Nairobi Day Out Places

Are you looking for Nairobi Day Out Entertainment Places? Do you know where to go for a walking safari while in Nairobi City? This page has all the information you may need for a day out in Nairobi.

List of Nairobi Day Out Places and Education Centres

Nairobi Day Out at Ngong Racecourse Ngong Road, The Jockey Club of Kenya, P0 Box 40373,Nairobi; tel: 020 566108; fax: 020560000 A hangover from settler days, horseracing is still a popular sport across the board, with plenty of entertainment on the racing calendar, some topquality bloodlines and excellent African jockeys.

Meetings are usually held on the second Sunday of the month, but check locally for details.Entry KSh250

Nairobi Day Out at Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage

Turn left off the Magadi road at the Mbagathi gate to Nairobi National Park . This is a wonderful morning’s outing to see the baby elephants and rhinos which have been rescued by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (it was set up by Daphne in memory of her husband who was a park warden in Tsavo East National Park).

Daphne has successfully reared numerous baby elephants, and you can read about it in her book, Orphans of Tsavo. Once the elephants have become reasonably self- sufficient, they are translocated to Tsavo East National Park where they join the older orphans.

Elephants can be adopted. For information look up the websites: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org and www.wildorphans.org.Open daily 11.00—12.00; entryfree but donations welcome

Nairobi Day Out at AFEW Giraffe Centre

Koitobus Road, Langata; tel: 020 891658The giraffe centre is a circular wooden building, raised on stilts, so that you can look eye to eye with a Rothschild’s giraffe (unlike the Maasai and reticulated giraffe which have two horns, the Rothschild’s have three.)

The Rothschild’s are the most rare of Kenya’s giraffe, and this is an African Fund for Endangered Wildlife project to raise conservation awareness about their status.

There’s an exhibition by local schoolchildren about the giraffe and a visit entitles you to feed the giraffe on pony nuts. There’s also a small café on site. Open daily 09.00—17.30; entry KSh500

Nairobi Day Out at Butterfly Visiting Centre

256 Dagoretti Road, about 2.5km from Karen roundabout, on the right; tel: 020 882297 Operated by the African Butterfly Research Institute, the centre has an excellent live butterfly house, with some butterflies the size of small birds, and an educational exhibit, together with a gift shop and Caterpillar Café in a pleasant courtyard garden which has delicious lunches.

There are often art exhibitions by local artists.Open daily 09.00- 16.30; entry KSh500

Nairobi Day Out at Bomas of Kenya

Forest Road off Langata Road; tel: 020 891802A cultural and entertainment centre, the Bomas of Kenya are a tourist trap for presenting African culture and dance.

The Harambee dancers give lively displays of different tribal dances, illustrating the varied Kenyan tribes, and play an assortment of traditional musical instruments.

There’s an African theme village with around II different types of tribal houses. The nyama choma boma restaurant serves traditional fare.

Open daily; dance troupes Mon—Fri 14.30—16.00; Sat—Sun 15.30—17.00; entry K5h600

Nairobi Day Out to Ostrich Park Langata Road

Good for entertaining children, you can feed the ostriches, observe local craftsmen at work and there’s also a children’s playground. Open daily; entry KSh200/100|

Nairobi Day Out to Nairobi War Cemetery

ct back from Ngong Road next to the racecourseThe World War II cemetery is well maintained, among plenty of trees, so it’s a pleasant walk even during the heat of the day. The World War I cemetery is off Langata Road.

Nairobi Arboretum

Located on Arboretum Road, off State House Road and Uhuru HighwayThe Arboretum covers 30ha, and has a collection of more than 350 species of indigenous and exotic plants, as well as over 100 bird species, Sykes and vervet monkeys and butterflies. There are footpaths, jogging trails and picnic spots.

If you are interested in trees, Nature Kenya produces an excellent field guide, the Arboretum guidebook (KSh350), which gives descriptions about the trees you will see, and a tree walk is held on the last Monday of each month.

(Times vary so check with Nature Kenya on tel: 020 374995.) The Arboretum started in 1906 as an experimental trial to test out the suitability of trees for forestry in Kenya.

