Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Adjacent to Nairobi National Park gates inside Nairobi city is the “animal orphanage“.
Click PLAY or see some of the protected animals on YouTube.
Nairobi National Park is exceptionally convenient, located just 7–10 km (about a 30-minute drive) south of the city center. I stayed in an Eco Lodge, nearby.
David Sheldrick Trust runs the sanctuary where orphaned and sick animals from all over Kenya can recover. Many are released back into the wild. Some stay — and people can visit. It’s something of a small zoo — but where individual animals have interesting back stories.
For example, this statue commemorates Sebastian the chimpanzee who lived here 1956 – 1996.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I bought a combined ticket to the orphanage and Safari Walk next door.
The Kenya Wildlife Service manages this small zoo displaying the variety of plants and animals that are in Kenya in a more natural setting than the orphanage.
White rhino, big cats, crocodiles, rhinoceros, antelopes, and primates.
People were hand feeding a small giraffe when I was there.
Like any animal prison, it’s not all good here. But thousands of Kenyan children on school field trips visit each week. Learning to value their indigenous wildlife.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Combined tourist ticket price for both was about $42 in 2026.
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