Just 20 minutes drive from the city and you are in this amazing and unique park, an only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a capital city’s door step. Located only about 7 km from the city centre, the park is easily accessible on tarmac roads, mainly through Langata Road. There is an adequate administration and viewing road network with satisfactory.
Nairobi National park became a national park in 1945 covering an area of 117 sq km it is situated south of Nairobi ; Nairobi Park consists of high altitude savannah, a diversity of environments with characteristic fauna and flora with open grass plains with dotted acacia bush acacia trees. During the long and short rainy season wild flowers are in profusion and there are places where the plains are an unending wave of yellow daisies (Bidens Palustris) making the park beautiful, however these flowers are not consumed as food, by any wildlife.
Here graze the typical savannah wildlife, such as gazelles, elands, lions, black rhinoceroses, giraffes, antelopes, zebras, numerous reptiles, and hundreds of bird species, some of the animal population at the park are permanent residents. Of the most popular species only the elephant is an absentee. The rest of the Big Five, lion, buffalo leopard and rhino amongst a multitude of other wildlife can be found in the park. Just be assured that when on safari in Kenya, you won’t be disappointed when you visit this park
However it worth noting that some of the wildlife in this awesome park are migratory, they migrate outside the park in search of food and pasture. The western side has a highland dry forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest in the south, the scenery is magnificent. Hyraxes are plentiful on the rocks alongside the road and the keen-sighted may spot klipspringer or mountain reedbuck, generally unobserved by the thousands of visitors who search the park annually.
In addition, there are stretches of broken bush country and deep, rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass. There are Man-made dams which also attract water dependent herbivores during the dry season and a further habitat, favourable to certain species of birds and other aquatic biota (life forms).
A visit at any time of the year is a rewarding experience to the visitor, the parks major attraction include, Annual wildebeest and zebra migration in July/August, Black rhinoceros, diverse birdlife, large predators- lion, leopard, hyena and cheetah. Aggregations of large herbivores- eland, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest Ivory Burning Site Monument , Walking trails at hippo pools, Nairobi Safari Walk & the Orphanage and Spacious accommodating picnic sites
The park borders the South Kapiti plains and Kitengela Migration Corridor. The Athi River conveniently forms a natural boundary to the south of the park, on the boundary road there are splendid views over the Kitengela plains, the dispersal area for the park’s ungulates and the side of the river is an area favored mostly by zebra.
Nairobi National Park is one of the most successful of Kenya ’s rhino sanctuaries with more than 50 rhinos having been moved into the park from remote parts of the country where poaching was rife. This is already generating a stock for reintroduction in the species former range and other upcoming sanctuaries. Due to this success, it is one of the few parks where a visitor can be certain of seeing a black rhino in its natural habitat
The park also has an Animal Orphanage where lost, young, injured, lame, or deserted animals are kept, studied, treated and released back into the wild when they are well enough to live in the wild on their own. Near the Banda gate Daphne Sheldrick runs an orphanage, where she cares for young elephants and rhinos. Visitors are allowed to visit at certain times and a donation is expected. Nairobi Park is a glorious natural destination not to be missed during a safari to Kenya .