Elephant Watch Camp

The communal area, like the tents, is built of fallen trees and colourfully decorated. Meals are served under cover or beside the Ewaso N'giro River, on whose banks the camp lies. The camp staff make all the food using locally sourced ingredients, so the Italian-meets-African cuisine is fresh and fabulous. Enjoy picnic lunches in the wilderness, and starlit dinners accompanied by the hooting of owls, a lone Samburu flute and the splash of animals in the water. Wi-fi is available.

There are six thatch-covered tents, all decorated in a fusion of luxury African-style bush living and bedouin tent bohemian. The walls combine canvas and netting to keep bugs out but allow in the sounds and scents of the wilderness. Inside, flowing fabrics cascade to the floor, there's a king-sized bed with crisp cotton sheets, lamps, a flashlight, fluffy towels and storage space. The en-suite bathrooms are private, with a bucket shower that is filled with steaming water at night.

Elephant watching is what this place is truly about (some 900 elephant roam free in the Samburu National Reserve), but there's lots more to see from camp – vervet monkey, baboon, mongoose, lizards, crocodile, big cats and a plethora of birds – listen out for the tiny Scop’s owls, which call “trrruk” in the trees every few seconds. Learn to identify the landscape with the Samburu guides, who are happy to help you interpret the signs of the wild.