An introduction to Samburu Sopa Lodge

Almost hidden amid the wilderness landscape of north-central Kenya because of their natural materials and organic colors, the lodge’s 15 cottages curl around a central waterhole where wildlife comes to drink both night and day.

Wide gaps allow the animals to move freely between the buildings, meaning that guests could potentially view just about anything moving just beyond their patio.

Between meals and game drives, the lodge swimming pool offers welcome relief from the region’s semi-desert climate. After dark, the open-air restaurant, lounge and bar are the places to hang out before retiring to the sounds of the African bush.

Guided nature walks and Samburu tribal dancing are also part of the lodge mix, and the front desk can arrange aerial safaris for a bird’s-eye-view of the region or game drives in nearby national reserves.

The lodge is surrounded by Samburu National Reserve, one of the spots where Joy and George Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness in the 1950s and where Kamunyak the Miracle Lioness adopted a baby oryx.

But there is plenty more in the way of wildlife. Legions of animals are attracted to the Ewaso Ng’iro River, which affords a year-round water supply along the park’s southern edge.

Diehard wildlife watchers crave Samburu for rare and unusual creatures found primarily in northern Kenya: the Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, long-necked gerenuk antelope, reticulated giraffe, and Grévy’s zebra.