The Miracle Safari - part 3

The plan was to camp using our own tent, cook our own food and pay for the game drives. We spoke with the owner of the lodge and he explained how their pricing worked. Taking their all-inclusive option was about 30 dollars more expensive but we'd stay in one of their 'big' tents, have all our meals in their restaurant and get two game drives a day. I asked if they took credit card as we didn't have enough cash to cover one night, they couldn't take card but they said we could pay from Narok when we were on our way back to Nairobi. We checked in for one night and ended up staying three. 


Their big tent was a like a small house, multiple rooms and a proper bathroom with a hot shower, definitely worth the extra cash! It couldn't have been more perfect, the food, accommodation, vehicle and driver were all excellent. Within 5 minutes of our first game drive we came across a pride of lions, later a cheetah with cubs, then elephants, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffes, hippos, hyenas and the following morning a pride of lions having breakfast.

Related Blog Posts:

• The Miracle Safari - Part 1
• The Miracle Safari - Part 2
• The Miracle Safari - Part 4
• Presidential Safari

Camping in Nairobi

Originally we planned to travel south from Addis Ababa overland to Kenya but due to a combination of people advising us against it and a lack of time we decided to fly. The project we were working on in Tanzania was starting sooner than expected and while it was in Tanzania it was only a 6 hour bus ride from Nairobi. As we flew down we had a few days to spare so we decided to spend the time camping in Karen close to the Nairobi National Park.


After the time in Addis Ababa, Nairobi was a surprise, everyone speaks English and the city is very similar to most European cities although with an increased additional security presence. For the original overland trip from Ethiopia I had got the lightest 2 person tent that I could find in Dublin or London. Camping in Nairobi would be our first time to use it, the problem was our rucksacks were bigger than the tent. Luckily we were staying at a campsite so we were able to store our luggage securely inside.

Worlds Smallest Tent

Most people staying at the campsite had their own transport and the rare few who didn't took taxis everywhere. We planned on taking local transport but it took sometime to convince the staff at the campsite to explain where we could find the local buses (known as matatus). They got commission for the taxis and organised but none for public transport! The busses in Kenya are called Matatus, small Toyota hiaces that stop anywhere along the road to drop-off and pickup passengers. A typical journey costs about 20 shillings which is about 20cent. The other alternative to taxis is motorbike taxis, these are cheap, available on almost every corner and great at getting through Nairobi's traffic.

We spent a few days traveling around using a combination of both Matatus and moto-taxis. The first stop was the Giraffe center, a non-profit organization started in 1979 in an effort to save the endangered Rothschild Giraffe of which there were only 130 left in the wild. Today the population in Kenya is 300. The giraffe centre has a feeding platform where you can get close to the Giraffes.

Giraffe Centre at Nairobi National Park

Next stop was the elephant orphanage, getting here by matatu was more difficult. We took a matatu to the one of the park gates and from here we had to walk through the park to the sanctuary. The walk was great as we passed lots of baboons on the way, although later when we were at the park and there was a lion nearby it was a little worrying.

Baboons on the way to the orphanage

The orphanage is run by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and open daily to tourists for one hour. I spent a few days volunteering at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand a few years back, during which time I was taking care of an elephant, getting up at 4am to feed and wash him. I had never seen African Elephants before nor had I seen so many baby elephants in one place!

Baby Elephant drinking

Elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust