Green Hills of Africa

Born from one family’s passion for Kenya and its wilderness, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is today the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and one of the pioneering conservation organisations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa.

Spend a few hours in the company of young orphan elephants and learn about incredible rescue efforts and the world famous rehabilitation programme. You may also find yourself adopting one of the herd.

Karen Blixen Museum is a national museum in Kenya situated about 19 kilometres from Nairobi City centre. It was built in 1912, and was home to the iconic Danish author of ‘Out of Africa’ (won an Oscar Award)-Karen Blixen. This famous author, artist and poet lived here while setting up her coffee farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills.

In case you missed out, Out of Africa is a book which Karen Blixen wrote about her stay in Kenya and of her beloved farm, and was later made into a great movie. It shows her struggles she underwent to keep her estate and how her understanding and love grew for the culture and the people around her.

During your stay at Hemingways Nairobi Hotel, take some few hours of your time and visit Karen Blixen Museum. This will give you a chance to travel back in time where you can re-live your memories of Out of Africa. If you are a lover of history, then this is the place for you.

You can pick up a copy of the famous film at the museum shop or browse for handicrafts, posters and postcards, books and other Kenyan souvenirs.

A short drive from Hemingways Hotel, Nairobi National Park offers either an immediate safari experience on landing in Kenya or a final last look prior to departing home. It is the oldest national park in Kenya, established in 1946, and is the only national park in the world located within a capital city.

With wide-open grass plains and the backdrop of the city, scattered acacia bushes play host to a wide variety of wildlife including the endangered black rhinos, lions, leopards, buffalos, cheetahs, hyenas and giraffes among others. Visitors can enjoy Nairobi National Park game drives to view all these wild animals. For the bird lovers, the park also has over 400 bird species for your watching.

Some of the other fun activities to engage in the park include camping, picnics and hiking. The park also has various facilities for corporate events, team building sessions, weddings and video and film production.

Other attractions to explore within and around Nairobi National Park include the Nairobi Safari Walk, the Ivory Burning Site Monument and David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Whether you’re visiting Nairobi for work or leisure, a game of golf at the nearby Karen Country Club is not to be missed for golf enthusiasts. Guests at Hemingways Nairobi enjoy preferential rates at this golf club. This golf club was opened in the 1930’s, a large part of the 18-hole course was built on the former coffee estate of the Danish pioneer Karen Blixen. Indeed the shade trees from her coffee plantation still dominate parts of the course, eighty years after they were planted.

The course is superbly maintained with greens built to PGA standards and has played host to the Kenya Open in recent years. Karen’s golf course is as pretty as a picture, its flourishing wildlife (both flora and fauna) encouraged by an active policy of nature and wetlands conservation and promotion. Everywhere there is colour and beauty.

The Giraffe Centre is a non-profitable organization whose main objective is to provide conservation education for school children and the youth of Kenya.

Visit the feeding platform to get up close and personal with a giraffe and take a stroll through the nature sanctuary for a tranquil getaway with serene views and sounds of nature.

Days are as action packed or as relaxed as guests want and being in a conservancy means we have the freedom to head out on game drives whenever suits; that might be at first light to capture the sunrise and an early morning cheetah hunt or that might be after dark to experience some of the alternative wildlife that you wouldn’t see during the day.

Especially during the months of the migration, many guests do enjoy one full day in the Mara Reserve itself, along the main rivers in the hopes of spotting a wildebeest crossing. We will of course arrange this for you, sending you out with a lovely picnic lunch and the drinks of your choice to enjoy the day.

Being in a conservancy we are also able to offer guided walks through the wilderness where you have the chance to learn about the area, the Maasai culture and all the plants of the region and their traditional uses. You’ll also have the chance to learn the tracks and scat of the animals that have passed by that day.

As we work so closely with the local community, we have also been invited to take our guests along to some of the local village homes for an introduction into the Maasai lifestyle. There is always beadwork and carvings for sale during these visits so this is a perfect time to collect your souvenirs with the added benefit that your money contributes directly to the local Maasai women producing these exquisite artefacts. Don’t be afraid to bargain and barter however, it is expected.

One of the iconic experiences of a safari in Africa, a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Mara Reserve is a great way to get a different perspective on the park. The early morning Mara breeze will float you southwards towards Tanzania and as you follow the Mara River all the wonderful animals of the Mara are visible. The flight usually lasts about an hour and once you’re safely back on solid ground, celebrate the early morning escapade with a champagne breakfast in the bush.

If you are up for the challenge, sign up for one of the courses at Tribe Watersports, one of the best kite surf school in Kenya, which is a stroll away down the beach. It welcomes beginners and experienced kite-boarders. The warm, forgiving waters and the sand-cushioned sea bed are kind to beginners while the reef with its swells, kickers and sliders is a wild water-park for confident kite-boarders.

A fantastic sport to enjoy in Watamu as the area provides the right conditions with constant wind and flat water. It is a great way for the family to enjoy a beach holiday and discover and new way to be active on the water.

