Kenya - Nairobi

We arrived in Nairobi a day early to give ourselves a break before starting the second leg of our trip in Kenya.  Of course we ended up going on another safari at Nairobi National Park - how could we resist!  Nairobi National Park supposedly hosts 531 bird species.  We spent a morning here on a birding tour and I already scored 26 lifers.  What a record!

We had lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden which is the former home of Karen Blixen of Out of Africa fame.  The garden is charming with its lush greenery and exquisite flowers - a reprieve from the dusty park.  It was also interesting to get a glimpse of Nairobi streetscape along the way even though it was just from our vehicle.  Some of the images below were taken on the way to Amboseli National Park, our next stop.

I try to curb my excitement over the number of birds I got in Nairobi and only show you a select few.  I am still tallying, and will eventually publish the total number of lifers I scored while in Africa.  For those unfamiliar with birding language - a lifer is a bird that a birder saw and identified for the first time in their life - nothing to do with jail time...  😅

African Sacred Ibis

Bronze sunbird

Northern Pied-babbler

Black-winged kite

Hamerkop - believed to be the lightning bird



Giraffe mom and young - the pattern and colour on these giraffes (I'm guessing Thornicroft's giraffes) are different from the ones we saw in Namibia (Angolan giraffes, lighter colour, uneven large spots).  




The watering hole at the park with a vulture sitting on the tree top


Nairobi skyline viewed from the park

Super Major Bridge

Roadside fruit stand

Roadside nursery

Karen Blixen Coffee Garden

Pretty powder puff plant (Stickpea)

Atrium with stained glass doors

Shopping mall in Nairobi

Roadside stalls on the road to Amboseli

Map showing our journey in Kenya starting in Nairobi.  We are now travelling south to the Porini Conservancy in Amboseli National Park.  There are over 200 conservancies in Kenya with private landowners generating revenue through wildlife conservation.  The conservancies have abundant wildlife but much less traffic than the National Parks.