Tag: Africa

Kenya Best: From cultural melting pot to wild-animal magic, Nairobi is a welcoming city of cool contrasts 

An African jewel, Nairobi acts as a magnet for those wishing to find first-class cosmopolitan creature comforts as well as wild beasts in all their marvellous nobility in the city’s national park. Indeed, the Kenyan capital’s attractions have mushroomed over the years to include great restaurants and nightlife, world-class museums and historic buildings, and a fantastic range of things to see and do.

Serving as an important economic, financial and transportation hub, the fast-growing city is the most populous is East Africa and its 5.5 million souls bring a vibrancy to the local cultural scene. Named by the Maasai as a place of cool waters, its diversity and myriad pleasures leave visitors yearning to return and sample them once more. Weather-wise, it is a congenial destination, with June through to September among the driest months and when Nairobi National Park is at its best.

Trees and Towers

Welcoming settlers from all over Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, Nairobi is a melting pot as befits a major commercial centre. In the central district, a towering skyline rises above a soothing backdrop of trees, beautiful gardens and shaded avenues. Many of trees are not native to Kenya and were planted by city administrators keen to nurture an urban oasis from dusty, humble origins. However, indigenous forest preserved within City Park, just north of downtown, adds to the green splendour. Saved from the bulldozer by Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, Uhuru Park is a vast recreational area and popular place to relax from the hustle and bustle of central Nairobi.

Just next to City Square with its imposing statue of the founding father of modern Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, is the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), perhaps the best-known landmark in the city. A fusion of modern and local styles, KICC’s interior has been distinctly ‘Africanised’ and contains an amphitheatre designed in the shape of a traditional hut. A speedy lift takes eager visitors to the top floor of this 32-storey, saucer-topped tower – formerly the city’s tallest building – for magnificent views of Nairobi’s chaotic glory and the hinterland beyond. On clear days it is possible to spy the rugged summit of Mount Kenya, the second-highest peak in Africa.

The city’s Parliament Buildings are another notable monument, where entry into the National Assembly can be obtained to see African democracy in action, or a tour arranged with the sergeant-at-arms.

National Treasures

History buffs will want to explore the Nairobi National Museum, which reflects the story of Kenya. Established in 1910 and set within lush, leafy grounds just outside the city centre, this imposing edifice is one of the oldest museums in East Africa. It is full of amazing artefacts such as ceremonial Siwa horns dating back to 1688, ethnographic paintings of Kenya’s tribes inked by naturalist Joy Adamson of Born Free fame, and a Kalenjin cloak made from the skins of Sykes’ monkeys. Of special note is the life-size replica of the massive elephant known as Ahmed, who was considered to be largest tusker at the time of the country’s independence from Britain in 1963, and was accorded special status by President Jomo Kenyatta.

An extensive array of stuffed species spans an aardvark, a giant forest hog and an okapi (zebra giraffe). The Hominid Skull Room contains an extraordinary range of early human fossils in perhaps one of the best collections in the world. Another room is dedicated to the history of Kenya in the context of East Africa.

Out of Africa

The nearby Snake Park is a great place to see animals alive and unfettered. It boasts an impressive range of serpents, most notably the puff adder, black mamba, Egyptian cobra, African rock python and the Gaboon viper, whose four-centimetre-long fangs offer a slightly menacing presence. Other draws here are exotic fish, lizards, turtles and crocodiles.

Situated some 10 kilometres outside central Nairobi, the Karen Blixen Museum is a must-visit for those who loved the film Out of Africa. The Danish author resided here on a coffee plantation between 1914 and 1931, and the colonial elegance of the property set in charming gardens has been preserved. The building contains memorabilia from Blixen’s time in Africa and the shooting of the film. Guided tours are available that detail her tumultuous life and times.

To absorb some of Africa’s rich indigenous culture, head to Bomas of Kenya, a tourist village also located to the southwest of the city. It consists of clusters of homesteads (bomas) representing various Kenyan tribal groups. Among a repertoire of some 50 traditional dances and songs performed by different ethnic communities expect Embu drumming, an enactment of a Kikuyu circumcision ceremony, spectacular Kalenjin warrior dances and Arabic-influenced Swahili music.

