FACT: Nairobi National Park is famous worldwide for being the only National park where you can view wildlife in their natural habitat, while just a stone thrown away from the city. To many, this is in fact a cliche, its obvious. I am personally not a regular visitor to Nairobi National Park, but going by the few visits that i make every year, I can confidently say that this park is one of Magical Kenya’s most underrated parks. They old proverb says that the proof of the eating is in the pudding, and I add that the real Nairobi National Park game viewing experience is for those who visit this rare gem. Nairobi National Park is Kenya’s oldest national park having been established in 1946. At only 117 sq kilometers, it is probably one of the smallest compared to much more popular wildlife parks in Kenya like Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and Lake Nakuru. However, this is a park that never disappoints when it comes to delivering that Authentic African safari experience in the pristine wilderness. According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi National Park is home to over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, with the Avian population comprising both migratory and endemic species. Only 10th February, I received a call from a lady inquiring about a few activities that she and her family of 4 who had visited Kenya on a holiday from Denmark could try out for a day. She had our office contact from the management of the city hotel that they were staying in. During the telephone conversation, she explained that she would “like us to include at least a tour of Nairobi National Park so that they can try their luck in at least spotting a Giraffe or a Zebra.” Within a few minutes, we had already agreed on the program for the following day. Pick up will be at 0630 hrs, so that we can make it early to Nairobi National Park with the hope of spotting as many animals before they retreat back to their hideouts when the sun is out. The second stop over was going to be the David Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, followed by a visit to the Giraffe Center. The following morning i woke up early and got ready for my pick up from the house at 0545 hrs. By 0615 hrs, i and one of our safari driver guides were already at the hotel, and the family came out a few minutes later. The only reason i had showed up here was to meet the clients, introduce them to their safari guide and head back home. On meeting us, the excited family had this and that question to ask and before i knew it, we were already at the main entrance to the Nairobi National Park headquarters. By this time, I had already changed my mind and decided that I would at least join the guests for the game drives, and then head home for my Sunday rest. After all, I am a safari enthusiast and I never let any chance to enjoy game drives pass me. To say the least, what followed for the next 3 hours was one of my best game viewing experiences in my over 14 years of travel in parks around East Africa. By 0715 hrs, we had managed to go through the hustle and bustle at the park’s offices where one has to pay for park entrance (strictly NO CASH, only credit / debit card or mobile money) as it was a busy morning with many families and groups having risen early for a morning game drive. We began our slow drive into the park, the roof to our safari vehicle already up, the high frequency radio turned on and the binoculars ready. Interestingly, all of us had only phone cameras, something that I somehow came to regret later. We spent the first few kilometers into the park discussing what we could possibly spot. Within no time, we heard over the radio that some Lions had already been spotted, seemingly enjoying a kill from a distance. The communication by the guides over the radio is mainly in Kiswahili, and this being a natural habitat, i and the guide decided not to share the information of the sighting with the guests. We instead started looking for our own sightings with Hartebeests, Thomson Gazelles, Masai Giraffes and few Zebras being among our first animals to spot. With the radio still on although on a low volume, we heard again that a very young Lion Cub had been spotted somewhere by the road side, hidden by the grass. One of the guides could be heard observing that the cub was too young to be on its own and seemed to have been abandoned. According to him, there was need to alert the Kenya Wildlife Service wardens urgently. At this point, the excitement hit me and I asked our driver guide why we were not heading straight to where the Lions were being watched. What if we dont find them by the time we get there? Calmly, he responds in Kiswahili that he had an idea about where the Lions were, pointing with his hand towards that direction, but that we had to find our shortest way there. (This is a park where you strictly have to adhere to the rules, and off road driving is highly prohibited). We therefore followed the designated tracks with more sightings en route. One notable stop over is a point where we observed a flock of Ostriches, about 8 of them both male and female, and we spent time discussing them as they crossed the road right in front of us. I remember one of the ladies in the safari vehicle