Clumsy, soggy and uncomfortably abrasive — there's nothing remotely romantic about being kissed by a giraffe. Batting its femme fatale eyelashes, my suitor sticks out its purple tongue, eagerly probing for food. I hang back, as other guests pop edible pellets between their lips, inviting the hungry animals to retrieve them with a slobbery, wet snog.
Feeding a community of endangered Rothchild's giraffes is a highlight attraction for visitors to Nairobi. Founded in 1979 in a bid to boost numbers of the ailing subspecies, the Giraffe Centre in the city's upmarket Karen district is now an educational resource and one of the few places in Africa where it's possible to get so well-aquainted with the world's tallest animal.
Even more intimate shows are reserved for guests staying at the neighbouring Giraffe Manor hotel, where the gangly ungulates troop daily across manicured lawns to stick their heads through ivy-wrapped windows, or trot around the property's new spa and swimming pool.
As the capital of Kenya and a gateway to adventures in the Maasai Mara and beyond, it's no surprise wildlife takes centre stage in Nairobi: a national park lies at the heart of the city and pockets of protected forest fringe its outskirts. But in the past few years, East Africa's electrifyingly creative hub has wrestled free of its safari roots.
Across the city, experimental chefs have opened restaurants on organic farms, in wooden cabins or in partnership with boutique hotels. Proving there's more to African cuisine than traditional meat and maize staples, menus are varied, combining local flavours with international techniques.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2021 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2021 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Dianne Whelan
THOUGH NOT A SEASONED HIKER TO BEGIN WITH, THE FILMMAKER BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO COMPLETE THE WORLD'S LONGEST TRAIL NETWORK
NIGERIA
The country's many communities come together over hearty meals with plenty of heat
Katie Hale
A VOYAGE TO THE GREAT WHITE CONTINENT IS BOTH A DREAM COME TRUE AND A CALL TO ARMS, TO PROTECT OUR ICY POLES AND, IN TURN, OUR PLANET
WILTSHIRE
BEYOND THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF STONEHENGE, WILTSHIRE HAS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE ANCIENT SITES, GIANT CHALK HORSES AND COSY PUBS IN HISTORIC VILLAGES
BATH
Thermal baths and Regency heritage have put this Somerset city firmly on the travel map - and this year the spotlight will be on former resident and literary great Jane Austen, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of her birth
GRANADA
In this Andalucian city, flamenco is an art form as well as a way of life not just for traditional dancers and singers but also for hip-hop stars, classical guitar legends and street artists
India's Golden Triangle
LINKING DELHI, THE TAJ MAHAL AND THE PINK CITY OF JAIPUR, WITH DETOURS FOR TEMPLES AND TIGERS, THIS IS THE PERFECT ROUTE FOR FIRST-TIMERS. WORDS: POOJA NAIK
FORGED BY FIRE
A SUBTROPICAL ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC, MADEIRA HAS RUGGED VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS THAT RISE ABOVE THE CLOUDS, NATURAL SWIMMING POOLS DOWN AT SEA LEVEL AND MORE THAN 1,900 MILES OF HISTORIC AQUEDUCTS TRACING THE LANDSCAPES IN BETWEEN
ADRIFT IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
A KAYAKING EXPEDITION THROUGH NORWAY'S LOFOTEN ISLANDS OFFERS WHITE-SAND BEACHES, ROYAL ENCOUNTERS AND THE CHANCE TO CHANNEL YOUR INNER VIKING
the RETURN
ON A PRIVATE GAME RESERVE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE, AN UNLIKELY CREATURE IS MAKING A TENTATIVE COMEBACK - AND VISITORS ARE OFFERED A GLIMPSE INTO THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS TO SAVE IT AND OTHER NATIVE WILDLIFE