For a more static taste of local tradition, the African Heritage House overlooking Nairobi National Park showcases African architecture in a range of styles. An overnight stay here is recommended.

Game Show

The National Park, established in 1946, is by far the most popular tourist destination in the city. Offering an unforgettable chance to view rhinos and lions within sight of Nairobi’s modern skyscrapers, this amazing tract of grassland and acacia savannah is fenced on the city side to protect its domestic population. Nothing like it exists elsewhere in Africa – world-class game viewing in a park straddling the southern outskirts of a national capital.

Open plains slope gently from west to east while rocky ridges are covered in rich vegetation. Streams run southeast into the Mbagathi river, and even during the dry season the park has a permanent source of water, which enables it to attract big game. Four of the Big Five – buffalo, leopard, lion and rhino – reside in the park, with only elephants absent as the reserve is too small to support them. Rangers keep visitors regularly updated on the movements of lions and hyenas, as well as the resident cheetahs and leopards, which can require more patience to spot. The world’s densest population of black rhinos is found here too. Other animals often spotted in the park are gazelles, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, ostriches and buffaloes.

Nairobi Safari Walk run by the Kenya Wildlife Service, whose headquarters is located near one of the entrances, offers tourists the chance to see some of the Nairobi’s wilder residents from the safety of a raised boardwalk. Nestled inside the park is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nursery, where handlers bottle-feed groups of baby elephants. Not far off, in the suburb of Lang’ata, the Giraffe Centre also allows visitors to witness conservation efforts, particularly with regard to the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe.

Feeding Time

Such are its depth of offerings and breadth of flavours that Nairobi is considered one of the culinary capitals of Africa. There is a plethora of great restaurants and cafes to try, and some have gorgeous garden settings, making eating out even more enjoyable. The Westlands and Karen neighbourhoods are blessed with an array of upmarket dining options. Lord Delamere Terrace is a sophisticated eatery which allows visitors to taste old-style Africa; it also features one of the continent’s classic bars. The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden has a wonderful English country-garden vibe, with dishes ranging from gourmet burgers to Swahili curries. Its Sunday lunch buffet is popular.

For a uniquely ‘Out of Africa’ culinary experience, seek out Carnivore, one of the most famous restaurants in the city. Billed as a Beast of a Feast since 1980, its speciality is nyama choma (barbecued meat). Near the entrance is a huge barbecue pit crammed full of Maasai swords laden with beef, pork, lamb, chicken and farmed game meat such as crocodile and ostrich. The all-you-can-eat meat comes with salad, vegetable sides and sauces, plus a soup of the day. Once satiated, diners are encouraged to cease the feeding frenzy and move onto dessert and coffee by lowering a white paper flag.

Shangri-La Estate provides a unique taste of Africa

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The adventure began on a short flight between Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro, aboard an old-fashioned DC, with its twin props evoking nostalgia for a simpler time and an urge to read the safety instructions with unusual thoroughness. Touching down in Tanzania, its arid landscape and high-rise free horizon are the most immediate testimonies to the country’s otherworldly charms.

Set predominantly in Eastern Africa, although with parts of this large country also stretching into Southern Africa, Tanzania is bordered on the north by Kenya and Uganda, with the Congo to the west, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south and the Indian Ocean to the east. Its claim to be the very heart of Africa is hard to dispute.

From Kilimanjaro airport, the drive westwards sees us head to Karatu, our ultimate destination. Not highly regarded for its investment in infrastructure, the region’s roads are far from easy on any vehicle’s suspension. Either side there are vast expanses of open plains, with the land so arid dust devils are our constant travelling companions, rising skywards as if the earth itself was trying to escape the dry, dusty conditions.

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As we pass, small herds of cattle nod in our direction, ever hopeful that one of their clearly rare feeds is on the cards. Only slightly better fed, the Maasai shepherds steer their charges from water source to water source, something of a navigational feat in a country with an average annual rainfall of just 1,148mm.

Heading into the highlands, a gradual change appears in the scenery. For the first time, greenery appears on the horizon. By the time the end of our journey approaches, the desert plains have given way to trees and forested bush land. Our ultimate destination – a secluded coffee farm – lies in Karatu, bordering Mount Ngorongoro and its famous crater.

