Karen Day Trips // 9 Cool Wildlife Places to Visit
All work and no play is a sure-fire way to make anyone dull. It doesn’t help that the future-of-work is now under constant evolution. Last year was spent at home, living, working, and protecting our health.
Now the next normal in workplace culture seems to be a hybrid of remote work combined with popping into a coworking space to get heavy lifting work done, meet clients, host in-person events, and network.
During this shift, one might be tempted to overwork in an attempt to make up for lock-down losses. Productivity is an aspect that has suffered greatly during the pandemic with teams reportedly working all hours of day and night and at the same time, facing challenges in getting work done due to inadequate home office set-ups.
Nairobi Garage—Africa’s largest coworking office space—is designed for growing & innovative organizations. With four spaces in prime locations across Nairobi, we house over 300 fast-growing, and tech-enabled companies. From startups to freelancers, SMEs to multinationals, our office spaces are the perfect safe environment to get back into the groove of office work.
Our Karen Office Space
One of our most popular locations is in Karen, an old suburb of Nairobi City that borders Ngong Forest south-west of the CBD. It remains a lush, green part of the city, much to the delight of those who live and work there.
Karen is a short walking, cycling, or driving distance from various green spaces that you can visit to take a much needed mental, and physical break.
A study by CORE, dubbed Walks4work showed that by including walkthrough natural areas such as parklands, or among trees: improved mental wellbeing, reduced negative mood and reduced perceived stress levels. A premise very much in line with numerous reports that show interaction with green spaces helps to alleviate any increased work-related anxiety and break monotonous office routines.
Taking a short trip away from your home office also helps reduce the loneliness that comes with the isolation of working alone for extended periods of time. Such outdoor spaces are also great for physical exercise in the evenings or family outings during the weekends.
Today is World Wildlife Day, and in taking up the challenge to #DoOneThingToday in support of forest communities and conserving forest wildlife, we’ll be sharing a number of places easily accessible from our Karen office space.
Animal Orphanage
Located within the Nairobi National Park, the animal orphanage is a treatment and rehabilitation centre for wild animals. Apart from the regular wildlife you’d expect to see, there are also various birds including parrots, guinea fowls, crowned cranes, and ostriches.
The protected area is open all year round, and a delightful place to take the family who might not have the stamina for an early morning game drive or safari boardwalk.
Animal & Snake Park
The Stedmak Gardens animal park is less than 5kms from our Karen workspace and is home to lions, cheetahs, baboons, monkeys, gazelles, llama and crocodiles along with other reptiles.
The park’s guides and staff are highly trained individuals who take care of the animals in accordance with the standards and laws that protect Kenya’s wildlife.
No booking is required, and since entry is payable upon arrival, it makes this the ideal, quick to access get away from the pressures of meetings and deadlines.
The Animal Park is also open for educational tours for schools, children and adults alike, making it a lovely place to take your family on the weekend.
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
The world-famous elephant orphanage was founded in 1977. They are renowned for their success in rehabilitating and rearing orphaned baby elephants that have been separated from their herds.
The best time to visit is during the morning hours between 11:00 am – 12:00 noon when the elephants are being fed. While there, you can learn about the lives of the animals and how they survive in the wild, and even adopt an orphaned elephant.
For the busy city worker, a visit to Sheldrick gives you the rare opportunity to have uninhibited views of these majestic giants.
You will get firsthand experience of just how devastating poaching is, but also ignite a sense of hope, for, within all that anarchy, there is a sanctuary for the elephants left behind.
Giraffe Centre
The centre is based in Karen, 7.2kms from our Karen offices, right down the Hardy turn off on Langata North Road. It is the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (A.F.E.W) Kenya, a non-profit organisation.
The centre is dedicated to educating visitors about conservation, and it certainly takes a hands-on approach! Visitors get to hand-feed giraffes, and for the bold, you can even hold the food in your mouth making for some amazing photo ops.
Mamba Village
Mamba is the Swahili word for crocodile, one of Africa’s top predators. This particular village is home to an estimated seventy Nile crocodiles and four Maasai ostriches.
The ostriches attract numerous visitors who often come into direct contact with them when given the opportunity to feed these gallant birds. The experience is always satisfying, and especially exciting for young and old alike.
This visitor clearly had a good time, and suggests killing two birds with one stone:
Maasai Ostrich Farm
The ostrich is one of the largest living species of bird in the world. The farm that sits on 200 acres of land is possibly the furthest away from our office space located on Ndege road but promises to be a delightful out-of-town drive into the adjacent county – Kajiado.
The drive will be well worth it as apart from taking a walk to see the ostriches, you can take part in other activities including ostrich rides, swimming, picnicking, camping. The farm also caters for planned team building activities that can help rejuvenate your team’s mental & physical health.
Oloolua Nature Trails
This nature trail in the heart of the Oloolua Forest is an often overlooked treasure.
The forested area offers ideal grounds for hiking, picnicking or self-catered camping for those eager to enjoy more than a day outdoors.
Featuring a 37metre long cave, papyrus swamps and a breathtaking waterfall, the sounds of nature will automatically help you find serenity and release your anxieties.
With its clearly marked trail and great scenery, it is certainly worth the short trip for anyone looking to lose themselves for a brief moment.
Safari Walk
The Nairobi Safari Walk is made up of a raised wooden boardwalk where visitors have up-close views of rare bongos—the largest and most colourful African antelope— white rhinos, an albino zebra as well as big cats, antelopes and primates.
It is also home to 150 species of local trees across 3 major ecosystems namely wetlands, savannah and forest.
Only a 14-min drive from our office space at The Watermark Business Park means you can take a quick trip over lunch to enjoy the scenery. However, the walk isn’t for the faint of heart as it does get tedious walking up & down the boardwalk.
The Nairobi National Park
Nairobi, Kenya is unique in that it is the only protected wilderness in the world that is located within a capital city. The main gate is a mere 7.5kms or less than a 15min ride away from our Karen location.
The park which was established in 1946 is 117 sq. km and home to 100 mammal species as well as 400 migratory and endemic bird species.
It is fenced on three sides, with the 4th on the southern boundary open for migrating wildlife to move freely between the park and the adjacent Karen plains.
You can enjoy a 4-hour game drive through the park, either in the morning or afternoon hours and/or take part in other attractions such as visiting the Ivory Burning Site Monument and walking trails at hippo pools.
As the old maxim goes, all work and no play makes Jack [or Jill] a dull boy [girl], therefore you should counter boredom, anxiety, and exhaustion by visiting some of these ultimate de-stressing, not far from our Karen office, destinations.
As you plan to #DoOneThingToday, why not visit a wildlife park or animal sanctuary? The ones mentioned above are not too far from any of our Karen office space and would be a good way to support the various sustainable initiatives created to safeguard wildlife for future generations.
Happy Wildlife Day!
Featured Photo by Rachel Claire from Pexels
