The Nairobi National Park : The World's Only Wildlife Capital

It's a chilly Tuesday afternoon standing at the fourth floor balcony of the Ole Sereni Hotel's new Eagles fine dining Restaurant that overlooks a water hole. The sun gleams through the cloudy skies striking me softly with its warm rays. Before me lies a vast savannah grassland with scattered acacia trees and not-so-green grass- The Nairobi National Park . In the scope of view, we could barely see any wildlife visible to the naked eye say for the chirping covey of small birds flying above us. Through set binoculars, we could see a few gazelles grazing on some tufts of grass far away. It's all a sight for sore eyes. 

The park is the only wildlife park situated t a city being only 7km from the capital's city center. The park lies on 117 square kilometers of open grass plains with scattered acacia
bush - the predominant vegetation. The western side has a highland dry forest and a
permanent river with a riverine
forest. To the south are the Athi-
Kapiti Plains and Kitengela migration corridor which are important wildlife dispersal areas for wildebeest and zebra during the rain season.

The park accommodates a wide variety of wildlife and bird life.  Four of the big five (lion, Buffalo, leopard & Rhino) are found here among others- cheetah, hyena, Giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, elands and diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded. 20 of these bird species are said to be European migrant species.  Other attractions include the Ivory burning site Monument, Nairobi Safari Walk, the Orphanage and the walking trails at hippo
pools.

The park has 7 gates, 2 of which are KWS service gates.
Main gate: KWS headquarters
Langata road
Cheetah Gate
Langata Gate
Maasai Gate
Mbagathi Gate (service gate)
Banda Gate (service gate)
Entrance to the park is by a safari card, which can be acquired and loaded at the gate.

Activities
Safari walk
Game drives
Bird watching
Picnics
Corporate events and team events,etc

There is no in-park accommodation although there are numerous hotels around the park and within the city. However, one can have bush dinner within the park. How cool is that? I would think of it as being one with nature. One word -exhilarating. It's definitely one worth a try.