Private Nairobi National Park Game Drive by 4x4 Jeep

Nairobi National Park, the safari on the city's doorstep

Nairobi National Park was gazetted in 1946 as Kenya's first national park and covers about 117 square kilometres of open grass plains, acacia woodland and river valleys starting just seven kilometres from the city centre. A fence separates it from the suburbs on the city side, while the southern boundary stays open so that wildlife can move between the park and the Athi-Kapiti plains in the dry season. The result is a genuine wilderness where a herd of zebra grazes with skyscrapers in the background, the image every visitor wants.

How to get to Nairobi National Park is the easiest question in Kenyan safari planning: it is a short drive from any hotel, and on this private tour we handle it door to door. The park opens at dawn and closes at dusk, with the gates receiving visitors from 06:00 to 19:00, and a private 4x4 lets you be at the gate when it opens, the best hour for predators.

Lions, rhinos and the big game of the plains

The park holds an important population of black rhino, one of the most reliable places in Kenya to see this shy browser, as well as southern white rhino that graze in the open. Lions live here in several prides and are often found resting in the long grass near the Mokoyeti and Mbagathi rivers in the early morning; cheetah and leopard are present but harder to find. Buffalo, Maasai giraffe, Coke's hartebeest, eland, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, impala, warthog and ostrich are seen on most drives.

As with every wild place, sightings are never guaranteed, but a private jeep improves the odds: our driver-guide reads tracks and radio reports, moves at your rhythm and lets you stay with a lion pride or a rhino at the roadside for as long as you want, with the pop-up roof giving everyone a clear, shaded view for photographs.

Rivers, hippo pools and the birdlife of the park

The Mbagathi River marks the southern edge of the park, and a short nature trail near the hippo pools lets you stretch your legs beside the water with a ranger, watching hippos and the occasional crocodile. The river valleys are lined with yellow fever trees and figs where leopard occasionally rest and where vervet monkeys and baboons chatter. The Athi basin in the south-east opens into wide plains with dams that draw animals in the dry season.

Birdwatchers count some four hundred species in the park: ostrich striding across the grass, secretary birds hunting snakes, grey crowned cranes, kori bustards, several vultures and eagles, and waterbirds on the dams. Between July and October, when it is dry, the game concentrates near the water and the drive is especially productive; in the green season the plains fill with wildflowers and newborn gazelles.

The private game drive in practice: timing, gates and what to expect

The best time to visit Nairobi National Park is the first two hours after the gates open and the last two before sunset, when lions and rhino are active and the light is soft for photos; the mid-morning and afternoon starts are good alternatives when a flight or meeting shapes your day. Park entry fees are not included and are paid at the main gate by card, and our driver-guide handles the formalities so you do not queue.

The drive itself lasts about four hours inside the park, with the rest of the six hours for pickup, the gate and the return. Roads are rough in places, which is why a 4x4 matters, and there is a bathroom at the gate and at the picnic sites. Is Nairobi National Park worth visiting if you are going on to the Masai Mara? Yes: the rhino sightings and the skyline backdrop are unlike anything you will see elsewhere in Kenya.