Excursions in Nairobi

Nairobi is Kenya’s capital city & the largest city in East & Central Africa. The city lies on the Nairobi River, in the south of the nation, and has an elevation of 1795 meters or 5500 feet above sea-level.

Nairobi City 
The name "Nairobi" comes from a Masai phrase “Enkare Nyirobi”, which translates to "the place of cool waters" or popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun". During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a center for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry. Nairobi is also the capital of the Nairobi County and of the Nairobi District. Nairobi is currently the 13th largest city in Africa. Nairobi is now one of the most prominent cities in Africa politically and financially.

The Nairobi national museum
Nairobi Museum is located 10 minutes from the city centre and refurbished in 2009, the Museum is home to variety of cultural and national history exhibits, custodian of Kenya’s natural & cultural heritage, and thus collects preserves and presents the past and present for today posterity. The displays includes prehistoric artifacts discovered by the Leakey’s, over 900 stuffed birds and animals, the fossils remains of the early man unearthed from Lake Turkana, Magadi and ethnic displays from various Kenyan tribal groups as well as local artistic exhibits. The Museum and Snake Park are open from 0830hrs to 1730hrs

Giraffe Centre
Giraffe centre, was founded in 1979, is the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, and is where the Rothschild’s giraffe was saved from extinction. The centre is located within the grounds of the Giraffe Manor of indigenous forest, and as well as the many giraffe that wander about the grounds, the centre is home to also warthog, bush buck, and tree hyrax. Visitors get an opportunity to come into close contact with these tall graceful giraffes and feed them.

Karen Blixen museums
Located about 20 minutes drive on the outskirts of the Nairobi, the farm house gained international fame with the release of the movie ‘Out of Africa’ an Oscar winning film based on Karen’s an autobiography by the same title. The house's architecture is typical of late 19th century bungalow architecture, including the spacious rooms, horizontal layout verandas, tile roof and stone construction typical of scores of residences built throughout  European suburbs of Nairobi in early decades.The Museum is open to the Public every day between 0930 – 1800hrs including weekends and public holidays.

Daphne Shedrick – The Elephant Orphanage 
Here people go about the task of rehabilitation and rearing orphaned babies. Watching baby elephants feeding and playing at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Elephant Orphanage is something not to be missed. The baby elephants trot along with floppy trunks and flappy ears looking as cute as can be! They chase each other get stroked by the visitors and get up to all sorts of mischief. They suckle milk from their bottles and generally make fantastic entertainment for an hour every day. 

Kenya Railway Museum
Located off Uhuru Highway in the city centre, represents the historical growth of Kenya through the construction of the rail way line from Mombasa to Kisumu. The museum consists of the main gallery (collection of smaller items) the museum resource centre  (library and photo graphic section), the auditorium, and the outdoor collection of steam engines built at the turn of the century. The carriages are full of history photographs and relics from the time when railway construction workers first arrived in Nairobi.

Nairobi Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk
The Animal Orphanage houses orphaned, sick or problem animals from all over Kenya, and wherever possible, the animals are rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Although the look of the place is less pretty than the Safari Walk, this is still a fantastic place to go if you want to stand inches away from these gorgeous animals pacing up and down in their enclosures.

Kenya Safari