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Nicholas Mwangi

It was in my early childhood that my love for traveling really began. I grew up at the slopes of Mount Kenya the second highest Mountain in Africa an area that was rich in biodiversity with many wild animals like antelopes, foxes, leopards as well butterflies and wide variety of beautiful birds.
. After school I studied a degree in Travel and Tourism Management, before embarking on tourism career. While in college I was occasionally involved in trip planning process for students and staff, connecting them with service providers, I would help staff and student groups arrange holidays, manage their tours and travel itineraries, navigate travel insurance policies, applying for passports, visas and other necessary travel documents. All along I was mesmerized and enchanted by uniqueness and diversity of the African culture, landscape, history, cuisine, un spoilt wilderness and this inspiration led to establishment of Animal Kingdom Safaris so as to be able to facilitate and provide a magical experience to those seeking an authentic taste of Africa
Since then, I have been part of Animal Kingdom Safaris with over 25 years’ experience as the lead safari guide, and I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else now. Animal Kingdom Safaris has extended my knowledge abroad, through extensive, first-hand, on-the-ground research trips.
Do give me a call/Whats-app or send an email to discuss your plans. There's nothing I enjoy better than talking about African destinations and planning trips for other people!

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"Private Tours, Honeymoon, Golf tours, Mountain climbing, History & culture, Adventure & Trekking, Beach & relaxation."

How did you get involved in travel?

"In my early school/college days, traveling solo had been on my bucket list for a while, but while it was something that excited me, it also scared the hell out of me too. I’d never even been out to dinner on my own, what made me think I could pack up my things and take a trip in another country all by myself?

The hype around solo traveling had also started to build, everything I read claimed that it would be the one thing to help me find myself, and eventually I started hearing stories of friends of friends doing it. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like this thing that only cool and confident people on the internet were doing, but people who I knew or were in my wider social circle were doing it. Then, the perfect opportunity presented itself, and it was just too hard to say no. I was to take a volunteering trip to Uganda for 7 days, and if I was able to plan it properly by myself, I’d be able to extend my flights to the neighboring country to cover a longer time for volunteering activities, and would only need to fund my accommodation and spending money. I needed to decide quickly, as these trips were usually booked in quite last minute (a month or so in advance at most), which didn’t leave me much time to think or start to worry about it. So, I did it, all went well, and here I am, enjoying amazing and top destinations worldwide.
"

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro to catch the sunrise. When I was told we were going to be waking up at 2 a.m. on my birthday to hike up Mount Kilimanjaro to catch the sunrise, i was less than thrilled. With an early morning start between midnight and 2 a.m., this is the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek. We trekked our way to the summit between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers trying to stay warm and focused of the amazing sense of accomplishment that lies ahead. We ascended through a heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim, where we were rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise during our short rest here. Another 1 hour ascent to Uhuru Peak, encountering snow all the way until we reached the peak the highest point on the entire continent of Africa!! We took a few moments to enjoy this incredible accomplishment as I celebrated my birthday. It was one of those moments that made me stop and feel awe-inspired by just how incredibly beautiful this great big world is."

Top itineraries and travel advice

Recent trip reviews for Nicholas

Honeymoon of a Lifetime
Kenya | Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2024

Jeffrey
Jeffrey H.
Houston, TX | Reviewed on Mar 22, 2024
I booked a safari with Animal Kingdom through Kim Kim and it was an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. There are so many options of safaris to choose that it can be daunting. From the moment I messaged with Nicholas, I felt completely at ease. In the process leading up to the trip, he answered all of my copious questions. He was always quick and kind with his responses. He made sure we go our vaccinations and the proper visa. Once we arrived, he and our driver, John, picked... Read more

I booked a safari with Animal Kingdom through Kim Kim and it was an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. There are so many options of safaris to choose that it can be daunting. From the moment I messaged with Nicholas, I felt completely at ease. In the process leading up to the trip, he answered all of my copious questions. He was always quick and kind with his responses. He made sure we go our vaccinations and the proper visa. Once we arrived, he and our driver, John, picked my wife and I up from the airport. This was the biggest relief since we landed at 11:00pm local time. Nicholas rode with us to the first hotel we stayed at and he walked us through what most of the trip would look like beyond the itinerary he provided. For almost the rest of the trip, my wife and I were just with John, our driver. I cannot talk highly enough of John. We told him all of the animals we wanted to see and what pictures we wanted. He made sure we got and saw everything we wanted. He also did an amazing job of answering all of the questions we asked throughout the trip. On our last day, we had many hours between our last safari and our flight out of Nairobi and Nicholas and John helped my wife and I out by recommending a good area of Nairobi to stay in until the flight and then John took us to the airport.

For the trip, we went to Nairobi National Park, David Shedrick’s Elephant Preserve, Giraffe Center, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, and Amboseli. All were fantastic but Lake Nakuru was our biggest surprise. Do not skip it!

Hotel Reviews
Fair Acres Boutique Hotel
Karen, Nairobi. P. O Box 1121 – 00208 Nairobi.

