After another cancellation, to India this time, we organised a two week trip to Laikipia and Lewa, staying firstly at Lewa Wilderness Lodge (lying just outside Laikipia County to the east) before moving on to Laikipia Wilderness Camp. Throughout Laikipia there are numerous conservancies and private ranches where wildlife is protected. There is a low-density approach to tourism, and, most importantly, it is a haven for a number of endangered species. Laikipia is home to around 50% of Kenya’s Black Rhinos as well as Southern White Rhinos, and endangered Grevy’s Zebra and Reticulated Giraffe can be found here. At our first stay, Lewa Wilderness Lodge, our emphasis was on photographing and observing both species of Rhino, and in this we had great success. There were also very good numbers of Grevy’s Zebra and Reticulated Giraffe, plus the usual African mammals. We hoped to see Gerenuk, and we had two encounters with herds that were feeding in their almost unique way; standing on their hind legs to reach new Acacia shoots. One unexpected bonus was being able to get out of the vehicle to photograph the Rhinos at ground level - with permission from the guide of course!

Moving on to Laikipia Wilderness Camp we were disappointed to hear that the Wild Dogs we had hoped to view at close quarters were denning in an inaccessible cave, but this disappointment was more than compensated by two separate sightings of a young female melanistic Leopard, or black panther. This was way beyond anything we could have hoped for and was a real privilege.

Thanks to Michele Seamark at Safari Consultants for putting together a great trip with faultless organisation, and to the staff at both camps. A special mention to our guides Supukia at Lewa Wilderness Lodge and Steven at Laikipia Wilderness Camp. Both were superb guides that went above and beyond to make our excursions a huge success.

These images are best viewed as a slideshow which can be actioned by clicking on the triangular icon to the right. Watch to the end for the black panther images.