Kenya
Lanet

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    • Day 19

      Lake Nakuru

      September 30 in Kenya ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Vom lake Naivasha gots hüd an Lake Nakuru. Das isch de zweit kleinst Nationalpark in Kenya. Uf Grund vo dr Grössi hets do au keini Elefante.
      De Park isch aber bekannt für die wisse-und schwarze Nashörner.
      Mir mache vor em Mittag no e Gamedrive wo mir au die erste wisse Nashörner gsehn und kurz vor der Lodge zwei Löwe.
      D Lodge ligt wunderschön uf em Hügel und mir hei vom Garte e tolle Usblick.
      Am spätere Nomitag folgt de zweiti Gamedrive wo mir e grossi Herde Giraffe mit Junge gsehn und sich e Löwe direkt ne e Eus an Strosserand leit.
      Plötzlich god d Jagt uf e gsichtete Leopard los. Wo Mr a chöme hets scho sehr viel Auto aber mir entdecke ihn au no. So viel Auto hei mir bis jetzt no nie gseh.
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    • Day 136

      Safari at Lake Nakuru

      February 16 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      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. 😴
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    • Day 12

      Nakuru et une banque un peu aléatoire

      December 20, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      On avait besoin de retirer du cash en ville donc nous nous sommes engouffrés dans Nakuru, qui est la seule grosse ville de notre route (sur 1000km). Je vais au bancomat le plus proche à la banque coopérative et retire le montant maximal possible, soit 40’000 KS (environ 300 €). Tiens c’est marrant j’ai l’impression qu’il y a moins de billets que d’habitude. Je compte… 25’000 KS ! Je rentre donc dans la banque expliquer le problème. On me dit que je n’ai pas été assez rapide pour prendre les billets et qu’ils sont re-rentrés dans la machine… Intéressante
      explication. J’essaye de m’expliquer tant bien que mal, il faut croire plutôt mal car mon unique possibilité est de remplir un formulaire. J’ai donc rempli le formulaire signé et approuvé par la banque pour me faire rembourser sur ma carte visa la différence sous 5 jours… Affaire à suivre.

      Pour changer de la beauté du Kenya, je vous mets une deuxième photo qui pousse au végétarisme…
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    • Day 22

      Nakuru

      January 27, 2020 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Le parc Nakuru abrite un paquet de rhinos ! Ils broutent tranquillement parmi les zèbres et les gazelles. Des phacochères se planquent quand le van arrive, mais on les crame vite avec leur absurde queue en drapeau qui dépasse des hautes herbes. Une nuée de pélicans est posée sur le lac, avec quelques flamants roses. Des singes se tripotent et nous montrent leur derrière.Read more

    • Day 7

      Bootstour auf dem Lake Nakuru

      February 18, 2022 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Nach einer kurzen Fahrt von der Lodge zum Seeufer besteigen wir erst ein kleines Boot, das uns zur Seaduction bringt, einem schönen Boot mit bequemen Sitzen und Überdachung zum Sonnenschutz. Wir fahren in der Nähe des Ufers entlang, entdecken Büffel, Zebras, Impalas und sogar Nashörner am Ufer und beobachten Pelikane, Kormorane und die beeindruckenden schwarz-weißen Schreiseeadler. Unsere Guidin Maria zeigt uns die Tiere und versorgt uns mit Informationen. Mitten auf dem See wird uns ein Frühstück vom feinsten serviert: frische Säfte, Champagner, Kaffee, Eier, Croissants mit Bacon und Käse, Obst, Pfannkuchen, Toast mit Avocadocreme.,…. leider können wir nicht alles probieren. Dann geht es weiter zu den Flamingos und einer riesigen Gruppe von Pelikanen am Ufer. Unser Captain Ismael schlägt vor, mit dem kleinen Boot noch näher zu fahren, aber wir sind auch so sehr zufrieden. Nach gut zweieinhalb Stunden erreichen wir wieder unsere Anlegestelle.Read more

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