00:00I'm Lily Douse and this is Grand Voyager.
00:04In this series I travel the world to discover incredible places filled with culture, luxury and adventure.
00:12Along the way I meet the people, taste the flavours and experience the moments that make each destination unforgettable.
00:26Today I'm travelling to East Africa, to a city unlike anywhere else.
00:31It's a place where wild animals and lush nature can be found just a short distance from the centre.
00:41Jambo and welcome to Nairobi.
00:43In this episode I'll be exploring its rich Maasai culture, the incredible Kenya landscapes and of course getting up close
00:54with some wildlife.
00:56I'm starting my journey at Nairobi National Park, one of Kenya's most unique wildlife destinations.
01:04Today I'm exploring it with a safari guide to find out what makes this place so special.
01:11In Nairobi National Park we've got rhinos, giraffes, lions, zebras, buffaloes, leopards and elephants.
01:21That's a lot of animals and they're all out there roaming around.
01:25Roaming around, they can do anything they like. This is their natural home.
01:29The park covers more than a hundred square kilometres, giving animals space to graze and move around freely.
01:35There's lots of giraffes here. What are some key facts that I should know about giraffes?
01:41Well, giraffes are the tallest animals. Maasai giraffes have got irregular patterns on the skin.
01:47We've got different kinds of antelopes. We also have the silver-backed jackals.
01:53There's everything here in Nairobi National Park.
01:55Yeah, actually, yeah.
01:56So much to see.
01:58After getting a glimpse of the park, we take to our safari truck and head into the open landscape.
02:05Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to drive.
02:10It's when animals are most active and the easiest to spot.
02:15The further we drive, the more wildlife we see.
02:19There's so many to spot, from grazing herds to some of Africa's most iconic animals.
02:25As you drive through the National Park, you truly get to appreciate the scale of these amazing animals.
02:32And seeing them in the wild is something extraordinary.
02:42Following an unforgettable drive, we make our way to Alolo Lodge, where I'll be staying during my time in Nairobi.
02:50I'm meeting one of the owners to learn more about its story.
02:55Welcome to Alolo.
02:56This is my family owned and run the lodge.
02:59We're right on the edge of the park.
03:01So it's pretty unique.
03:03You can come straight from the airport and within half an hour be with the animals and giraffes and rhino
03:09and lion.
03:09So yes, we're pretty lucky.
03:11After meeting Jim, I take some time to explore the lodge on my own.
03:15Surrounded by nature, it's a calm and peaceful escape from city life.
03:21Once an old Kenyan home, the lodge was renovated and extended.
03:26Each room has its own character, giving it a personal feel.
03:31The lodge also has a working farm, where food is grown and produced for the on-site restaurant.
03:37So here we are on the farm, surrounded by different animals, your livestock.
03:43Let's start with the chickens. How many chickens are there?
03:45I've got a few thousand chickens, actually.
03:49So both for eggs and for meat.
03:51And then, of course, you have the dairy cows.
03:54The dairy cows for our milk, our yogurt, our butter.
03:58We have all of the vegetables and fruits, our mushroom house.
04:02So we try and grow as much as we can.
04:04The farm is just a small walk from the lodge and is full of free-ranging animals.
04:09Now that I've seen where some of the restaurant's ingredients come from, it's time to taste them.
04:15Here you go. From our paddock to your plate. Enjoy.
04:18Thank you. This looks delicious.
04:20The food here really does taste as good as it looks.
04:24And I'm excited to find out what else Kenya has to offer.
04:30The next morning, I'm heading to Nairobi Animal Orphanage, a rescue centre inside Nairobi National Park.
04:37I'm meeting one of the senior wardens to find out more.
04:41The main aim of starting the orphanage was to take care of the animals that are sick, the injured and
04:47the orphaned that are found in the wild.
04:49Here we create an avenue for animals to thrive. It is like a rescue centre.
04:55The orphanage is made up of several enclosures, each housing different species with different needs.
05:02Lions in captivity tend to have a longer lifespan because, one, they are taken care of, they are fed.
05:08We are able to see when they are sick, so we treat them.
05:11Some animals may eventually be released or moved to conservation areas, while others remain because they cannot safely return to
05:19the wild.
05:21We also host primates in the orphanage because they are also vulnerable.
05:25What are the main distinctive differences between leopards and cheetahs?
05:29The pattern of the spot is quite different, and then the body size. The leopards tend to grow bigger than
05:36the cheetahs.
05:37For many of the animals here, the journey to the orphanage began with injury or abandonment.
05:43So you were injured by a lion, well you're in the best place now.
05:47Here we give them a chance to life.
05:49The giraffe was aged around two weeks, so this one was collected and abandoned. It was left by the mother.
