Lanet

I had seen quite some wildlife already since I arrived in Africa but out of the Big 5 I was still missing the rhinos 🦏 and leopards 🐆 Nakuru is known for rhinos and flamingos 🦩 and only an hour away from Lake Naivasha (where I had spent the past few days). So, it felt just natural to me to make that little detour to Nakuru before I would return to Nairobi for the weekend.

I started the day early and took the „matatu“ (that’s what a shared mini-bus is called) 🚐 from Naivasha town to Nakuru. The principle is quite similar to the collectivos in Central and South America: the route is fixed but there is no time table - you just wait at the pickup location 📍 until the bus is full and then you go. The route from Naivasha to Nakuru is less frequently travelled and I was the 4th person in the bus. So, it took another 1.5 hours ⏳ until the remaining 7 seats were filled. I didn’t mind it much since it was only 8 am and I could fill the waiting time with writing my blog post for Naivasha. The bus ride was not very comfortable though 🥴 and I was glad that it took only a little over an hour to arrive at the central bus station in Nakuru. Our driver had not even parked the bus but there were already at least 3 guys who wanted to offer me their services. „Where are you going Mr.?“, they shouted 📣 through the window. After getting out of the bus I fended off two of the guys (I don’t like to be rushed) and talked to a third one. He wanted to take me with all my luggage on a „boda boda“ (that is what a motorbike is called). I rather took the more expensive Tuk-tuk 🛺 to the hotel; and rightly so because the streets of the last 2 km of the route where really bad. Once I arrived in my hotel, I talked to the receptionist about afternoon arrangements for visiting Lake Nakuru National Park. I had already paid 💸 the entrance for the park (61 USD) but I had neither a car nor a guide for my visit. It cost me an extra 75 USD to get both arranged through the hotel. I didn’t care at this point because trying to get a better deal directly at the gate would have cost me precious time. 😩 Instead, I tried to enjoy the amenities of the hotel jumping in the pool and having a small snack for lunch. The animals were hiding in the bushes anyways during lunchtime because of the heat. 😅

My private tour started between 2 pm and 3 pm. John (my guide) and Josh (my driver) took me through the whole national park and explained its most important aspects to me. Because of its wide variety of wildlife, it is one of Kenya’s two Premium Parks (the other one is Ambroselli) 🏆 The entire national park covers about 188 square km (116 square miles). Depending on the season, the lake can cover up to about 68 square km (26 square miles). It is fed by 4 rivers and has no way for the water to escape. Thus, evaporation 💨 is the only natural process for water to leave the lake. This makes it a salt-water lake and promotes the growth of an abundance of algae that is vital for the flamingos living in this area.
On the way to the flamingo point we saw many pelicans, baboons, buffalos, zebras and other wild animals. A decent amount of flamingos 🦩 was also still there but apparently that was nothing compared to the thousands of flamingos that were nesting along the shores in the past. There are two types of flamingo species: the lesser flamingo and the greater flamingo. The lesser flamingos are the ones that are commonly pictured in documentaries 🎥 They have a deep red carmine bill and pink plumage. In contrast, the greater flamingo has mostly white plumage and a bill with a black tip.
Pollution and drought are mainly responsible for overall decreasing water quality and increasing food shortage for the flamingos in the area. 😩 Climate change has also been hypothesized to contribute to the changing environmental conditions in the lake.
It didn’t take long until we found the first rhino 🦏 - it was a white rhino grazing close to the lake. white rhinos are characterized by a square lip whereas black rhinos have hooked upper lips. We came pretty close to it and I got some good pictures of it with my SLR camera. Mission accomplished! 🥳
But there was more. In fact, we have been super lucky that day since we saw 3 more white rhinos including a calf (probably a family) and even 2 of the rare black rhinos 🦏 The population of black rhinos declined dramatically in the last century at the hands of European hunters and settlers. In 1995, the number of black rhinos had dropped to less than 2,500 individuals (2%). 😱 Thanks to persistent conservation efforts across Africa, that number has more than doubled again from its historic low to 6,000 today. However, the species is still critically endangered.
We saw a lot more animals in the afternoon but John and Josh wanted to show me the sunset 🌅 from a location overlooking the lake. So, we drove the last 30 min. of my private tour up to a viewpoint. We almost didn’t make it in time because we discovered a lion 🦁 and a lioness chilling on the road. Even John and Josh were excited because seeing a lion at Lake Nakuru was not that common - in particular not in the part of the national park where we were 😂 After sunset we left the national park. It was already 7 pm and all visitors were supposed to leave the park by 6.30 pm. John was on good terms with the rangers at the gate. Thus, we had no problems leaving the park. 😮‍💨

Back in the hotel, I took a shower and went for dinner. I was very tired after the long and eventful day and fell asleep early on my bed. 😴Read more