During free time or on the weekends, volunteers just relax or choose to go to Ngong, Karen or Nairobi. Volunteers can make travel plans and go on Safaris for 3 to 5 days starting on one of the Fridays. The MACCOP team can help you to organise trips during your stay.
Visit Karen
Giraffe Centre
About: The Giraffe Centre is the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (A.F.E.W. Kenya), a Kenyan non-profit organisation. Our main purpose is to educate Kenyan school children and youth on their country’s wildlife and environment, as well as give local and international visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the world’s tallest species, the giraffe.
Cost: Adult/Child: 1000KSH/500KSH
Opening Times: Open 7 days a week, 9am till 5pm.
Karen Blixen Museum & Tea Rooms
About: Karen Blixen Museum was once a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills owned by Danish Author Karen and her Swedish Husband, Baron Bror von Blixen Fincke. Karen and her husband bought the Museum house in 1917 and it became the farm house for their 4500 acre farm, of which 600 acres was used for coffee farming. The farm house gained international fame with the release of the movie ‘Out of Africa’ an Oscar winning film based on Karen’s an autobiography by the same title.
Cost: Adult/Child: 1200KSH/600KSH
Opening Times: The Museum is open to the Public every day (9.30 am to 6pm) including weekends and public holidays. Visitors are encouraged to be at the Museum by 5.30. Guided tours are offered continuously.
Nature & Wildlife
David Sheldrick Elephant & Rhino Orphanage
About: A beautiful experience. You have one hour to watch the young, orphaned elephants come down for feeding time. During the second half, the keepers talk about the individual orphans and their stories. Explanations are also given about the broader picture of the orphan’s project and some of the other projects in which the trust is involved.
Cost: 500KSH
Opening Times: 11am till 12pm
Lake Naivasha & Lake Nakuru – 2 Day Excursion
About: This is the Rift Valley's highest lake (at 1884m above sea level) extends like a vast, sunlit sea. But there's more to this spot than the lovely blue lake. You can ride among giraffes and zebras, look for hippos on the lake. This is the perfect trip for an overnight stay in one of the local campsites, where you can relax and enjoy the views and wildlife. Lake Nakuru is renowned for its masses of flamingos and is often referred to as the “Pink Lake”. Besides birds, it is possible to see game like waterbuck, impala, rhino and buffalo.
Cost: The cost will need to be confirmed for these trips.
Safari – Maasai Mara – 3 Day Excursion
About: Maasai Mara National Reserve is an area of preserved savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya, along the Tanzanian border. Its animals include lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras and hippos. Wildebeest traverse its plains during their annual migration. The landscape has grassy plains and rolling hills, and is crossed by the Mara and Talek rivers.
Tour transport including game viewing drives in an open top customised safari minivan. Maximum of 8 sharing, but another van can be booked for larger groups.
Cost: 42,000KSH / $420 / £304
Price Includes:
- Accommodation at the Mara Springs Safari Camp – furnished mid-luxury tents with beds, bedding, toilet & shower.
- All meals included
- Transport and services of an experienced driver/guide
- Park Entrance Fees
- Sunset Tour/Full Day Tour/Sunrise Tour
National Park – Hells Gate
About: The breathtaking scenery, complete with towering cliffs, gorges, rock towers, volcanoes and belching plumes of geothermal steam, make it one of the most atmospheric parks in Africa. On a visit to the park you can see African buffalos, zebras, elands, hartebeests, Thomson’s gazelles, baboons and over 100 bird species including vultures, Verreaux’s eagles, augur buzzards and swifts. Rare lammergeier vultures, as well as the Chandler’s mountain reedbuck and the klipspringer antelope also call the park home. You can walk round the park or hire a bike.
Cost: The cost will need to be confirmed for these trips.
Nairobi Museum & Snake Park
About: Learn about Kenya’s rich heritage, in addition to the museum, visitors are treated to a variety of shopping and dining facilities, as well as botanical gardens that offer a serene environment. Also enjoy a visit to the Snake Park and have an informative guided 1hr tour around the popular attraction and research facility for reptiles & breeding of snakes.
Opening Times: Open every day from 8.30am till 5.50pm
Cost: Nairobi Museum for Adult/Child 1,200Ksh/600Ksh; Snake Park for Adult/Child 1,200Ksh/600Ksh; Combined Ticket Adult/Child 1,500Ksh/1000Ksh
Tours with MACCOP
Ngong Hills
Organise a day with one of the MACCOP Coordinators to hike up to the top of the Ngong Hills, and enjoy spectacular views from the top.
Cultural Day with Members of Olasiti Community
Learn more about the history of life in Olasiti and the changes seen over time. Meet with elders to hear about Traditional Maasai Culture, be taught some Maasai songs and how to dance like a Maasai. The MACCOP Coordinators can help organise this during your stay.
Cost: Donation of 1000Ksh per person