05:58Giraffes are my favourite animals, so getting the chance to feed this young calf is a special moment.
06:04She's a hungry one.
06:06You have to be firm. You have to be firm so that it doesn't drop.
06:11Every animal here has its own story, and I've had an incredible time getting up close to them.
06:19Nearby, the Nairobi Safari Walk offers visitors another way to experience Kenya's natural world.
06:25Here, a raised walkway leads visitors through a large, more natural setting.
06:31So here is a white rhino. It is a white rhino, not because of the colour, but the distinctive feature
06:39is the shape of the mouth.
06:41The mouth is flat, so they are good for grazing.
06:45Each species is adapted to survive in its own unique way.
06:48My visit here has been a reminder of how precious Kenya's wildlife is.
06:56Kenya is known around the world for its coffee.
07:00At this family-run coffee estate, that tradition has been passed down for generations.
07:07I'm meeting Jeffrey Karithi to learn what goes into the perfect cup.
07:12Welcome to our coffee nursery.
07:14Now, in coffee, if you do not have a place where you can study and watch your seedlings grow,
07:20then don't say you're a coffee farmer, OK?
07:24So this is where everything starts.
07:26The farm grows two varieties of coffee that survive well in Kenya's climate.
07:31And how long do these amazing plants take to become actual coffee trees?
07:37This will now take three months.
07:39The seedlings eventually move to the fields, where it takes five years for them to produce quality cherries for harvest.
07:47In Kenya, we have two harvest periods.
07:49We have April to June, and then we have October to mid-December.
07:55It takes six months for a cherry to fully develop.
08:00This family farm has close to 150 trees, and each one is monitored to keep it healthy.
08:07So we've walked around the farm a little bit.
08:09And as you've seen, some trees have some ripening cherry happening, OK?
08:13But it's not a lot.
08:15So if you're just picking maybe 10 kilos in a day, we lay it out to dry.
08:20This takes about 28 to 30 days to dry.
08:23And then we'll call it mbuni, OK?
08:26It's the worst.
08:27It's the real bottom quality.
08:29You can even see some of the cherries are small.
08:31These lower-grade cherries are usually more acidic than those picked during the main harvest.
08:37To understand more about the quality of the beans, I'm joining the farm's tasting specialist to try some of the
08:43coffee myself.
08:45We begin by smelling the freshly ground coffee.
08:49The tip of our tongue is where we taste the sweetness of coffee.
08:53Then the side of our tongue is where we taste the acidity level.
08:58Then the back of our tongue is where you taste the bitterness of your coffee.
09:04Coffee tasting helps the team decide whether the batch is ready for approval.
09:10After the tasting session, I get to experience the beans in a different way with coffee-infused dishes at the
09:17farm's restaurant.
09:18Coffee really is at the heart of everything here.
09:23Close to the city centre is another place full of creativity.
09:27A workshop where clay is transformed into Maasai-inspired jewellery.
09:33I'm meeting one of the local artisans to find out more.
09:38Jewellery is the name of the company and it's a Swahili word meaning small and beautiful.
09:45It comes from Mount Kenya.
09:47We don't use machine and all the beads, all the shapes are made by hands.
09:52The workshop provides skilled work for local women, turning each piece into something beautiful and meaningful.
10:00The bead making process starts with the moulding of the beads.
10:05We are making the beads. The beads are fired for eight hours.
10:10All the ladies start putting the beautiful patterns, gorgeous colours.
10:15And when they are working on the beads, they are very happy.
10:19As I'm shown around the different stages of production, I see how much effort and attention to detail go into
10:26each piece.
10:27And I even get to try some of the finished designs myself.
10:31Beautiful. See, this is what my outfit was missing all day.
10:36After touring the workshop, it's time to get hands on.
10:39And I start by choosing my beads.
10:43OK, this is where I get creative, right?
10:45Yeah, you need to be creative.
10:47These are so gorgeous.
10:52We arrange the beads into a bracelet design and add the string that holds it all together.
10:58It's a delicate process that needs steady hands and an eye for detail.
11:03I'm very happy with that. It's beautiful how it's worked out.
11:07And the beads look amazing.
11:11To end my time here in Kenya, the ladies perform a traditional Kenyan dance.
11:17And I can't help but join in.
11:21Kenya really is a special place, full of colour and creativity.
11:26It's an experience I won't easily forget.
11:33As my adventure draws to a close, I look back on a trip full of special memories.
11:41What an incredible experience here in Nairobi.
11:44From spotting animals in the wild to tasting Kenyan coffee and embracing Maasai culture.
11:51There's still so much to explore, but now time for my next adventure.
11:55.
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