“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 incredible 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 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 with another game drive. 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 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 its appearance among the wildebeest and zebra, who decided that the road was a good place for a dust bath. Lasse came with his family in April and Jeppe’s family in July when they came across a lion he 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 abundant 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, spring). In May, Sunrise of Africa School in Kitengela received a visiting teacher from England and invited her to the park at the end of her work. Accompanying Linda was Sammy, the school principal, and Sammy’s daughter. They enjoyed breakfast in the park while watching animals, including lions, antelope, zebras, and impalas. The herbivores were all together in a clearing, looking almost like a Garden of Eden. The lion had a freshly killed impala which 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 pod of rock hyraxes. On my first visit I saw a pronghorn antelope, 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 unfortunately 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 lots of monkeys running amok through the gardens. It’s kind of sad to see these animals stuck behind bars when their siblings are out roaming free.

Safari Walk is an elevated boardwalk that provides great views of the national park, with lookout points at waterholes where wildlife is most often found. With Xavier we walked along the boardwalk and saw a cheetah lounging 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 rhino 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 start at $150 per person, including the park fee (price varies depending on the number of people in your party and how long you want to spend in the park). ) . The Animal Orphanage and the Safari Walk have an entrance fee of US$22 each and are open from 8 am to 6 pm.