A 4500 acre farm, of which 600 acres was used for coffee farming by Karen and Baron Blixen. On seperation in 1921 Karen ran the farm until 1931
When she returned to Denmark and pursued writing. Amoung famous books she wrote was ‘Out of Africa’ which was later shot as a movie.
The farm was bought by a Remy
Marin, who broke the land into 20 acre parcels for development creating the present suburb of Karen in Nairobi.
Ndege road almost opposite Karen Hospital was the landing strip for planes coming to her farm house, with the most famous guest being Finch Hatton (her boyfriend). She used to light up different coloured lamps and hung them at her verandah to indicate her mood to be or not to be seen 🙂
Most Europeans who settled in the country brought with them many of their customs like horse drawn carts made of wood and iron wheels like the one above.
To learn more you can visit her farm house that’s now Karen Blixen Museum. To find out what else to see/visit around the house purchase ‘In and around Nairobi by Muoki Kioko’ that has over 200 tour options around Nairobi.
Text & Images
©Muoki Kioko 2009-2013
For permissions to use images email: muokisphotography@yahoo.com
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