Nairobi is a city at ease with its natural surroundings. No other city on Earth has a major National Park lying at the edge of its limits where lions, rhino, giraffe and large herds of plains game roam wild and free within view of the city skyline.

The green hills and fertile highlands around Nairobi are home to lush, bird rich forests and tracts of farmland. This combination of a modern cosmopolitan city and beautiful natural environs makes Nairobi a perfect business and holiday destination. From a safari into the world's only urban National Park to white water rafting, forest birds walks or a day spent exploring the city's colourful history.

A century ago, Nairobi was nothing but a swampland? Game roamed free across the plains and the only people inhibiting the area were the Maasai. To them, this enormous mass of swamp and was known as Enkare Nyorobi (a place of cold water). The name was later to be modified by the colonists to Nairobi.

The largest milestone in the growth of Nairobi was the Mombasa/Uganda Railway in 1896. By 1900, Nairobi had turned into a tented settlement. Five years later, it succeeded Mombasa as the Colonial British capital with many prominent buildings.

Steam Engine

A collection of old locomotives that form the history of the Uganda Railway - of special interest is the first class coach number 12, which was used in the filming of Out of Africa. It is the same coach from which Superintendent of Police, Ryall, was grabbed, dragged and devoured by the man eating lions of Tsavo in 1900.

The National Museum of Kenya, located at the Museum Hill, stores history, and it also has a history and has become the largest and most important museum in East Africa. It is famous for its exhibits on the origin of man, a large collection of plant species in the Herbarium and the Nairobi Snake Park.

Then Nairobi has the only animal park within a city in East Africa. The Nairobi National Park offers a treasure-trove of activities, it is an alternative to visits to far off national parks. Here are the “Big Five” amidst other wildlife. Of particular interest is the Nairobi National Park Safari Walk with three major habitats: Wetland, savannah and forest. The entrance, is through a wetland that is terraced in order to accommodate different types of plants. Attractions at the ground level walk consist of hoofed stock (antelope, zebra, wildebeest etc.), and hyena, rhino, lion, leopard and cheetah. The animals are in their simulated natural habitats with strict adherence to the highest standards in wild animal husbandry. A rhino sanctuary - a release boma, used for holding rhinos for purposes of translocation before release into the wild, becomes a hide for looking down on a rhino through holes set at different levels for different heights.

Then there is a tropical rainforest where main attraction are birds, as well as insects and plants. At the end of this walk, there is a “look out” viewing section with views straight onto a water hole in the Nairobi National Park. This viewing point provides an opportunity to view all sorts of game. The final section of the Safari Walk is a boardwalk, built at tree top level - giving an aerial view of the whole facility. There are separate leopard, lion and cheetah blinds constructed at tree branch height giving a view at ground level in their enclosed savannah habitat. The Safari Walk constructed of sisal and gum poles is designed to blend in with the natural environment - even waste bins and light shades are built from these materials - nothing is out of place.

Another interesting site is the Bomas of Kenya - an entertainment and cultural centre where African music and dance - traditional dances and acrobatic shows are performed from 16 of Kenya's different tribes. On display is a museum of various traditional homesteads.

The Karen Blixen restaurant is another popular spot to include on a tour of Nairobi. It is here that the Hollywood movie Out of Africa was based - the home is a beautiful wooden house with a magnificently kept garden at the foot of Ngong Hills which epitomises colonial life in Africa. In the vicinity is Langata Giraffe Centre started as a anctuary for the endangered sub-species of giraffe known as the Rothschild - the project proved to be a great success, and now it is an environmental educational centre where the giraffe can be closely observed.

For the botany inclined, the Nairobi Arboretum - another place of interest – is a natural jungle-like park. The park has over 200 varieties of trees and is ideal for nature walks - there are well defined paths. There is something about the park that draws the visitors – your guide will have to warn you on the time you have to get back to the city or you may be lost forever in this amazing park.