Stand Up Paddle (SUP) is one of the most up and coming sports for everyone, which is fun and great for communing with wildlife on their level. Whether its watching sea turtles take a breath or the sharks and rays swimming in Turtle Bay, or to entice the curious Watamu dolphins who may join you, this is the best, most natural way above the water to view the marine life in our Park and Reserve.

Diving takes place all year round although in our rainy season can be limited to inside the lagoon. Dives range in depth from only 6 or 7 metres to 30 metres, all taking place on the fringing reefs that grow along the shore of Kenya. The Watamu Marine Park is amazingly rich with over 500 species of fish inside the lagoon and over 1000 if you include the second and third reefs. Lion fish, groupers, barracuda, damsels, moray eels, butterfly fish and parot fish abound. Wonderful Nudibranchs are also fascinating to watch.

Whale shark and Manta rays are also seen and provide a very special experience even to the experienced diver. Over 200 brightly coloured coral species also inhabit the waters giving food and shelter to this underwater world.

Certified courses available: PADI, BSAC, SSI and VDST

Exceptional snorkelling conditions in the Park allow all visitors easy access to the spectacular undersea life. Whether a newcomer to the sea, or an experienced diver, you’ll be able to find some exciting things to do.

The Marine Park is about 5 kms long from North to South and approximately 1 km from the shore to the fringing reefs. Snorkelling conditions are ideal at low tide, and especially good at spring low tide. There are hundreds of beautiful coral reef fish which leave you awestruck and dazzled by their vibrant colours. If you are lucky, you may see a sea turtle, a guitarfish or large grouper.

Step aboard a traditional dhow for a stunning sunset cruise, where gentle breezes and the warm colors of twilight set the scene. Relax on cushioned decks, enjoying refreshing drinks and freshly prepared seafood as you drift peacefully through calm waters. This intimate experience promises a memorable evening surrounded by nature’s beauty, perfect for unwinding as the sun slips below the horizon.

The five-star golf resort of Vipingo Ridge is a popular day trip for Hemingways’ Watamu guests. 40 minutes’ drive from Watamu, a meandering system of water features runs through the course, keeping the greens bright and spongy. The course is also an oasis for myriad birds and butterflies. The fairways have been expertly modeled so that every hole poses a unique strategic challenge to golfers.

Once you’ve mastered the effects of the fickle monsoon breezes to complete this 72-par course, head to the terrace bar of the Swahili style clubhouse to watch the sun set over the western inland horizon of baobabs and sisal plantations.

Get out on the water at sunset in a locally made bamboe canoe with a fisherman guide, your camera and your balance!

Very famous is the Crab Shack at Dabaso fish landing site. This is a wooden walkway leading to a number of wooden shelters from where you can relax with amazing views and perfectly observe the birdlife of Mida Creek. You can also enjoy a Swahili fusion lunch and dinner, or simply drinks watching the glorious sunset.

Canoes can be chartered either from the Mida Creek Boardwalk or from the Dabaso Landing Site, a small anchorage ground for canoes on the east side of the creek. Mida Creek Conservation Community group offer special trips to Kirepwe Island including a picnic with traditional food of fish, rice and fresh fruit. Alternative experiences include a trip to Dongokundu to be entertained by traditional Giriama dancers.

Gede Ruins, an archeologist’s delight, was one of the ancient Arab towns that dotted the East African Coast. It dates from the late 13th or early 14th Century and was finally abandoned in the early 17th Century. Excavated since 1927, many areas have been revealed, including the Great Mosque, the Palace, several residential houses and pillar tombs. Surrounded by tall shady trees, a walk through Gede is a must for anyone interested in the Swahili people and Kenya’s history.

Fishing charters are 10 hour full day excursions or 5 hour half days, depending on your preference and normally kick off just after sun rise when conditions are calm and often best for an early catch. Our experienced crews are happy to work with beginners and help them through each step on the fishing learning curve or just sit back and watch a master at work in the chair on a big fish. Children interested in fishing are very welcome too.

Humpback whales are the most majestic animals in the ocean, and are seen annually passing through the Watamu National Marine Protected Area on the Kenyan Coast.

Ask any tourist to name the Big Five of Kenya, and they will no doubt give you the usual list of land animals. Although visitors to Kenya are aware of Kenya’s beautiful beaches, coral reefs, fishes and sea turtles, not many know that 10 different species of dolphins and whale have been identified in Watamu, which could easily be included in the “Marine Big Five”.

Each year whales are first sighted along the coast of East Africa in early June as they make their annual migration north from Antarctica. Whales travel to warm tropical inner reefs during both breeding and birthing. Newly born calves typically remain with the mothers for about two years, until weaned. The return journey is made in October, swimming over 4,000km to the cold, food-rich seas of Antarctica, their main feeding area for sardines or krill. These magnificent marine mammals can reach a length of 15 metres and weigh around 30 tonnes (about six times the weight of an elephant). Watching them in their natural environment leaping out of the water, sometimes in pairs, or larger family groups, is an unforgettable sight. They can sometimes even be seen from land in Watamu, as you sip a cold beer facing the marine park.