Great places - Buffalo Springs National reserve

Buffalo Springs National Reserve is just north of Isiolo and south of the Samburu National Reserve  around 325 km north of Nairobi. It is one of the more remote and least visited of Kenya's game parks. It is located in Kenya's hot and arid northern region. is separated from the Samburu Reserve by the river

 

It is one of the most pleasant national parks in Kenya, not too crowded. There are a number of lodges and campsites , but daytime temperatures regularly reach 40°C between January and October, even when it rains.

 

Buffalo springs is named after an oasis of clear water at its western end. The reserve has an area of 131 square kilometres (51 sq mi), and is at an altitude of between 850 metres (2,790 ft) and 1,230 metres (4,040 ft) above sea level. It is a gently rolling lowland plain of old lava flows and volcanic soils of olivine basalat. The main feature is the Champagne Ride in the southeast, an ancient lava-terrace.

 

There is a narrow band of riverine forest along the Ewaso Ngiro which includes Tana River poplar,  Doum Palm and magnificent specimens of Acacia Elatoi. Vegetation includes, woodland and large stretches of bushland . In some areas lava rock is exposed, with scattered grass and shrubs.

 

Other parts have alkaline grasslands with occasional springs and swamps. Here and there the "Desert Rose"  is found in the scrub, with bright pink blooms. The tooth-brush tree shrub provides food to elephants, and its twigs are used as toothbrushes by the nomadic Samburu people

 

Elephant, zebra, giraffe, Beisa Oryx, cheetah and crocodile can be found in the riverine forest of acacia and doum palm.

 

Birdlife, too, is prolific with the Somali ostrich dominating the plains.

 

Larger than its southern relative the Maasai ostrich, it is more easily distinguished by its indigo legs and neck.Next in size is the kori bustard who stands a metre high. His behavior is unpredictable, at times running or crouching at the first sign of danger and at others completely fearless of humans. The male has a remarkable display inflating his neck and neck feathers until the head seems to disappear then raising his tail until it lies along his back.

 

In the park is a crater, made when an Italian bomber mistook buffalo for targets in the Second World War. It is now a spring and is reportedly safe to swim in. Unlike Samburu, Buffalo Springs has populations of the common zebra as well as the Grevy's zebra - it's an unexplained phenomenon why the common zebra is not found on the north side of the river.