1. 67w w w. a f r i c a g e o g r a p h i c . c o m
Need to kill 48 hours in Kenya’s fast-paced capital? Born-and-bred
Nairobian Cheryl-Samantha Owen has no trouble coming up with
suggestions for how to fill your days (and nights).
TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHERYL-SAMANTHA OWEN
H
uxley’s ‘floating’ description is very different to the bleak,
uninhabited swampland from which Nairobi had emerged
just 50 years previously. In 1899, all that could be seen was
a collection of corrugated-iron shacks that marked the beginning
of a railhead terminal and railway construction that had ground
to a halt while the engineers scratched their heads over their next
move – how to negotiate the steep slopes of the Rift Valley that lay
across their path to Uganda. By 1907 the unplanned settlement
had taken root and soon became the capital of British East Africa.
Today, Nairobi is thriving and modern, the largest, the fastest-
growing, the youngest and the most up-to-date city in East Africa,
and home to more than 3.5 million people of varying cultural ori-
gins. A 48-hour visit here can be as frantic and fast-paced as the
matatus (local mini-buses) that tear through it, or as chilled as the
waters from which its name is derived, Engare nyarobi (place of
cool water). I may be biased, as it is the city of my birth, but either
way, this unique hub of great contrasts and many faces is one of
Africa’s most stimulating cities. Karibu, welcome to Nairobi.
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NAIROBI
‘Nairobi is like a balloon floating high
aloft, but stationary, where Europeans
are overworked and important, and the
rest of East Africa a distant blur.’
Elspeth Huxley The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

2. 68 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 1 69w w w. a f r i c a g e o g r a p h i c . c o m
Siki ya quanza (day one)
Coffee – rich, dark, Kenyan coffee. I grew
up on a coffee farm an hour’s drive from
the capital and so can assure you that the
aroma of this liquid black gold will waft
across your path throughout your adven-
ture. Start breakfast with a large cup at
Java House (www.nairobijavahouse.com) at
the ABC centre in Westlands. Once fuelled
and ready to barter, head to the Maasai
Market, where traders of Kenyan handi-
crafts and curios sell their goods at differ-
ent venues throughout the week. Resist
the temptation to buy carvings made from
African hardwood, though, as it encourag-
es deforestation.
Still in Westlands, head to the National
Museum of Kenya (www.museums.or.ke),
which houses collections illustrating the
natural history, culture, history and art of
East Africa. The palaeontology of the ori-
gins of mankind is charted here, with
some of the oldest remains of our early
ancestors on display. Exhibits also include
a model of the legendary, mightily tusked
elephant Ahmed, which was regarded as a
national treasure and was protected from
poachers by guards. Adjacent to the mu-
seum is the Nairobi Snake Park, where not
only snakes and crocodiles roam, but
invertebrates such as giant snails, baboon
spiders and red-legged ‘Mombasa Train’
millipedes crawl.
Relax over lunch at Le Rustique (www.
lerustique.co.ke), a Mediterranean-style res-
taurant where paintings by Kenyan artists
adorn the walls and a lush garden shuts
out the city hum. Then, instead of taking a
siesta, stroll around the
Nairobi Arboretum (www.
naturekenya.org), a 30-
hectare wooded oasis about
three kilometres from the
city centre. It is home to
some 100 bird species, a
population of Sykes’ and
vervet monkeys and many
butterflies.
‘It is not uncommon for a
country to create a railway,
but it is uncommon for a
railway to create a country,’
a senior British official is
reported to have said of
Kenya, so seeing the
Railway Museum (www.
museums.or.ke) is a must. It
tells the story of the open-
ing up of East Africa by the
line between Mombasa and
Uganda, and is a nostalgic
reminder of those pioneer-
ing days before the country
even had a name. Displays
outside include the train
used in the 1985 film Out of
Africa and a coach, built in
1899, from which the super-
intendent of police was dragged by a man-
eating lion. He had set himself up as bait
in an attempt to lure and shoot the lion,
which was responsible for numerous
deaths locally, but had fallen asleep while
waiting. You can read about this incident
in the book The Man-eaters of Tsavo, by
John Henry Patterson.
Now immerse yourself in the daily lives
of Nairobians and shop for fruit, vegetables
and meat at the Municipal City Market in
the heart of the city. Nairobi is also dotted
with street vendors, where you can buy
fresh pineapples – the world’s juiciest and
sweetest – grown nearby.
Head to the Lord Delamere Terrace at the
Norfolk Hotel, the traditional starting
point for safaris for over 100 years (www.
fairmont.com/NorfolkHotel). Once the haunt
of big game hunters and political dignitar-
ies, the hotel has included Winston Chur-
chill and Teddy Roosevelt among its guests.