It was made a forest reserve in 1932 but between the l970s and 1990s management became laissez—faire due to lack of funding.

This sparked the formation of the Friends of Nairobi Arboretum (FONA), a local society actively working to revitalize the arboretum, with the long-term aim of promoting environmental education, recreation and scientific knowledge. FONA relies on volunteers, subscriptions and donations to carry out its activities.

Nairobi Day Out to City Park

Located opposite the Aga Khan Hospital, next to the Hawkers’ Market with its stalls selling vegetables

The city park combines indigenous forest, where you can see Sykes and vervet monkeys and clouds of butterflies, with colorful gardens, ornamental trees and a concrete canal, It’s a popular recreational park and is especially busy at the weekends with people picnicking on the grass.

If going alone, be vigilant. It has a tea kiosk and restaurant. The Friends of City Park (also operated through Nature Kenya ) is a local society which strives to maintain the quality of park.

Nairobi Day Out to Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary

Covering an area of 528ha, the forest, with many indigenous trees, remains relatively unspoilt despite its closeness to the city.

Stretching east from Dagoretti to Kibera, it is now managed by the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary Trust (P0 Box 42281, Nairobi; tel: 020 710740; fax: 020 718737; email: ngong@rugkenya.com) who have sourced international funding for fencing and developing the forest.

In due course they plan to have four entrances, a full-time warden and education centre, and to open the forest for recreational activities - with nature trails, walking, horse and bicycle riding, as well as giving local people access to the forest to harvest its resources in a sustainable manner, such as through honey hives.

Thirty mammal and 190 bird species may be seen in the sanctuary, and there are plans to introduce black-arid-white colobus monkeys. At the time of writing, only bird walks are available in the forest.

Book Ngong Forest bird walks through Wilderness Logistics (P0 Box 282, Sarit Centre 00606, Nairobi; mob: 0722 360380; email: nic@wildernesslogistics.com; web: www.wildernesslogistics.com) or via central Nairobi hotels.

These naturc walks, for a minimum of four people, are led by qualified birding guides and accompanied by a forest ranger and security guards. They cost US$50 and take a couple of hours, ending with refreshments at the Ngong Racecourse Restaurant.

Nairobi Day Out to Nairobi Safari Walk and Animal Orphanage

KWS park headquarters on Langata Road, P0 Box 40241, Nairobi; tel: 020 500622 A cross between a zoo and an orphanage, this is an excellent educational facility and a good introduction to some of the animals you might see on safari and the issues facing their conservation.

It aims to give an understanding of Kenya’s wildlife and plants and to illustrate their interdependence and relationship with people. The orphanage started in 1964 as a refuge for abandoned or injured animals.

Over the years it developed to include problem animals, and in 2000 the safari walk opened. It’s a raised boardwalk about 6m high, which takes you through examples of wetland, savanna and forest habitats, (where each has an information plaque with a description of the flora and fauna and their conservation status) where you can see animals from the orphanage.

It takes about 45 minutes to go around the orphanage and an hour for the safari walk Open daily 08.30—17.30; entry US$5/US$2

Nairobi Day Out to Nairobi National Park

KWS, P0 Box 40241, Nairobi; tel: 020 500622 Open daily 06.00—19.00; park entry US$23; vehicle entry KSh200; smartcard required; main gate is a point of issue and point of sale for smartcards There are seven entrances to Nairobi National Park.

On the western side of the park, closest to the city centre, is Main gate, with the park headquarters, animal orphanage, safari walk arid shop, where you can purchase and load a smartcard (see page 41).

Still on the western boundary, and heading south on the Magadi road are Langata gate, followed by Banda gate and Mbagathi gate (also the entrance to Daphne Sheidrick’s).

On the southern boundary is Maasai gate, about 10km along a deeply rutted dirt track to the left off Magadi Road, while Cheetah gate is at the southeastern rip of the park and is accessed off the Namanga road.

East gate (sometimes called Embakasi gate) is, as its name suggests, on the eastern boundary and is accessed off the Nairobi—Mombasa I Highway, on the city side of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The roads inside the park are good, and, with the exception of the the Maasai gate, access by 2WD is normally fine.

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