A wild holiday

The alarm clock buzzed at 04h30 as we awoke to a new day. We packed the car and arrived at the gate just after 06H10, excited to be able to visit the park during the year-end holidays.

The masterplan was to spend the entire day in the park and just enjoy all of creation, from the smallest to the largest creatures. Well, I have to say it was an amazing day, as our plan manifested into a wonderful reality.

Some of the roads were a bit rough and damaged due to the previous rains, so we mostly stayed on the main roads. As we drove along very slowly, there were many wildlife rewards, a spotted hyena, followed by many zebra and eland, coke’s hartebeest, gazelles, and wildebeest mixed among them.

Herds of giraffe walked in the road, as well as large herds of buffalo. There were also other sightings of bohor reedbuck and a special sighting of the tiny suni. We saw 11 different rhino, including a calf.

The bird sightings were numerous, from ostrich to eagles, vultures, water birds, and many “LBJ’s” – little brown jobs (a name we give to the many small birds that we could not identify). We had numerous sightings of lions as well, including two lionesses with cubs, and a young male lion with a wildebeest kill.

As we watched the sunset over the Ngong Hills, the tranquil peace over the park was tangible and very real. Indeed, the day in the park was a real “soul tonic” medicine for the inner being, an escape from the fast-paced world around us.

This holiday season between Christmas and New Year is a good time for families to experience the Nairobi National Park and have a “wild holiday” as you enjoy the moments together.

For more information on the park link to www.kws.go.ke