WILD CHILD SAFARIS - Classic East African Family Safari

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.

Enjoy gorgeous views over the Conservancy whilst enjoying a sundowner

A team of fully-qualified driver guides are on hand for vehicle safaris across the conservancy. The specially adapted open vehicles allow for excellent viewing but it is the richness of the game that our guests talk about. All the main safari predators, the rare Grevy zebra and of course the threatened rhino can be viewed in abundance. A particular favourite and well recognised aspect of the area near the lodge are the good elephant numbers and at least weekly sightings of the illusive wild dogs. The game drives are on your terms using our experience and are not limited to daylight hours. We often explore the conservancy by night using spotlight and the full moon when it obliges.

Game walks with Calum, a FGASA qualified Trails Guide, which we hope will open up the landscape and let you appreciate the smaller (or sometimes very large) animals as well as the tracks, trails, signs, sights, sounds and smells of the wilderness – something you often miss from the car.

Guests can also visit the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy headquarters to find out more about their pioneering conservation and community work such as a visit to the anti-poaching tracker dogs or a visit to the LWC sponsored local school or other community project.

The canopy walkway is a 40 ft. high aerial bridge of wiremesh and cables meandering through the tree canopy and extending 450 metres long. The walkway ends at a wooden platform 30ft. high, where you can relax and enjoy a view of the river from this elevated vantage point. Elephants and buffaloes frequently come here to drink and wallow, and one can enjoy a drink or a meal at the lofty leafy deck.

Visit the beautiful Ngare Ndare azure waterfalls and perhaps jump into the cool clear water.

Archeological remains of much earlier occupation of the area are found at Lewa and are some of Kenya’s best archeological sites outside the Rift Valley. The hill on which Lewa House is built is home to warrior graves many thousands of years old. They were a tall race who communicated with rock gongs. Later people developed these gongs into a game that’s now played all over Africa.

The Il n’gwesi people (Northern Masai) to our north, have a fascinating history and culture. Visiting them is an authentic and engaging experience.

Head out on a camel or by horseback for a unique safari experience.

Manda offers conventional deep sea fishing on a 33 ft Lochin sportfishing boat. The captain and crew are experienced in fly fishing and jigging as well. the day starts early in order to get out to the deep blue water and reefs where the pelagic fish are commonly found. The most common types of fish caught are Dorado, Wahoo, Kingfish, Sailfish, blue, black and striped marlin,
Yellow fin Tuna and Skipjack tuna. We recommend pre- booking.
The fishing months run from September - April. The best months for billfish are November - February.

Fishing trips can last half day, full day or overnight.

Manda has a collection of small boats with which to explore the islands, try some inshore fishing, visit Lamu or enjoy some watersports. There are water-skis, doughnuts, wake boards as well which can be enjoyed on the high tide in the calm waters of the mangrove creek. Snorkelling is very popular from November - March when the water is clear. The coral reefs are 10 mins away by boat.

These activities are not included in your stay and can be paid for at the end of the stay.

Manda bay also has a number of non-motorized activities available to guests, which are included in their stay.

These include 4 single Kayaks, one double kayak, 8 paddle boards, 2 windsurfers, a Laser and a Topper sailing dingy.

Whilst they are free to use - should you require instruction then we can provide this at a small cost.

With 22 rooms , Manda can offer the perfect location for a small and intimate celebration.

Manda has a unspoilt wilderness behind the lodge which can be visited along with the Manda Ruins - an ancient coastal settlement going back to the 9th Century With a resident herd of Cape buffalo and a variety of other mammals, this is a fun and different excursion to enjoy particularly in the evenings.