Picturesque Nairobi National Park

What?! A game park at the dead centre of a snazzy city of high standing among the top cities in Africa? Whew- Sure as eggs is eggs I had to pay this spot a visit along with my wanderlust family. Having been born and lived in Nairobi for twenty one years, I decided to be done with my ignorance and show some love to the inherent beauty of the city. In times past I had visited other game parks and reserves which I felt real appreciation for, but the decision to go to Nairobi National Park gave me insurmountable joie de vivre.

What’s special about the park, anyway?

Exclusively Nairobi Park became the first to be gazetted as a national park in Kenya back in archaic 1946, even before we were out of the Britons’ grip of colonization. Masai pastoralists were wiped out of the park’s lands in the wake of the park’s creation which was greatly pioneered by conservationist Mervyn Cowie. The flora of the park is considerably consisted of interspersed acacia bushes seated on open grass plains. Fauna, on the other hand, constitutes the celebrated big five with an exception of the elephant which can be found at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Ivory poaching was spreading like wildfire at some point before the 90s rendering the sine qua non of these poachers’ apprehension. President Daniel arap Moi burned twelve tons of confiscated ivory on a site within the park, inevitably improving Kenya's image on conservation and wildlife protection.

Being part of nature is like mind therapy

When I stepped into the park (not literally, I was in a safari van lol), the feelings I got were almost like retrospects of a Masai Mara safari, but inside a city. The biting wind that blew in my face as I stood on the open hatched roof was a sure affirmation that I was in the wild alright. We caught sight of a myriad of wildlife and birds vagabonding around in a good old-fashioned way, some oblivious to the fact that they would make a decent meal for others later that day. As I had my all-new DSLR camera hanging on my neck, taking good photos was not an option. Seeing the animals inside the park with the background of the city was something to savor owing to the fact that this is one of the few parks inside a city across the globe. Monkeys dancing on trees, antelopes grazing, and huge buffalos blocking the pathway once in a while was a pleasant and rather amusing sighting.

We managed to complete the game drive around the park within half a day, looking out especially for my favorite king of the jungle, Mufasa. Did we see him? I wish. Conversely, I’ll be back to this spot soon enough to take dozens of good photos of him for my later travel chronicles.

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