Review: David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre Day Out

Thinking about spending a day getting up close and personal with some incredible animals? Like your usual animal interactions but with a super good cause attached? A visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre near Nairobi could be just the ticket. So, that said, I wanted to share my own take on this popular day outing, giving you an inside peek into what to anticipate and, maybe, assist you in deciding if it fits into your Kenya travel plans.

Getting There and What to Anticipate

First off, the drive. Now, based on Nairobi’s traffic situation, prepare yourself because the transit can feel quite long. Departing from the city centre, you could find yourself in transit for like, somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour, perhaps? The roads can get a little bit crowded. This is mostly truer during rush hour so keep this in mind, should you plan to go.

When you get there, is that the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust— the folks behind the orphanage—they’ve got this thing down to a fine art. The elephant feeding, that happens at 11 am every day, and this tends to be a real magnet for tourists and locals. I mean, who doesn’t want to see those babies chugging down milk? Keep that in mind because it will probably be pretty full.

Just something to think about: your entry fee it goes straight back into aiding the project. You’re basically giving directly to elephant care and wildlife conservation, which I guess makes those ticket costs even more of a good spend. That is also neat, is that?

Meeting the Elephants: The Heart of the Visit

Without doubt, getting up close with the elephants constitutes the best bit of the day. I mean, viewing these baby elephants rushing out to receive their bottles tends to be actually amazing. The keepers, those guys share stories of each of the elephants– their backgrounds, funny personalities. These backstories seriously make the experience richer. As I was saying, it gets pretty busy but don’t forget that finding yourself in the middle of all the cute just seems worthwhile. After they have had their milk and a bit of a splash in a pool that, they often come over to the fences, and very gently investigate the visitors with their trunks. It’s ever so charming!

By the way, if you think you have a deep connection with a particular elephant, well, so is that it’s also possible to sponsor them. By doing so you are assisting in ensuring its well-being and rehabilitation. You too can receive regular updates with your baby elephant’s development. In some respects this may actually turn a great day trip, you know, into a truly memorable ongoing association.

The Giraffe Centre: Tall Tales and Tasty Treats

Now that’s said, just a brief drive from the Elephant Orphanage lives the Giraffe Centre, which it offers like a total shift in wildlife interactions. Here, you basically get to, oh, feed giraffes from an elevated platform. If you thought viewing an elephant drinking milk tends to be cool, so just attempt hand-feeding a giraffe. A bag full of pellets gets handed to each person which the giraffes are keen to collect. These animals are very sweet as they wrap their long dark tongues around your hand to pick out the food. The star here, like, typically ends up being the Rothschild giraffe, pretty easily identifiable via their white socks. Just a tip, they, they could be pretty slobbery.

Very, they offer this nature walk right next to the centre if you wanna extend your time. That’s mostly it for a peaceful stroll and an ideal way of seeing a few more of the local birds of the place.

Photography Tips and Making the Most of Your Visit

Do you intend to catch some cool photographs? Very, reach the Sheldrick’s first thing to secure a great spot. So you can, actually use that time before the elephant feeding to just get yourself settled and find like the best light angle.

For your Giraffe Centre tour, so that it has got to do with snapping away when they reach in to grab those pellets. Be sure you have lots of space around you too. Take great selfies that are also fun!

By the way, be mindful of like the light, especially midday when light might get a bit severe. Morning tours could be best, basically for light but also to skip many of the biggest crowds.

I would like to also just throw in that I observed some persons there who bring professional cameras but by the way your smartphone works perfectly nicely as well so really just, remember that the goal actually ought to be savoring the day in any case.

Planning and Practicalities: Entry Fees, Times, and What to Bring

I would like to talk very briefly about logistics. Remember to check both the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s site and the Giraffe Centre’s page with visitor details just to make sure, like, everything tends to be spot on, as times of entry vary.

Typically, actually the Sheldrick does only give visitors access for a couple hours a day, as said already, so prepare accordingly.

Pack sunblock, now, particularly if you wanna be out for very long or wish to stroll.

I would recommend you bring cash as well for small purchases or donations, which, may also prove easier to get little things.

At the end of the day, being ready really just aids in making a visit truly fun and very effortless.

Ethical Considerations: Responsible Tourism

Thinking a little of like larger considerations, supporting tourism spots just like these is helping support like wildlife preservation but then also, it shows responsible travel practices. These experiences have positive effects at a few scales–the individual, the local population as well as larger global ecology preservation too.

Respect all guidelines. Remain silent, as well as respect directions. Just, they ought to be easy guidelines to follow to maintain safe animals and people experiences.

Finally, if this experience seems incredible, discuss all this. You really may turn someone onto such excellent experiences of travelling, wildlife, and protecting environment, is that they may simply be not aware about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay to see both spots in the same day?

Certainly. Seeing both locations is a favorite, because, really easy because it takes only some minutes in transport in-between.

Are such journeys well fitted to take the family along?

Of course, that’s ideal outings for the children. It should teach environmentalism and animal awareness from childhood. Also really something cute for people!

When specifically, the feeding event happen?

Elephant presentations usually occurs every day around 11 am. As giraffe times usually could be bit adjustable, checking, perhaps before arriving always is more better.

What precisely, ought I wear on these excursions?

Wear very easy clothing, walking gear and shoes which can stand little grime particularly if planning to take the hike.

Hopefully all of these are rather helpful so just allow, if I had missed something, I’m really sorry in advance. Enjoy these experiences. Safe touring.