“The only wildlife capital of the world” is Nairobi, with a 117 square kilometer national park just seven kilometers from the city center. In this unique urban adventure, you can take some photos of the wide savannah with the city skyline in the background. Black rhinos are the highlight of this amazing wildlife park. It was the first national park in Kenya and is a local treasure for the people of Nairobi.
The best way to enjoy the park is to start early in the morning so that you can see the animals at their most active. You can enjoy a picnic lunch in the park and follow some of the walking trails before ending up with another safari. If you don’t have your own vehicle, you can book a private safari in an open-sided KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) safari vehicle.
We had several visits to the Nairobi National Park during 2015, first in January with Richard and then in February with Hasse and his family. The beautiful saddle-billed stork made an appearance among the wildebeest and zebras, who decided the path made a good place for a sand bath. Lasse came with his family in April and Jeppe’s family in July when they came across a lion they had just killed. Elands are very common to see in this park – they are very shy and often disappear in the other parks in Kenya. Giraffes are plentiful and the birdlife is incredible. With Celia and her friends in June we saw a leopard tortoise, two lionesses and some buffalo getting intimate in the “Jacuzzi” (that is, a water hole). In May, the Sunrise of Africa school in Kitengela welcomed a visiting teacher from England and invited her to the park at the end of her assignment. Accompanying Linda was Sammy, the school principal and Sammy’s daughter. They enjoyed breakfast in the park while observing animals, which included lions, antelopes, zebras, and impalas. The herbivores were all together in a clearing, looking almost like a Garden of Eden. The lion had a freshly shot impala that he took into the bushes to eat in peace. In 2014, Pauline and Auriole were very lucky to see about nine black rhinos in one area, as well as a group of rock hyrax. On my first visit I saw a pronghorn, an osprey, and many antelope.
Along with the National Park are the Nairobi Safari Walk and the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, dubbed “Nature’s Havens”. The animal orphanage provides shelter for injured wild animals and orphaned young animals. The animals receive treatment, but sadly many will never be rehabilitated in the wild. However, the orphanage is associated with several international breeding programs, so the work there is very important. We visited the animal orphanage with Lindsay and got the best Serval Cat sighting one can get. Lions, leopards and buffalo are all there and, of course, many monkeys run wild through the gardens. It’s kind of sad to see these animals stuck behind bars when their brethren are out roaming free.
Safari Walk is an elevated boardwalk that provides great views of the national park, with viewing points at the watering holes where wildlife is most often found. With Xavier we walked along the boardwalk and saw a cheetah resting on the lush green grass. Xavier also had an amazing safari in the park, he saw a lioness with a playful young cub, an ostrich sitting on her eggs, Grant’s gazelle, secretary bird, a rhinoceros and even a leopard.
For non-Kenyan residents, admission to the national park costs $46 and is open from sunrise to sunset. Depending on the type of car you choose, a half-day tour can cost as little as $150 per person, including park fee (price varies depending on the number of people in your group and how long you want to spend in the park). ) . The Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk cost US$22 each to enter and are open from 8 am to 6 pm.