Let start closer home my friends. How many of you have been to Nairobi National Park? Not Animal Orphanage or Nairobi Safari walk. Ok,how many of you have ever heard of Mervyn Cowie? It thanks to him that a few kilometres from city centre,animals live in total freedom where visitors can see them.
At the beginning of the centrury, the situation had become critical for the fauna. many colonialists and travellers passing by indulged themselves in hunting with no limits.
Mervyn Cowie, a former hunter himself, realised the danger of extinction which plagued the fauna of this vast plain to the south of nairobi. He set up the idea of developing a park similar to the ones opened in the USA since 1870, and then fought for his idea. Finally,in 1933 a royal comission accepted the idea and the “Nairobi Commonage” was formed. But soon after the hunters, nomads who used this land for grazing their herds became a new menace. Cowie held public meetings to spread his opinion on the survival of the park. During the same periodm he also tame groups of lions and particularly one lioness which he named “Lulu”’
In 1939 war broke out. A millitary camp was set up to the west of the park at Mbagathi (langata) with 8,000 men who settled there! Not surprisingly, poaching soon became their favourite pastime. Unfortunately, a soldier was killed one day by a lion. Cowie’s lions were accused and they were all killed including “Lulu”, who was later stuffed and can be seen on display at the Nairobi Museum.
After ther war,the park sprung into life and Cowie was named to head it. The NNP was officially opened to the public on the Christmass eve of 1946. It was the first National Park in Eastern Africa ( Tsavao Park was later opened in 1948).
The park covers 117 sq km and measures 24 km at it’s longest dimension. It’s altitude varies between 1,525 and 1,740 metres. Savannah is the main vegetation but has some lovely forests on the extreme West. It has two main rivers run across it: the Kisembe and the Mokoyeti which are seasonal and often dry during the dry season.
The Mbagathi, a lovely river, forms the Southern boundary of the Park for a long distance and flows at several spots across sumptuous gorges. But it also dries up sometimes. It then flows into the Athi River. In the park you can see 100 species of mammals and 400 species of birds. Out of the big fives, elephant is not found in NNP due to it size. A single elephants is know to feed on 400 Kg of grass per day.
On the Western and northern boundaries, the park is fenced towards Nairobi town. But towards the south and the east, the animals are completely free to migrate outside of the park and to come back. Towards the south-east, they can go as far as the Amboseli or Tsavo Parks, to the vast Masai Mara or Serengeti plains.
Nairobi National park also offers places like Orphonage and Safari Walk. Unlike the Park itself, this two place you are not require to have a vehicle to visit. Board a Matatu and tell them to drop you at the Nairobi Naitional Park. While you are there, just walk to any of the above receiption and pay your fee there. Here animals are caged and you will be able to see them at a close. Nairobi safari walk is much more of an educational centre entiling all three type of habitat we have in kenya. i.e savannah,forested and riverine. Here animals though are confined, they are more free unlike Orphanage. All in all, if you love nature, out and about activities, this is the place to be.
Enjoy your visit. Make most of it my friends. That’s why am here, to inform you on where to go and what to expect.
Gk
Bibliography.
Philippe Oberle. 1991,On Safari 40 Circuits in Kenya Rift Valley-Highlands-Mountains, Nairobi Kenya.
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