The aroma of Indian spices infuses many
of Nairobi’s streets, and if they haven’t
tempted you for a curry already I am sure
the Haandi Indian Restaurant in
Westlands will not disappoint you. As a
student in London, I often visited its sister
restaurant to ward off pangs of homesick-
ness. For nightlife you need not move far –
the following clubs are this side of town:
Mercury, Havana Bar and Gipsy’s in
Westlands; Klub House (K1) in Parklands;
and Casablanca in Kilimani.
Siku ya pili (day two)
Fill a flask with steaming Dormans AA Blue
Mountain coffee, described as a ‘medium
roast with a mellow cocoa hint and with a
tart berry kick’, and get to the gates of
Nairobi National Park (www.kws.go.ke) as
they open at 06h00. Nairobi’s most pre-
cious jewel, the 117-square-kilometre park
lies just seven kilometres from the city cen-
tre. Its savanna ecosystem comprises open
grass plains and a permanent, forest-lined
river. On a slow morning’s drive you may
encounter any number of animals, includ-
ing black rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs,
buffaloes, giraffes, wildebeest and eland.
There are also 400 recorded bird species.
By 10h45 you need to be heading to the
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust camp to
watch the elephant (and sometimes rhino)
orphans arrive to be fed. Most of these ani-
mals have lost their parents to poachers.
Maintain their keep by adopting as
RIGHT Nairobi, Kenya’s bustling, high-rise capital.
OPPOSITE, ABOVE The perfect memento? This
intricately carved scene from Kenyan culture has been
framed in a cutaway calabash.
OPPOSITE, BELOW Limbo dancing at a Nairobi
nightclub.
PAGE 67 The fast-paced, vibrant city is embodied in
the swirling blur of this young dancer’s skirt and the
mesmerising rhythms of the music.
travel notes
A Google search will reveal a host of accommodation options in Nairobi, although
we recommend you try the Kenya Tourist Board first (www.magicalkenya.com or
e-mail info@magicalkenya.com). An interesting option if nature and the national park
are the prime reasons for your visit is the new Nairobi Tented Camp, which donates
some of its visitor fees to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. For details, go to
www.nairobitent edcamp.com
After your whistle-stop tow of the capital, contact Safarilink for onward flight options.
www.flysafarilink.com
Contact Africa Geographic Travel to arrange your trip to Nairobi and other Kenyan
destinations. Tel +27 (0)21 762 2180, e-mail info@africageographictravel.com or
go to www.africageographictravel.com
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48 HOURS IN NAIROBI

3. 70 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 1
many as your budget allows. (For more
about the elephant orphans, see Lisa
Hoffner’s report from the Sheldrick Trust
on page 16.)
Afterwards, visit the Giraffe Centre
(www.giraffecenter.org) in Langata, founded
in 1979 to save the endangered Rothschild
subspecies of giraffe, whose population in
Kenya has increased from 130 to 300 ani-
mals. The centre educates Kenyan school-
children about their country’s wildlife and
environment. Judging from the screams of
delight and disgust coming from both
schoolchildren and tourists alike, feeding a
giraffe by hand leaves a lasting impression
– as well as a hand full of slobber. There is
also a guided walk through the surround-
ing sanctuary, which is covered in original
dry upland forest and hosts close to 180
bird species.
Take lunch at Tamambo in the Karen
Blixen Coffee Garden (www.museums.or.
ke). Try the ‘Swahili vegetable dish’, fla-
voured with coconut cream and tamarind,
which is more local than their (also deli-
cious!) pizzas. Around the corner is the for-
mer home of Karen Blixen, the Danish
author of Out of Africa. Once the farm-
house on a coffee plantation, the building
was turned into a museum after the film-
ing of the book was complete. Costumes
worn by the stars, Meryl Streep and Robert
Redford, hang in the bedrooms.
Return to modern Nairobi by exploring
Kazuri (www.kazuri.com), where every bead
has a story. Meaning ‘small and beautiful’,
Kazuri is a member of the World Fair Trade
Organization and creates and sells hand-
made beads, ceramics and leather bags.
The initiative makes a big difference in the
lives of single Kenyan mothers. A tour of
the factory gives you the opportunity to
speak to some of the 340 women
employed and to make some purchases.
If farmed crocodile or ostrich skewered
on tribal spears sparks your appetite, then
the Carnivore, near Wilson Airport, is your
restaurant. It also caters for vegetarians.
For night entertainment either stay there
or head to the trendy Talisman in neigh-
bouring Karen to wind up your two-day
visit in true Kenyan style; Hakuna matata,
no worries!
RIGHT TheAlit, conulpu tpatiniam ipis delent ullaor ad
tatissim volestrud et autem quat. Rat.
BELOW Usci tat. Usciliquisim velent init, vendre eum
dit vero dit lum dunt ipsustrud delit and
AG
48 HOURS IN NIAROBI