Fantastic hotel! Staff was attentive. The room was nice and clean. The restaurant had delicious food.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Ashnil Mara Camp
Maasai Mara

The lobby area was very nice. The buffet was good for all meals. WiFi was only available in the main area which was a challenge. You also could not bring food to your room because monkeys would break in and steal it. Otherwise, great experience!

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Lake Naivasha Simba lodge
Naivasha

The grounds of this hotel are amazing! Very cool area to walk around and be amongst zebras, giraffes, and other wildlife.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Kilima Safari Camp
Nairobi, Kenya

The first room we were put in smelled like an animal had died inside of it. There were also many bugs, living and dead, in the room that was “freshly cleaned.” We switched rooms without issue from the staff but the lack of cleanliness persisted in the second room. It was also incredibly hot when we were there. There was no portable fan in the room. There was one fan which was mounted on the wall in the room. This would be fine but they put a twin bed with a full wooden bed frame in front of the fan so you couldn’t use the queen bed without sweating all night. Then, at night, there were thousands of grasshoppers. This would not be a problem except for the fact that they kept getting in the room so I heard them all night trying to get past the mosquito netting. Worse yet, the hotel didn’t have any protection for the outdoor buffet. So while we were trying to eat, grasshoppers were jumping into our mouths and food.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Giraffe center
Giraffe center
Nairobi
Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Nairobi National Park
Nairobi National Park
Nairobi
Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
David sheldricks
David sheldricks
Nairobi
Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Nicholas Mwangi
Nicholas
Nicholas Mwangi
Local specialist in Nairobi | Replied on Mar 30, 2024

Hi Jeffrey,

Thanks so much for your review. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed your honeymoon noting some of the highlights during your trip with us. We have noted your experience with Kilima Camp, which we are really sorry, we have passed the same information to the hotel and we expect to see improvements before sending our guests there. We look forward to connect again in the future for different experiences.

Best regards,
Nicholas

Kenya - a trip of a lifetime
Kenya | Jan 1 - Jan 6, 2024

Dylan
Dylan N.
the United Arab Emirates | Reviewed on Jan 10, 2024
My 2nd time in the Maasai Mara and every time it just gets better & better. Our local specialist, Nicolas, was exceptional. His knowledge of the country, the Maasai Mara, the wild life was top notch. He also had a great attention to detail to make our trip a memorable one.
We managed to see so much wild life it felt we were in a Netflix nature documentary at times.
The accommodation recommended was perfect, from tents on the river over looking hippos and crocodiles, to the food and...
Read more

My 2nd time in the Maasai Mara and every time it just gets better & better. Our local specialist, Nicolas, was exceptional. His knowledge of the country, the Maasai Mara, the wild life was top notch. He also had a great attention to detail to make our trip a memorable one.
We managed to see so much wild life it felt we were in a Netflix nature documentary at times.
The accommodation recommended was perfect, from tents on the river over looking hippos and crocodiles, to the food and massages. Perfect places to rest after full days of safari.
I can’t recommend Nicolas and a trip to Kenya enough

Local specialist: Nicholas Mwangi
Nicholas
Nicholas Mwangi
Local specialist in Nairobi | Replied on Jan 19, 2024

Hi Dylan,
Thanks so much for your feedback, I enjoyed every bit with you during the safari and hope to reunite for other new experiences. All the best for future travel journeys.
With thanks,
Nicholas

Best trip of our lives with our host/guide: Nicholas
Kenya | Jun 24 - Jul 3, 2023

Joseph
Joseph L.
Chicago, IL | Reviewed on Jul 06, 2023
As someone who has traveled to over 30 countries, I can easily say that this was the best trip of my life and the best trip of my wife's as well!
When we booked the trip, we were both excited and apprehensive. While we had used Kimkim before, we were not familiar with East Africa.
From the pre-booking process, to the entire trip, and even post-tripm our host/guide, Nicholas of Animal Kingdom Safaris was the best that we could ever ask for and truly feel that we made a friend for...
Read more

As someone who has traveled to over 30 countries, I can easily say that this was the best trip of my life and the best trip of my wife's as well!
When we booked the trip, we were both excited and apprehensive. While we had used Kimkim before, we were not familiar with East Africa.
From the pre-booking process, to the entire trip, and even post-tripm our host/guide, Nicholas of Animal Kingdom Safaris was the best that we could ever ask for and truly feel that we made a friend for life!
From the hospitality to the humor to allowing us to use his camera to making sure we were well taken care of: Nicholas did it all! One specific example is when our bags got delayed from the United States. Nicholas was in constant commnication with the airlines, organized the bags to be flown to a nearby airstrip, and had a colleague pick it up for us. I could never have imagined doing that without him.
Since returning, I have told dozens of family / friends about the trip and Nicholas!

Local specialist: Nicholas Mwangi
Nicholas
Nicholas Mwangi
Local specialist in Nairobi | Replied on Jul 26, 2023

Thank you so much Joseph and Ethel for the amazing time we spent with you in Kenya. We appreciate your positive feedback and hope to see you in the future.
Kind regards,
Nicholas.