I've always known I love animals, but there was something amazingly special about being among them in the wilderness that I will forever consider one of the best experiences a person can have.

Frequent readers will know that Western Africa is one of my favorite parts of the world, so my expectations were already high when I secured a lift to Bamako.

To avoid flying 30 hours to East Africa just for a couple days, my fiancé and I planned an 18-day adventure that would take us to 3 nature reserves, 2 countries, 5 cities, and enough outings to cover the holidays and then some. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about Nairobi.

TripAdvisor's #1 Attraction in Nairobi is the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant sanctuary, and that's not without reason. Visiting these young elephants is definitely one of the most satisfying things to do in the city.