alluding that its mainly the males who are more attractive in the animal kingdom, while referring to the fact that male Ostriches wear a colorful combination of white and black feathers while the females are grayish. We are now on our way towards the Lions, with distant sightings of the usually shy Elands (the heaviest of the antelope species) Warthogs, Grant’s Gazelles, more Plains Zebras, Masai Giraffes and birds, notably Vultures and a tawny eagle. From a distance, we can now see tens of vehicles at a particular point, and that is normally a sign of an interesting sighting. I remove my binoculars, lift my body for a better view and hundreds of meters away, I can see what appear to be like 3 Lions, seemingly busy at something and partly covered by grass and some small bushes. But wait!!!! right in the nearby thickets, there are some two huge greyish giants….not more than 100 meters away from us, Its Rhinos! We are now all standing, some of us still struggling to spot the Lions, others marveling at the Rhinos and taking a closer look to identify if they are Black or White. Those of you who have spotted or studied Rhinos before will agree that the characteristics that tell the difference between the 2 species (not colour) are very few, mainly the shape of the lip (hooked or squared) and the presence or lack of a hump. From our observation, these are 2 White Rhinos; a male and a female going about their grazing business. One of the young lads who is part of the family quickly observes that with a powerful camera, one can actually take a single photo capturing the Rhinos, Lions and with the City of Nairobi on the background. So we spend over 10  minutes here, with one of the ladies at the back seat overheard mumbling under her breath that she wished the Lions were closer. After a few minutes, some of the safari vehicles that were part of the crowd begin moving towards our direction. One of the drivers on meeting us stops his car to ask us if we might have been lucky to spot the young Lion cub and where he could himself spot it for his guests. With no knowledge, our guide responds that we also have no idea and were in fact also in pursuit of the same. At that point, I ask our guide how far he thinks the Cub might have been and he says that he too wasn’t sure, “lets just keep on searching”. We are now done with the Rhinos and the distant Lions and making our way towards the crowded vehicles. On reaching there, we find all of them switched off and everyone silent, focusing either their camera or binoculars to the nearby bushes. We drive around looking for a vantage position for our vehicle. A few tourists are asking each other “what is it?” in low tones and not getting a satisfying answer. It is at that point when i note one man with a powerful camera and huge lens focused towards the ground, about 20 meters from the track we are on. Both myself and the guide take a closer look and don’t notice anything at first. Finally, we notice some slight movement in the grass which promptly comes to an end. It is at this point that we realize that its the Lion Cub silently hiding and using the tall grass at its cover, but occasionally lifting its head. Now I am here asking myself how the driver we just met on the way could have been asking us about the whereabouts of the Cub while he had actually passed and most probably stopped over at this point?? He must have been one of the few guides who have never realized that in the wilderness, both patience and keen observation are two virtues that always come in handy! I have turned to the other side observing the 3 Lions who were still at some distance. One of the ladies is now challenging me to proof that there are actually 3 Lions and not 2 or 4. Before long, one of the cats stands up and begins moving away from the others. With not even the vaguest of ideas that he or she could actually be moving towards us, we switch our attention back to the direction where the cub is hiding. Within a few minutes, our safari guide taps me in the back and says in Kiswahili “Mimi naona kama yule Simba analenga upande huu, nafikiria ni yeye mama ya huyu mtoto”. “I think the Lioness (he can see she’s female) is actually moving towards us and could be the mother to the cub” Calmly, he scans the area, surveys the location of the Cub and silently turns our safari vehicle around, to a position where we can clearly see both the approaching Lioness and the Cub’s location. “Huyu Simba naona atajileta mpaka hapa, tutamuona vizuri sana”. This again is from our guide, explaining that he feels the Lioness will come straight to the point where we are thus offering us great views. At that point, the Lioness is less than 100 meters away but continues to walk towards us unperturbed by the crowded vehicles and cameras focused on her. Walking calmly and comfortably, the Lioness is now about 10 meters away from the vehicles, on the opposite side of the road. She begins making a low yet gentle sound, which turns out to be a call to the cub, as from the opposite side of the road, the cub begun to respond with a low, yet sharp call. The Lioness, unperturbed by the many vehicles and cameras pointed at her crosses the road, passes right in front of our vehicle (so close that I had to pull up the window for fear