Take an Amazing African Safari in the Middle of the City
The Nairobi National Park, located right down the road from the airport, might just offer the perfect long layover activity. (Photo: Jo Piazza)
Our urban safari through the Nairobi National Park almost didn’t happen. As we arrived at the entrance to begin a game drive, our truck stalled and the guide, Philip Muguti, looked at us nervously.
Never underestimate the ingenuity of a Kenyan. Philip, my husband and a few passersby, cracked open the engine, gave the battery a few taps with a rustic hammer and push-started it right through the park’s main gates.
Sometimes it takes a village to get moving. (Photo: Jo Piazza)
The Nairobi National Park is just a short drive (4 miles) from the bustling city’s center and practically borders the Nairobi and Wilson airports. Despite its location right in the middle of Nairobi’s sprawl, the park’s 28,963 acres is home to more than 400 species.
Most visitors to Kenya use Nairobi as a jumping off point for more far-flung safari locations around the rest of East Africa and are completely unaware the city even has a national park, much less one with such a wide array of animals. Even if you only have a day, or a sizable layover, in the Kenyan capital it’s worth a trip. Viator offers a seven-hour park game drive with Urban Adventures that also includes a visit to the Karen Blixen museum and the Langata Giraffe Sanctuary, a must for anyone coming to Nairobi.
Next week, after climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, I am heading off to the Rekero Camp and the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara, but after finishing up double red eye flights to make it to Africa from San Francisco, I needed a wee animal fix.
We were here first. (Photo: Nick Aster)
And we have no interest in getting out of your way. (Photo: Nick Aster)
Less than five minutes after we made it into the park we encountered a traffic jam. A group of thirty baboons, many of them moms with babies hanging lazily on their backs, completely blocked the road and it was up to them when they wanted to disperse. It took them a solid ten minutes of primping and posing for our cameras.
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You’ll see plenty of herds of Maasai giraffe. (Photo: Nick Aster)
When the paved road of the park turns to dirt and opens into a wide expanse of rolling plains speckled by Acacia trees, it is easy to forget you’re even in the city, save for a distant view of skyscrapers, apartment buildings and the odd plane taking off just over head.
We soon came upon a watering hole with a couple of sleepy crocodiles. A family of zebra crossed perilously close to his path, but he paid them no mind.
Check out this brand new baby zeb! (Photo: Jo Piazza)
Safari photo opportunities abound in the park. (Photo: Jo Piazza)
The park is rife with water buffalo, warthogs, elans, giraffe, Thomson’s gazelles and hippos. It’s also home to lions and eastern black rhinos, but they are much more difficult to spot than the rest.
On a weekday, it felt as though we had the entire expanse all to ourselves. We drove an hour without seeing another car.
On the edge of the park, near a riverbed we stopped at a small shack to grab some waters.
“Do you want to have a wander?” Philip asked us. I nodded “Take a ranger,” he advised.
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After working more than 20 years in this park, our ranger knew the animals better than almost anyone else. (Photo Jo Piazza)
So began our micro-walking safari with a shotgun-toting park official. An impala leaped out of the bush, as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Velvet monkeys followed us in case we’d brought snacks and a croc lounged on the river bed, never casting a glance our way.
And while we didn’t spot any lions, elephants or rhinos on our drive, it was a truly excellent way to spend a morning.
Of course no urban safari experience would be complete without a visit to the Langata Giraffe Sanctuary, an easy drive from the park. This non-profit center is helping bring the Rothschild giraffe back from extinction with donations and fees from the sanctuary. They have a raised platform where visitors can hand-feed the resident Rothschilds. Watch out for Kelly, she head butts humans if she thinks they may be withholding pellets.
It’s a good day when you can hold a giraffe’s tongue. (Photo: Jo Piazza)
Your safari day won’t be complete without seeing at least a few elephants, preferably very small ones. At the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage elephant foster parents ($50 per family) can have a private visit with the baby ellies as they are fed their bottles and put to bed.
Look ma, no hands. (Photo: Jo Piazza)
The orphanage is also open to the public between the hours of 11am and noon for a more modest fee of $10 per person, but beware of the crowds. If there are four members of your family, the evening visiting hours are well worth the donation and the money is very well spent.
