My next trip took me to Nairobi in Kenya – somewhere I have always been interested to visit! We departed Dubai at 4pm which meant I got a lovely lie in – very rare as usually the departures are early morning, or very late at night! We arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at around 8pm in the evening.
A group of us wanted to do a safari tour so we arranged that down in the lobby, and then I headed up to my room to have an early night. I didn’t fancy a proper dinner so I ordered some tomato soup and then it was bed for me.
The next morning, our tour started at 9am, so I woke up a few hours earlier to have some breakfast and check out the view from the rooftop swimming pool. The hotel is right by the Nairobi National Park and I was told by some of the Kenyan crew that early in the morning, some of the animals come up close to the hotel. Sadly I didn’t see any though but the pool was amazing!
Our driver, Maxey, picked us up from the hotel, and then we drove 30 minutes to our first stop of the day – The Giraffe Centre. We saw so many baboons just casually walking across the street on the way! We stopped off for some Kenyan coffee and then went to feed the giraffes.
Everyone was feeding the giraffes with their mouths (giraffe kiss) and the staff at the centre basically forced me to do it too! Me, being a clean freak refused but I eventually gave in. I hated every second of it but it was good fun!
Next to the centre, there is a luxury 5 star hotel called The Giraffe Manor where you can literally eat your breakfast with the giraffes. Apparently it gets booked out almost 2 years in advance and is the most sought after hotel in Nairobi! We could see it in the distance – it looked beautiful!
Up next, we drove to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage which lets members of the public in to see the elephants during 11am-12pm every day while they are bathing. The staff at the orphanage feed the elephants milk and spray them with water to cool them down from the dry heat. It was fascinating watching them and listening to a talk all about their backgrounds.
While we was listening to the talk, a massive group of baboons came running over beside us – so cool!
Next, we drove to Nairobi Mamba Village which has a crocodile and ostrich farm. First, we held baby crocodiles and then saw a group of adult crocodiles lazing around the swamp. Again, it was fascinating listening to the staff tell us all about the crocodiles and I learnt so much about them.
We then got to hold the tortoises that they kept at the farm. I couldn’t believe how heavy the big one weighed! I didn’t expect them to be so heavy! The guide then decided to put one on my head which I definitely wasn’t expecting!
We walked over to the ostrich farm and stopped off at the river which is in the shape of Africa and had a sign post for each of the different African countries. The lake was so pretty and the weather was absolutely perfect.
We got to the ostrich farm and then the guide suddenly jumped up and started climbing a tree and picking off branches to feed the ostriches with! The ostriches were so strong and you had to hold on to the branches so tight or else they’d take your hand off!
The tour was coming to an end, so we started to make our way back. Our driver stopped off at a souvenir market and supermarket where we could buy fresh fruit and veg. I love buying souvenirs from around the world so I was in my element. I bought a little giraffe as a memory of the Giraffe Centre earlier this morning. I also bought some avocados as they were huge and so much cheaper than in Dubai!
We then got back to the hotel around 3pm with plenty of time to rest before the night flight back to Dubai. I ordered some more food, called my mum and sister, then had a few hours sleep before the wake up call.
I absolutely loved my layover here in Kenya and would 100% come back. I would love to to visit the Masai Mara which is a 6 hour drive/short flight away from Nairobi. I found the Kenyan people to be so friendly and welcoming too! Yet again, another amazing layover and I can’t wait to explore more of Africa as there is something about this continent that really excites me!
Thanks for reading.
Kerry May xo
Keeping Up with Kerry 
Omg i love the crocodile. Nice trip to africa.
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Thanks for the feedback Mamdouh 😉
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Hello Kerry,
What an amazing blog with pictures that made me feel I actually visited the zoo. You are so brave. Looks like Pingo the Giraffe likes you so much.Adorable photos with him. Nice job. xx
-Ken S
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Thank you Ken! It is a great place, glad you liked the pictures 😊
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