that she might decide to attack) and goes straight to where the cub’s call was coming from. With no hesitation, she calmly makes a gentle bite of the cub which we can now clearly see and begins moving forward right on the road side. At this point, all the vehicles are switched on and everyone drive on the driving path, moving slowly and side by side with the Lion. Everyone is now taking either a video or several back to back photos. After about 1 00 meters, the Big Cat makes a turn towards the bushes and begins to slowly disappear into the thickets. Everyone is left amazed and you can now see a few guys checking through their photos and videos, with some overheard saying how they got the best shots. Inside our safari vehicle, we are now discussing why the mother was not keen to to have her cub spend time with the other Lions, where she got the guts to leave the cub behind for a few hours and also wondering if that was her only cub. Was there a possibility that this one cub might have followed her when she left for her early morning hunt while the others stayed behind? We are now done with the Lions and discussing what we have, and what we have not spotted this morning. “We already have 2 of the BIG 5, any chance we can spot Elephants or Buffaloes here”? Asks one of the ladies. Our safari guide goes ahead to explain that the park is too small to handle an Elephant population, considering the fat that Jumbos are heavy feeders. Again, with the park being very near to the city, their presence would lead to serious cases of human wildlife conflict. We are now driving northwards to an area the guide says we will have a good chance of spotting the 3rd of the BIG 5; the Buffalo. En route, we make stops to take more photos of Giraffes, various birds, Zebras, Elands and a few Buffaloes. After about half an hour of driving, we can now spot a big herd of buffaloes from a distance, but wait, there is some movement in the nearby grass. Its 2 black backed jackals which only allow us a few seconds to have a glance before they disappear.  The Buffalo herd slows get closer to our vehicle as they graze and we are now discussing their habitat, behavioral tendencies  and challenging the guests to tell the males from the females based on their physical appearance. Time check, and its now about 0920 hrs. We had planned to be at the park until 1000 hrs when we shall head to the Elephant Orphanage. We therefore agree to begin our drive towards the exit gate but passing by the dam where we shall try our luck at spotting some Hippos. This final drive was not going to be short of stop overs. First, we had to give way to a tower of Giraffes that were feeding by the roadside, with a huge male standing right in the middle of the road, confidently looking at us as if to pass that he is the boss in this part of the world. We are still driving towards the dam when we suddenly note a commotion in some bushes right off the road. Its a herd of Buffaloes running up and forth. The big ones also seem to be surrounding a calf. The first thing that comes to my mind is that they are fighting. That idea comes to an abrupt halt when we spot a Lioness approaching our vehicle from the same bushes, and this time, the Buffaloes make a mock ambush towards her before scampering and crossing the road to the other side. The Lioness, clearly unperturbed by our presence (we are only about 2 vehicles at this point) approaches us, passes right by the guide’s window which he had to close for a while and them comes to my side also forcing me to pull up my window as i considered that too close. Slowly she enters the bushes and we can now see her trying to make another ambush at the Buffaloes which are now watching her, seemingly ready to fight back if she makes a move at them. The Lions moves deeper inside the thickets and we now cant see her. Its time to move on in search of the Hippos as time is not on our side. From our safari vehicle, we can now partly see the dam, but we still need to drive to a point where we can clearly see it. Within a slit second, our guide makes an abrupt stop and begins reversing the car. “Ni kama nimeona kitu nyeusi hapa”. Its like I have seen something dark here. We all rise and begin making a keen observation inside the bushes and voila!  One huge Hippopotamus feeding right by the dam, but partly covered by the bushes. Or guide makes a few turns and finally he manages to get a position from where we can all get a good view of the huge animal. By this time, several cars have joined us, with guys impatiently asking what we were looking at. We tell them that its a Hippo as we make way for them so that they can also get a glimpse, marking our adventurous morning in Nairobi National Park. None of us could believe that a random morning game drive inside this park could deliver a game viewing experience that one would only expect in Masai Mara or Amboseli. Later that day, i go through my facebook timeline and note some rare sightings  that were also made that morning. One of the photographers had actually sighted a Leopard and a Cheetah in the park that same morning!! This article was submitted by Mr. Sam Waweru, Product and Operations Manager at Authentic East Africa. www.authentic-eastafrica.com Email:safari@authentic-eastafrica.com