Urban Tourism: Nairobi City Tour

Nairobi city, the capital of Kenya, is among the two cities with a national park in its midst. In it and its outskirts, are several eyebrow-raising and interesting attractions, which include:

NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF KENYA.

The national museums of Kenya exhibit the history and culture of different ethnic groups of Kenya and their traditions. The museum embraces ornithology by highlighting over 150 species of birds, created. A collection of Kenyan contemporary arts and diverse mammal sculptures are attractions here. The botanical gardens provide a serene natural environment. The museum possesses a welcome café, entertainment, and shopping facilities.

KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER(KICC).

This is the venue of the most popular event in Africa which contains state-of-the-art facilities and services for both visitors and business exhibitors. Kenyatta international convention center has got advanced meeting rooms, office spaces for rent, decoration and catering services, and well-secured parking facilities.KICC is surrounded by a good number of 5-star hotels making culinary services easy to reach, which gives it an edge over other venues.

DAVID SHELDRICK’S ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE.

David Sheldrick’s near Nairobi national park is a rescue center for elephant calves and rhinos orphaned by poaching from all over the country. Here, they receive daily treatment from very committed staff members who literally become their surrogate mothers. Eventually, when the calves are strong enough, they are moved to Tsavo, where they are carefully reintroduced into wild herds. From 11:00 am to 12;00 pm, the calves are exercised, bathed, and fed with milk and at this time, the visitors are free to visit and watch.

GIRAFFE CENTER.

The giraffe center started after discovering the sad plight for the Rothschild giraffe found only in the grasslands of East Africa. The effort to breed the subspecies was started by bringing two young giraffes, Daisy and Marlon, to the Lang’ata suburb, southwest of Nairobi. This is where the calves were raised and a program of breeding giraffes in captivity commenced. Thanks to this breeding, there are now over 300 species of the Rothschild giraffes safe in various Kenyan national parks. The center’s main purpose is to give both local and international visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the world’s tallest species, the giraffe.

BOMAS OF KENYA.

A rich diversity of Kenyan traditional music and dance is exhibited here. The bomas of Kenya‘s repertoire consist of over 50 dances from different ethnic communities. With live percussion, string, and wind instruments, diverse, authentic, and energetic dancing, bomas Harambee dancers will take you on a journey through Kenya’s past and present. The bomas of Kenya has an enviable conferencing facility in a quiet and serene setting. The Utamaduni restaurant of bomas of Kenya is of its own kind! As diverse as the traditional cultures of Kenya, so are the sumptuous meals here.

KAREN BLIXEN MUSEUM.

Karen Blixen is actually a popular Danish author who died on the 7th of September, 1962. She lived in this house, which has now been turned into a museum in her honor. They offer guided tours with very knowledgeable guides. The house features rooms designed in both the original décor with Karen’s props. Her 60-acre coffee farm is still maintained, with old equipment used in this farm exhibited. In her dining room set with beautiful cutlery where she used to entertain Prince of Wales, are some of her paintings.

Karen Blixen also entertained guests in her library where she used different lamp colors to indicate her moods! If she was in a bad mood, she would light a yellow lamp ad when she was in the right mood to entertain, she lit the green lamp. These lamps are still in this house for visitors to see. Her dressing table is part of the original furniture. The museum is located in a beautiful and serene environment in a lovely location.

THE CARNIVORE, NAIROBI.

The carnivore is the ultimate place to feast! It offers a whole joint of meat which includes: leg of lamb and pork, ostrich, rump of beef, sirloin, rack of lamb, spare ribs, sausages, chicken wings, skewered kidneys, and crocodile steaks –  roasted on traditional Maasai swords over a huge, charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant and carved at your table. Delicious side dishes and an exceptional array of sauces complement this feast that also includes soup, a selection, and dessert and Kenyan coffee.

Set in an attractive tropical garden, the service and the décor are outstanding. In carnivore, is an outdoor concert that is able to hold up to 20,000 people for a concert and 10,000 for special events. The carnivore “duka”  (meaning shop) has a wide range of merchandise for souvenir purposes.

MAMBA VILLAGE.

Mamba village, 13 km from the city, is a crocodile farm that holds over 70 Nile crocodiles, Masai ostriches, horses, and tortoises. The farm has got hospitality facilities including several restaurants, a four-star lodge, and a campsite. Fun activities on the farm include feeding the crocodiles, boat rides, horse rides, and ostrich feeding.

OSTRICH FARM.

Here, you closely interact with ostriches at a close range. The farm inhabits two types of ostriches which are the Masai ostrich which is red in color and the Somali ostrich blue in color, which you can ride on. The ostrich is the largest bird in the world and cannot fly but has strong, long, and powerful legs which enable it to run very fast at an approximate speed of 70 km per hour. The tour to the ostrich farm will offer insights into ostrich facts. Activities that could be enjoyed on this farm are such as bird watching, eating ostrich meat, ostrich riding, hand feeding the ostriches, touring the ostrich pens, and later on swimming and relaxing at the resort.

SAFARI WALK.

With its raised wooden boardwalk that allows for uninterrupted views of the animals, the Safari Walk is a showcase for Kenya’s Parks and Reserves, allowing visitors to discover what they can expect to see across the country. Visitors can see a sample of the country’s rich animal life including the rare bongo, white rhino, and albino zebra as well as big cats, antelopes, and primates. It is also home to some 150 species of local trees. Attractions include large predators such as the lion, leopard, hyena, and the cheetah and large herbivores such as the eland, the buffalo, the zebra, and the wildebeest. There is also an ivory burning site monument, walking trails at hippo pools, and serene picnic sites.