Bordering the capital city of Nairobi, in beautiful Kenya, the Nairobi National Park is one of Africa's smallest parks and one of the only parks on earth to be in such close proximity to a city centre. It boasts a large and varied wildlife population, amid wide open grass plains against a backdrop of city scrapers. The park is home to one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries with the world's highest concentration of black rhinoceros. Its wetland areas are abundant with birdlife boasting over 400 bird species. Visitors can enjoy the many facilities the park has to offer such as scenic picnic sites, well-positioned campsites, and hiking trails. Commonly spotted species include lion, hyena, warthog, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, gazelle, buffalo, and sometimes if you're lucky, leopard and cheetah.
The Borana Conservancy is a non-profit conservation organisation dedicated to the sustainable conservation of critical habitats and wildlife. The conservancy's mission is to provide a sustainable ecosystem for critically endangered species on the brink of extinction such as the Patas monkey, Jackson’s hartebeest, reticulated giraffe, greater kudu, African wild dog, elephant, rhinoceros and more. Borana has a dedicated team of over a hundred men, who are deployed day and night to protect the wildlife from commercial poaching. Visitors to the area can enjoy riding safaris, game drives, guided walks, mountain biking, helicopter trips, conservation activities, as well as buggies and quad bike safaris.
The Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy lies nestled in the Matthews Mountain Range, spreading over 340,000 hectares at the heart of Kenya. The conservancy is run by the local Samburu community, said to be one of the lost tribes of Israel who celebrate Judaic culture and live in close harmony with the land, plants, and animals. The landscapes here, characterised by mighty purple peaks, vast bushlands and forests of cycad and juniper, have slowly welcomed back several threatened animal species, and visitors can look forward to seeing buffalo, leopard, lions, Grevy's zebra, De Brazza colobus monkey, reticulated giraffe, kudu, and wild dog. In the northern part of the conservancy, the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is home to large numbers of these gentle giants. Activities not-to-be-missed at Namunyak include guided forest walks, night-time game viewing, birdwatching, and taking part in Samburu traditional activities.
The Masai Mara together with Tanzania’s Serengeti form Africa’s most famous wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The image of acacia trees dotting endless grass plains epitomises Africa for many, then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The undeniable highlight of the Masai Mara National Reserve is undoubtedly the annual wildebeest migration traversing the vast plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It is known as the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. Large prides of lions, herds of elephants, as well as giraffes, gazelles and eland can also be spotted in the reserve. Aside from horse riding safaris and traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Mara plains has become almost essential.
