Sera Conservancy

Sera covers a large area of dry hills and lugga riverbeds north of Samburu, and it made history in 2015 when black rhino were reintroduced onto community-owned land for the first time in East Africa, in a sanctuary run by the Samburu, Rendille and Borana communities who own the conservancy. What Sera offers that almost nowhere else does is tracking those rhino on foot: rangers follow spoor through the bush and bring visitors up on the animals at a careful distance, an experience quite different from watching from a vehicle. The wider conservancy holds elephant, reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, gerenuk and the other northern species, and the landscape of hills, doum palms and sand rivers is dramatic. Income from the small camp goes back into the conservancy, its rangers and its community programmes.

What you actually see

• Rhino tracking on foot - following spoor with Samburu rangers.
• Northern species - Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and gerenuk.
• Sand rivers and doum palms - the lugga landscape of the north.
• Community conservancy - rangers and programmes run by the owner communities.

When to go

Dry seasons for tracking and for the roads. Walks go out early in the morning while the ground is cool and the spoor fresh. Nights are warm and the days can be very hot by midday.

Honest expectations

Tracking is not guaranteed to find the animals, and success rates vary with conditions; the walk itself is the experience. It involves several hours on foot in heat over rough ground. Accommodation is a single small camp and must be booked well ahead. Access requires 4x4 and a long drive.

Nearby

Samburu reserve lies south; the Matthews Range rises to the west.