Situated along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa's most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place to be. There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably, just 20 minutes from the city centre, wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve. Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for a once in a lifetime experience.
Bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve to the southwest, the Olare Orok Conservancy to the west and the Ol Kinyei Conservancy to the east, the Mara Naboisho Conservancy is comprised of over 50 000 hectares of unspoilt wilderness in Kenya’s Greater Mara Region. The area is renowned for its bountiful biodiversity and breathtaking natural beauty with a wide range of wildlife on offer including lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, wild dog, and a host of plains game. Visitors can look forward to guided walking safaris, spending the night in a transient fly camp, heading out on a night game drive in search of elusive nocturnal creatures, joining the Mara Naboisho Lion Project as they track lions across the conservancy, or visiting Maasai villages to learn about the fascinating indigenous culture.
Located in the southern reaches of Kenya, the Amboseli National Park is renowned for its excellent variety of wildlife such as Maasai giraffe, elephant, lion and cheetah and not surprisingly it is one of Kenya's most popular parks. The landscape of Amboseli is dominated by the majestic snowcap of Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as open plains, acacia woodland, swamps and the massif of Ol Doinyo Orok. The birding is excellent, especially closer to the lakes and swamps. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to large herds of elephants among other wildlife species. Other attractions include opportunities to meet the Maasai people and soak up spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Resting at the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountain Range, in central Kenya's Laikipia County, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. It is also home to a large number of Southern White Rhinos and the last two remaining northern white rhino in the world. Originally a working cattle ranch in colonial Kenya and now a pioneering wildlife conservancy, Ol Pejeta works to protect wildlife and also provides a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees.
The Conservancy is a popular safari destination and is home to the renowned ‘Big Five’ as well as a wide selection of other African animals including zebra, giraffe, hippo, cheetah, jackal, serval, hyena, vervet monkey, and many more.
If you visit Ol Pejeta you have the opportunity to visit the Rhino Sanctuary where the two remaining Northern White Rhinos are protected, it is a fenced area and well guarded, and based there is also the anti-poaching dog unit - a really amazing experience and generally visited together.
It is important to note however that Ol Pejeta, despite being over 90 000 acres [35000ha], is still surrounded by villages and the town of Nanyuki - powerlines are visible as well structures and lights of those towns. It is still a working cattle ranch, and the drinking facilities provided for the cattle and animals, are large man-made structures, it is also open to the public and can be busy - so it isnt the wildest part of Kenya. This is the best destination in Africa for viewing rhinos, especially black rhino which are incredibly rare across the continent. For general viewing it is still really impressive and the conservation success story that it is makes it a worthy destination.
