00:00I'm Lily Douse and this is Grand Voyager.
00:04In this series I travel the world to discover incredible places
00:08filled with culture, luxury and adventure.
00:12Along the way I meet the people, taste the flavours
00:16and 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
00:36just a short distance from the centre.
00:41Jambo and welcome to Nairobi.
00:44In this episode I'll be exploring its rich Maasai culture,
00:48the incredible Kenya landscapes and of course,
00:53getting up close with some wildlife.
00:56I'm starting my journey at Nairobi National Park,
01:00one of Kenya's most unique wildlife destinations.
01:03Today I'm exploring it with a safari guide
01:07to find out what makes this place so special.
01:11In Nairobi National Park we've got rhinos,
01:15giraffes, 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.
01:27This is their natural home.
01:29The park covers more than a hundred square kilometres,
01:32giving animals space to graze and move around freely.
01:36There's lots of giraffes here.
01:38What are some key facts that I should know about giraffes?
01:41Well, giraffes are the tallest animals.
01:44Maasai giraffes have got irregular patterns on the skin.
01:47We've got different kinds of antelopes.
01:50We also have the silver-backed jackals.
01:52There's everything here in Nairobi National Park.
01:55Yeah, actually, yeah.
01:56So much to see.
01:57Yeah.
01:58After getting a glimpse of the park,
02:00we take to our safari truck and head into the open landscape.
02:05Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to drive.
02:09It's when animals are most active and are the easiest to spot.
02:15The further we drive, the more wildlife we see.
02:19There's so many to spot,
02:21from grazing herds to some of Africa's most iconic animals.
02:25As you drive through the National Park,
02:27you 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,
02:44we make our way to Elolo Lodge,
02:47where 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 Elolo.
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
03:04and within half an hour be with the animals
03:07and giraffes and rhino and lion.
03:09So yes, we're pretty lucky.
03:11After meeting Jim,
03:13I take some time to explore the lodge on my own.
03:16Surrounded by nature,
03:17it's a calm and peaceful escape from city life.
03:21Once an old Kenyan home,
03:23the lodge was renovated and extended.
03:26Each room has its own character,
03:28giving it a personal feel.
03:31The lodge also has a working farm,
03:33where food is grown and produced for the on-site restaurant.
03:38So here we are on the farm,
03:39surrounded by different animals, your livestock.
03:43Let's start with the chickens.
03:44How many chickens are there?
03:45I've got a few thousand chicken, actually.
03:48So 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,
04:00our mushroom house.
04:02So we try and grow as much as we can.
04:04The farm is just a small walk from the lodge
04:07and is full of free-ranging animals.
04:10Now that I've seen where some of the restaurant's ingredients
04:12come from, it's time to taste them.
04:15Here you go.
04:16From our paddock to your plate.
04:17Enjoy.
04:18Thank you.
04:19This 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.
04:53It 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.
05:20We 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.
05:33The leopards tend to grow bigger than the 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.
05:54So this one was collected and abandoned.
05:56It was left by the mother.
05:58Giraffes are my favourite animals, so getting the chance to feed this young calf is a special moment.
06:05She's a hungry one.
06:06You have to be firm.
06:08You 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.
06:33It is a white rhino, not because of the colour, but the distinctive feature is the shape of the mouth.
06:41The mouth is flat, so they are good for grazing.
06:44Each 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, then
07:21don't say you're a coffee farmer.
07:23Okay?
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.
07:46In Kenya, we have two harvest periods. We 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, okay?
08:13But it's not a lot. So if you're just picking maybe 10 kilos in a day, we lay it out
08:19to dry.
08:20Yeah.
08:21This takes about 28 to 30 days to dry, and then we'll call it mbuni.
08:25Okay? It's the worst. It's the real bottom quality. You 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.
08:36To 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.
09:05Coffee 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, a workshop where clay is transformed into Maasai-inspired
09:32jewellery.
09:33I'm meeting one of the local artisans to find out more.
09:38Kazuri is the name of the company, and it's a Swahili word meaning small and beautiful.
09:44The clay comes from Mount Kenya. We don't use machine, and all the beads, all the shapes are made by
09:51hands.
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.
10:05After making the beads, the beads are fired for eight hours.
10:09Now the ladies start putting the beautiful patterns, the gorgeous colours, and when they are working on the beads, they
10:18are 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, and 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!
10:50Yeah!
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. And the beads look amazing.
11:11To end my time here in Kenya, the ladies perform a traditional Kenyan dance. And I can't help but join
11:18in.
11:21Kenya really is a special place, full of colour and creativity. It'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. From spotting animals in the wild, to tasting Kenyan coffee and embracing Maasai
11:50culture.
11:51There's still so much to explore, but now, time for my next adventure.
11:55Join us today!
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