sibiloi National Park. The town of Maralal is surrounded by the Maralal National Sanctuary which is home to the usual array of Northern Kenya wildlife. This beautiful area of rolling hills and conifer forests was once coveted by White settlers in the colonial era. The colonial government prevented such settlement in anticipation of violent reprisals by the Samburu who view the land as sacred. Today Maralal has a definite frontier town feel and is a common overnight stop for safari companies heading to Lake Turkana. Perhaps the town is most famous for the recent initiation of the Maralal International Camel Derby that takes place on the Saturday of the third week of October. The event is hosted by the Yare Safaris Hostel and attracts international attention each year. Races are open to all who care to rent a camel and include events for rank amateurs to international racing jockeys. As a prelude to this event, the organizers created the Great Camel Endurance Race which takes 18 days and covers over 600 km. The race begins in Isiolo and ends in Maralal the day before the Camel Derby. A large amount of the profit made from these events goes towards the provision of medical facilities for the Samburu people.
Directly north of Samburu are the remote, volcanic Losai National Reserve and the Marsabit National Reserve. Even farther north are the tiny areas of Nasolot and South Turkana that are completely undeveloped desert scrub as yet. In contrast, Marsabit is a densely forested mountain park that boasts two crater lakes. The park was originally famous for its giant elephants including President Kenyatta's favorite, Ahmed. Although poachers have slaughtered much of the wildlife, the park is still considered an elephant stronghold. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the town are the crowds of tribes people that congregate to trade. The Rendille, dressed in skins with elaborate braids and brightly beaded jewelry, graze their camels in and around the town. They are a the only non-Muslim people in an area dominated by Muslim traditions. Also common are the Boran and the Gabra tribes, both pastoralists who graze cattle rather than camel.

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