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Lake Nakuru National Park | Attractions | Safari Lodges | Accommodation
LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK:
Ref: Lake Nakuru National Park | Safaris | Attractions
Despite having one of the best rhino sanctuaries in the world, Lake Nakuru’s fame still revolves around its bird spectacle of a million flamingos. The fame of Lake Nakuru National park is further enriched by presence of all the big five except the elephant, the absence of which does not make Lake Nakuru less rewarding in terms of game watching. The presence of big cats, more so lions and leopards in the vicinity of large concentrations of ungulates, the backdrop of the pink shoreline and escarpments makes lake Nakuru not only a nature lovers but also a painters paradise.
Flamingos:
Two species of flamingos exists in the lake Nakuru National Park- the lesser flamingo with deep red carmine bill and the greater flamingo with black tip. The flamingos feed on Blue green algae, created from their droppings mixing in the warm alkaline waters, and plankton. You can easily distinguish these from their feeding habits, with the lesser flamingos feeding on the top of the water surface and the greater from the lake bed.
Lake Nakuru National Park was established as a bird sanctuary in 1960, to protect the “greatest bird spectacle”, for natural beauty and posterity. In 1968, lake Nakuru was upgraded to a National Park. In 1974 a northern extension was added to Lake Nakuru National Park increasing its area to the current 188 Km2. In 1990 Lake Nakuru National Park was designated a Ramsar site- a signatory of the Ramsar convention, for protection of wetlands of international importance. The park is managed by KWS on behalf of the central government.
Lake Nakuru Safaris:
A safari to lake Nakuru can take from one to several days. The safari is enhanced by visit to other attractions in the vicinity like Menangai crater, Hell’s Gate National Park, Mt Longonot, and other Rift Valley lakes- Baringo, Bogoria and Naivasha. Lake Bogoria is a fresh water lake, the home of the Maa speaking Jemps. The Jemps occupy the islands in the lake and derive their livelihood from the Lake. Lake Boringo is a spa resort with hot springs. It is the home of the greater Kudu and a bird watchers’ paradise. Lake Naivasha, is famous for her flower farming. All these can be combined to form an enjoyable safari for any traveler.
Within Lake Nakuru National Park, the best safari would involve game drives in the morning and evening. Please note that walking by the lake shore is now prohibited due to presence of bid predators.
Getting there:
The critical mass of lake Nakuru is worldwide. It is only 157 Km from Nairobi. Different people from all walks of life visit the lake every year. Depending on where you are on the planet, your haste and preferences, getting to lake Nakuru can entail a combination of different modes of transports. Most of visitors from outside the country will first of fly into Nairobi from where they decide the next means to use. To most popular means of transport from Nairobi to Nakuru is by road. Being the centre of vast Rift Valley province, Nakuru is well linked by public means from all the corners of the country.
The drive from Nairobi takes via the most scenic area- uplands in Limuru with well tended farmlands. The Rift Valley observation point at Limuru never fails to fascinate. From here you see the vast expanse of great Rift Valley.
Major Attractions and Physical Features of Lake Nakuru National Park
Flamingoes & Birds:- Lake Nakuru national Park is the home to over a million flamingoes. Fleets of Lesser and Greater Flamingos line the shores of Lake Nakuru giving it a pinkish appearance. Besides flamingos, Lake Nakuru is home to other water birds including a variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species in total.
- Mammals: 56 different species of mammals have been identified in Lake Nakuru National Park, including black and white rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, cape buffaloes, Deffassa waterbucks, Thomson’s and grant’s gazelles, impalas, lions, leopards, warthogs, olive baboons, black backed jackal, reedbucks, dik diks, eland
- View-points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa provide vintage views of lake Nakuru and the surrounding National Park.
- Hills: Lake Nakuru has several hills including Enasoit, Honeymoon and Lion hill.
- Waterfalls: Makalia
- Unique vegetation: About 550 different plant species are found in Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru boasts of the largest Euphorbia cnadlebrum forest in Africa, Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia woodland.
- Bahrain springs
- Reptiles: A large number of reptiles inhabit Lake Nakuru including the python and tortoise.
A morning game drive in Lake Nakuru is likely to reveal the elusive leopards which are a very rare nocturnal animals while late evening game drives offers the best chance to spot the white rhinos.
Accommodation facilities in Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru National Park is served by two lodges and a number of bandas and campsites. Bandas include Naishi banda; Rhino banda; Chui banda; Reedbuck banda; KWS Isikon banda; Nyuki banda; Soysambu banda; Makalia Falls banda; KWS Guest House; WCK Education Centre & KWS Education Centre bandas. Three lodges serve the park. Lake Nakuru Lodge, Lion hill Sarova Lodge and Flamingo hill. Campsites Besides Enjoro campsite, one can camp at the main gate.
Budget accommodatin is available in Hotels in Nakuru Town: The include Hotel Genevieve, Midland hotel, Pivot hotel, Eros guest house, Stem hotel.
Picnic sites in the park include Makalia Falls Enjoro River Mouth near the main gate, Baharini, Acacia, Baboon Cliff, Out of Africa, Lion Hill Summit.
Activities:
Lake Nakuru offers one a variety of activities. Besides game viewing, in Lake Nakuru there exists unrivalled bird watching experience, picnics and photography opportunities. Other places one can visit while in Lake Nakuru are- Lakes Bogoria, Baringo and Naivasha, Menengai Crater and the archeological site of Hyrax Hill.
Entrance into the park:The applicabel park entrance fees are as follow
- Adult citizens Ksh 2000 pp, Children Ksh 100.00, Students Ksh 50.00
- Residents Ksh 1000.00 pp, Children Ksh 500.00 , Students Ksh 100.oo
- Adult Non residents USD 50.00 pp, Children Usd 30.00, Students Usd 10.00
The rates are applicabel per day. A day is 24 hours.
Lake Nakuru park gates/ Rules: Main Gate, Lanet and Nderit.
All visitors must enter the park through the official gates. Park is open from 06:00Hrs-18:00 Hrs daily. No person is allowed to drive in the park at night. Speed limit in the park is 40Km per hour. No off track driving. No feeding of animals and no littering the park. Do not entice any animals into your car. Do not get out of your vehicle unless you are in a designated picnic or observation site. Do not collect any animal remains-feathers, horns etc as souvenirs. All these offences are punishable by a fine or a jail term.
Conservation Status:
The main challenges of existence of Lake Nakuru National Park as a bird spectacle are fourfold-
- the destruction of the Mau complex has led to drying up of main rivers like Njoro and Makalia which has greatly affected the level of the lake
- the pollution of the lake from domestic and industrial wastes from Nakuru town
- large mammal population which tends to interfere with the lakeshore breeding grounds of birds.
- In addition the park is completely fenced hence animals cannot freely migrate in and out of the sanctuary. Equally significance is the absence of the elephants which has resulted in some parts of the being heavily forested and hence not ideal for game watching.
In summary Lake Nakuru National Park is nature lovers’ nivarna offering unparalled bird and game viewing opportunities. Accommodation is available either inside the park or in Nakuru Town. The future of Lake Nakuru is uncertain but whoever conserves it stands reap enormous benefits
About the Author
Nyagah Mbae is a tour consultant with R&N Xplorer Africa Safaris, Doris House, 1st Floor, Tom Mboya Street Meru. Tel +254 723 684 974 Website: http://www.gorillasafaris.netfirms.com , Email: rnxploresafaris@gmail.com