The farm, the Shangri-La Estate, was established in 1920 and sprawls across some 1,200 acres. This unlikely setting is home to the Ngoro Ngoro Mountain blend, one of Tanzania’s – if not the world’s – finest coffees.

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The farm has been owned and operated by Christian Jebsen – a member of the same family that founded Jebsen and Co, the Hong Kong-based marketing and distribution company – since 1992. Today, the farm boasts an impressive 400,000 coffee trees, as well as 50 acres devoted to avocados, five acres to wine (a relatively new venture), 90 acres of grassland and a further 575 acres reserved for forest and game corridors.

The farm employs 40 full-time employees, taking on an additional 150 casual workers on a seasonal basis, swelling to a further 250 coffee pickers during the prime picking season. The farm nursery has 25,000 seedlings ready as replacement plants, with cuttings of almost every imaginable type of coffee plant at hand, although Bourbon and Blue Mountain coffee beans are the staple here.

Touring the farm, it quickly becomes clear just how much work and time goes into producing coffee. From tree to satisfying cup, each bean will have passed through five sets of hands before even being roasted.

Of course as a working coffee farm, all of the Shangri-La’s guests are invited to try their hand at roasting their own coffee, something that can be enjoyed after a long day learning the intricacies involved with creating the perfect blend. Few will leave the establishment without gaining a new respect for this esoteric process and a renewed love for the perfectly cultivated bean.

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With the farm occupying land that would otherwise be a wild and natural habitat, every effort has been made to maintain harmony with the surrounding natural world, an endeavour that has seen the estate gain the endorsement of the Rainforest Alliance. The farm also plays a key economic role in the life of the surrounding towns, providing jobs for many of the local women, with a female-only pickers’ camp allowing many of the region’s ladies to have a degree of financial independence from their husbands – something of a rarity in many traditional African societies.

The Shangri-La has also built its own kindergarten, ensuring that mothers can stay employed even when there are young children to factor in. It also supports the nearby Mlimani Smawe Secondary School by providing materials, books and even volunteer teachers in the form of altruistic European students who are keen to give a little back to the wider world.

Visitors holidaying on the estate are offered a choice of accommodation. The most luxurious option, the Guest House (or Samaki Tatu, meaning “three fish” in Swahili) is a newly built residence, complete with five double rooms, all provided with en-suite facilities and the kind of ultra-modern conveniences you might reasonably expect to find in a five-star hotel. Complete with a swimming pool, service staff and a chef, staying at Samaki Tatu is certainly one of the most comfortable ways to see Africa.

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Virtually wholly self-sustainable, all of the food served is from the farm itself, all provided by its 10 cows, a dairy and a cheesery. There are also 30 head of cattle, the same number of pigs and a two-acre vegetable garden.
As you relax by the pool, the well will, in all likelihood, be visited by a number of its regular patrons, be it a herd of elephants, a baboon troop, a few stray deer and even the occasional lion or leopard. Separated by only a rudimentary stone wall, it is nigh on impossible to imagine a more immersive stay in truly natural Africa. The spectacle of these majestic beasts as they loom out of the forest to visit the well at dusk is truly a sight to behold. In fact, it’s well worth the journey alone.

Of course this being Africa, while a tour of the farm is all well and fine, your stay would not be complete without a good old-fashioned safari. Luckily, the farm is surrounded by national park land – the Serengeti, the Manyara National Park, the Tangire National Park and the Ngorongoro crater. The farm offers various packages that offer a range of safaris, including a two-day excursion to the Serengeti National Park.

Whichever national park you opt to explore, you are guaranteed a truly African adventure, complete with free-roaming zebra herds, wildebeests by the hundred, scampering baboons, the grandeur that is the African elephant, giraffes, bathing hippos, lions and literally hundreds of different species of birds.

One of the more impressive safaris, though, has to be the journey around (and within) the Ngorogoro crater. One of the greatest natural spectacles in the world, the crater is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and has also been deemed to be the eighth wonder of the world.

From the comfort of the farm to the adventure of the African safari, a trip to Tanzania and the Shangri-La Coffee Farm offers all the comforts of luxury travel with the unforgettable sights and experiences you can only find in Africa. Of course, this is just one of the many adventures to be had on the world’s most beguiling, compelling and mysterious continent. But, then, no one said you could only go once.