Nairobi National Park

Grant's Gazelle

Nairobi National Park may be a portion of its former glory, but it is still an epic park. It has faced an onslaught of pressure from the human population over the years. It is nearly impossible to photograph an animal anywhere in the park without having to crop out man-made structures from the background. Historically, the Athi plains to the south were a migration corridor for 20,000 wildebeest that migrated in and out of the park, like a mini version of Masai Mara. Today, there are about 200. The southern boundary is dotted with houses, farms, and rampant livestock. To the north is bustling Nairobi. Recently, a Chinese construction company was permitted to bisect the park with a skytrain. The wildlife can walk underneath the tracks, but the ecological footprint to build this structure was massive. 

Nairobi National Park is more of a co-management area than a true national park

Significant acreage of the park was plowed over to make it, while invasive plant species were introduced during the process. The whole project is a massive eyesore and insult to the tourism industry in Kenya. What are never discussed are the far-flung and devastating impacts of sand mining needed to build all that concrete. Many tourists continue to visit this great park but I fear its reputation has been really damaged. 

While the tourists keep coming and the political elite deem it acceptable for a few lions to continue to exist close to Nairobi, the park will continue to be a magical place well-worth visiting. 

Folks at the school clubhouse are always ready to lend a helping hand and when my friend Mik heard about our difficulty securing a vehicle, let us hire his Mitsubishi for the day. Our day started late because we were extremely tired, me from work and Ramata from travelling, but we managed to get into the park at a lazy 8am. 

We started at Nagolomon Dam near the park entrance, which had hippos and crocs and several waterbirds like the charismatic Black Crake, or the metallic Malachite Kingfisher. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to take pictures. Two White Rhinos seemed to appear out of nowhere right next to the road as I tried to maneuver the car for a photo. Ramata was in awe at these enormous beasts. We drove through some black cotton soil, hoping to see either White-tailed Lark or Somali Short-toed Lark but instead ended up with a Parasitic Weaver which was my only lifer of the day. 

Parasitic Weaver (lifer)

We made our way through the middle of the park, meandering our way toward the hippo pools on the far southeastern border. We encountered several game species which were not shy at all and allowed for nice views and photos. As my phone battery was super low, we abandoned the GPS navigation and followed the tracks wherever they would take us. We came upon a beautiful valley with yellowbark acacias and giraffes roaming around. An immature Martial Eagle was chilling near its nest while the parents were off hunting. 

Grassland Pipit

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Common Ostrich

Rufous-naped Lark

Martial Eagle

Secretary Bird

At the hippo pools, we did the walk with the ranger down the river, hoping to spot a Finfoot with the relatively high water levels. A solitary hippo played hide and seek with us while a crocodile basked on a sandbar. A few birds were about including Brimstone Canary, Yellow Bishop, Pale White-eye and White-backed Vultures in a nest. We drove to Hyeena Dam. There were 4 species of storks, a big crocodile, a hippo, and a small flock of Lesser Sandplovers, my first time seeing this species away from the coast. 

Lesser Sandplover

Marabou Storks

It was the heat of the day so found a bit of shade at the Mokoyeti Gorge viewpoint. We lied down in the shade and ate our lunch of boiled eggs, mangoes and chai (all the sustenance one needs on a safari, really). From there we made our way slowly back to the park gate, timing it so we would exit exactly at 6pm which was when the park closes. We heard a Shelley's Francolin calling from the bush, pulled over and tried to call it in but it was white aways off and I didn't have my speaker. Pursuit was not an option for obvious reasons. Would have to save one for the next time. Driving through the middle of the park,  we found 5 more White Rhinos at a watering hole, and a bunch of vultures lying on the ground. One of them was a Ruppel's Griffon Vulture, a good find. 

White Rhinos at the spa

Cattle Egret catching flies

Rupel's Griffon Vulture hiding amidst the ubiquitous White-backed Vultures

A guide told us he had seen two cheetahs somewhere far off in the park, and were were a bit jealous. It was getting toward 6pm so we had one more cruise past Nagolomon Dam. As we passed the dam toward the exit (it was about 6pm), a couple of cars ahead of us were looking at something. I scanned through the bushes and could spot a lion. We jostled for position among the growing car-jam and managed to snap a few pics of an adult female and two large cubs. Lots of vehicles trying to leave the park got incorporated into the jam and we were firmly boxed in for white a while. Some rangers came by and told everybody to dispers. The adult lion decided to walk up the road, with a cavalcade of vehicles trailing behind her. We opted to go the other direction to reach the exit. 

The real adventure was driving back. We should have made it back easily before dark via Kiambu road, but I missed the turnoff because I was in the wrong lane. I tried to get us off another exit via Thika Road but the highway bizarrely did a sort of U-turn, and led us back south. This was extremely frustrating knowing we were going further and further in the wrong direction as it got dark and the traffic got worse and worse. We ended up taking a circuitous route back through Nairobi before finally finding Kiambu Road (and almost missing the exit-again). Ramata has a Google map open but without any internet it lacked some crucial details. At last we could turn that off because I knew where I was going from that point. We got back to the house a little worse for wear but more importantly, without a scratch on Mik's car. 

All-in-all, a good day.