Nairobi

THE NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK

ByKerrygan August 1, 2022October 24, 20229 min read

The Nairobi National Park is the only national park within a city in the world. The park which is well situated gives an easy get away for Nairobi residents and I s also perfect for tourists who are visiting the city. With the express way it is just 15 minutes from the airport!!! Which makes it perfect for people who only have a few hours in Nairobi or are making a last-minute safari before leaving Kenya!

It is amazing that one can be enclosed by nature just few minutes after leaving the Central Business District. The park that offers an amazing view of the African Savannah also gives a splendid view of the city in the background. It is like nature and development merge while still staying apart, well… you have to visit to see for yourself!!!

The Nairobi national park is home to some big 5 animals. The white and black rhino is number one on the list!!! How do you know the difference?? The white rhino feeds on grass while the black rhino feeds on herbs. You can spot them grazing casually enjoying their best life unbothered by the curious tourists and onlookers who are awed by the presence of this majestic animal.

The king of the jungle can also be spotted at the Nairobi National Park!! Yes, you heard that right. The National Park is home 40 lions and depending on your luck you might be able to spot one of the majestic animals at any time of the day!!

The king of the jungle raised his head and continued with his afternoon nap

Most advice that one is most likely to spot them very early in the morning at sunrise (at 6 am) as they go to hunt, but the last time I did the safari at 12pm and was lucky to spot the king at 1am casually lying on some rocks taking a nap. My advice is any time is a perfect time to visit the national park and you will spot the animals. The park is big and depending on your availability you can do an 1 hour drive, 2 hour drive, 4 hour drive or whole day drive. They have packages to suit your every need!! And the tour guides are God sent, the know where the animals spend their time, which routes to take and which water holes the animals love!!

The other big 5 animal in the national park is the Leopard!! And these are hard to spot. You need to go to the park at night to spot these ones. They are very shy animals and like feeding while on top of trees, that’s makes them extremely difficult to spot as they camouflage well with the African grassland and savanna. For the night safaris you have to contact the Nairobi National Park in advance for planning.

The buffalos are interesting to watch in the Nairobi National Park. They graze in herds and are actually a wander to look at. They are like cows on steroids… this metaphor is crazy but it is what it is. They almost look like cows and are more muscular. In the park these are the animals to watch out for, they can be aggressive and can charge at any time. These you watch at a safe distance as they chew their curd, or feed on the grass, and when they lay on the grass to rest its like watching giant babies. As promised the park provides you the opportunity to see the big five which are the leopard, the lion, the buffalo, the rhino and the elephant. Out of the big five, its only the elephant that is not currently present at the Nairobi National Park. That gives you the opportunity to venture out into the other parks such as Amboseli, the Tsavo or the Maasai Mara.

An added addition to the Nairobi National Park is the Wildebeest!!! These animals are normally found in the Maasai Mara but have now been added to the Nairobi National Park. They are easy to spot with their grey skin and dark stripes along their neck line. In addition, their almost rectangular head shape is amazing to look at. And like the leopards these are also shy, they hear a vehicle approaching they run away!

A photo of Wildebeests gently grazing. If you look closely, you will see a gazelle. These animals peacefully co-exist.

The Nairobi National Park hasn’t etched its name in the books just because of the big five and the Wildebeests. It is home to various animals including but not limited to the Zebras, antelopes, birds, giraffes, crocodiles and hippos, tortoises and warthogs!!!

This warthog looks beautiful. Who termed them ugly?

There are different types of Antelopes in the park: the Impala, the Waterbuck, the Bushbuck, the waterbuck, the common Reedbuck and the Eland. The Eland is one of the biggest antelope species and is almost as big as the Wildebeest.

The Eland Antelope is as big as the Wildebeest

The giraffes and the zebras are officially the slay queens in the park. I kid you not, they pose for the photos and are unbothered by the cameras or vehicles. They literally stand wherever they are, look at the camera lens and continue to eat. For the lions the zebras are the tastiest meals (according to our tour guide). Nature is nature and although the zebras and giraffes are very chilled, sometimes you might think they are posing for those pictures… do not feed them. One is not allowed to feed any of the animals at all, this way the stay healthy with no interference from processed foods.

Zebras chilling in the afternoon, if you look keenly you may spot the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that passes through the park

During my visit at the Nairobi national park, I learnt an interesting fact. The giraffe walks in a very fascinating way. It lifts its left legs at the same time, then lifts the legs on the right side to walk. Left legs, right legs together. It does not interchange them, making it remarkable to watch.

Spot the movement of the giraffe. Lifing the legs on the same side together.

Did I mention the monkeys and baboons yet? Well, they come in hundreds, if you are lucky, you might directly spot them at the gate. One fun fact about the monkeys is that female baby monkeys are carried under the mother’s belly while male baby monkeys are carried on the backs of their mothers. Don’t worry no more why some baby monkeys are carried on the back while others are carried on the stomach.

A troop of monkeys on their day to day lives crossing the road

Fun Fact

The Nairobi National Park, has a lot of baboons if one enters through the parklands side. That part of the park is just open for people to relax and one is able to see a lot of baboons and monkeys on that side of the park. If you are just looking to relax and have a tranquil time at the park… the Parklands entrance has a place to just chill and be one with nature.

The Nairobi National park is also home to several bird species, if you are a bird lover the park is definitely a place to be. One interesting thing that I found is that it is home to several ostriches, I lost count of the ostriches I saw that day, beautifully and majestically enjoying their home in the savanna.

Do you notice how strong the legs of the ostrich are?

Birds are beautiful to look at and some times they do inspire the creativity of the human folk. A bird known as the secretary bird was the inspiration fpr the black and white uniforms that secretaries wore, some secretaries wear them to this day. Photo of the secretary bird below.

The secretary bird. This was initially the inspiration for the black and white uniforms for secretaries.

The national park also has select picnic areas, where you can enjoy a great meal or snacks. The picnic area is one of the few places you can get out of the vehicle. So yeah, it is totally worth it. Pack a picnic blanket, some food and or snacks get out and enjoy. The designated picnic areas have toilets too, so this is an opportunity to offload and empty the tank. In addition, the picnic areas allow you to sit on the grass, although there are benches available too.

The picnic area at the Nairobi National Park

The picnic area also allows you to have a lesson on the different skulls of the animals in the park. The skulls are in their original dried bone state, and also have all the teetjh intact. For biologists this is a great place to start.

The skull of a hippo. Its scary just thinking how big the gape of the jaws is.

Ever wondered how a hippos jaw looks like when open? Well it has enough force to crash its prey or predator.

There are many ways to get around the park. One can get on tours organized by the national park. Or one can personally pay for their car and themselves to drive around the park. When visiting alone, one can decide whether they want a tour guide or not, but one pays the service for the tour guide separaately. We had a tour guide that was so passionate about his job and was very knowledgeable on the animals found in the Nairobi national park.

A drive through the park is totally worth it

I hope you enjoyed this article on the Nairobi National Park and like I always say you have to travel to also experience this on your own. It is undoubtedly the only park in acity!! Long live the Nairobi National Park! Viva!