Bogoria and Nakuru-The Rift Valley Lakes of Kenya

An artists representation of Africa & the Rift Valley

The rift valley as we pass from Nairobi to Nakuru

We left from Mombasa back towards Nairobi exactly a week since we arrived in Kenya and the long road back to Nairobi would take us a whole day so we had a little over 3 days left of our time in Kenya. We would overnight in Nairobi and the next day head north west to a couple of lakes along Kenya’s rift valley. The major reason to go north was to see the captivating sight of thousands of flamingoes that have made their home among these soda lakes.

Lake Nakuru was the closer of the two lakes at about 3 hours from Nairobi; my guidebook had also suggested that it would be a good bet to see the flamingoes so initially there was no reason to go further north to any other lakes. However, I recalled a conversation I had with Chris, the driver who drove us back from Masai Mara. I remembered him mentioning that the rains had been pretty good that year which meant that a lot of fresh water had drained into these lakes. This meant that Lake Nakuru would be a lot less caustic due to dilution that the rain water bought and hence not suitable for the growth of blue-green algae and brine shrimp (which gives the flamingoes their characteristic pink color) that these birds thrive on.

At he center are the Greater Flamingoes. Nakuru has a healthy population of both types of Flamingoes



Outlet of a sulphur spring in Lake Bogoria

Chris had also suggested that a better place to see them would be another lake further north called as Lake Bogoria. The flamingoes in this part of the world are not seasonal migrants across continents but rather residents around Kenya changing their home base from one rift valley lake to another based on its alkaline composition…the more alkaline it is the better. The best chance it seemed was go to the Lake Bogoria National Reserve.

Eddie picked us up again the next morning and part of the road passed through the same rift valley views that we had seen on our way to the Masai Mara before diverging north. Nakuru was a quaint little town set among agricultural lands and although it had been decades since the British colonial rule had ended, the town has a slight laidback colonial feel to it.

Grant's Gazelles

Right after we checked into a guest house shortly after midday the van broke down. It took them the whole afternoon and evening to get it fixed which meant that we had to alter our plans slightly. The place that we stayed in was run by a kind gentleman called as ‘Luka’. He seemed a very knowledgeable man and got along well with my dad. Interacting with him gave a very interesting insight into the Kenyan middle class life and the town itself.

Luka had previously worked in the tea industry and the job had bought him to India in the 70s’ and he had very fond memories of my country. After retiring he brought land in Nakuru and had just recently opened the guest house and had several other projects in the pipeline. According to him Nakuru was an idea place to invest since it was one of the fastest growing regions in the whole of East Africa owning to it proximity to Nairobi, its favorable weather and a strong agricultural base to sustain its economy.

Impalas

Grey Crowned Crane

We had a Tusky’s store very close to the guesthouse and although the family preferred to shop there I loved buying mangoes and watermelons from the roadside vendors opposite the supermarket. It was interesting to see two completely different forms of retailing right next to each other. For me the experience of buying from the street vendors was far more interactive; I was informed that the fruits I was buying came from neighboring Uganda where the soil and weather was far more conducive for growing fruits. In return the vendors got a chance to ask me where I was from and what bought me to their town. Just can’t get that priceless sensation of interacting with a person in a supermarket.

Lake Nakuru

Yellow Billed Stork

Pelicans

Next morning we set out further north towards Lake Bogoria and it got decidedly hotter further north we went crossing the equator halfway through the journey. The land was dominated by acacia trees and several of the trees by the road were fitted with wooden beehives while the local women sat under them selling the very same honey in varying sizes of bottles. I presume that the honey would be very good but I don’t eat a lot of it so decided not to purchase it.


Marabou Stork

Flooded shoreline of Lake Nakuru


Surrounding the lake was the Lake Bogoria National Reserve which was fairly small at just 107 sq.kms and no doubt the major attraction there were the flamingoes but it also had a health population of other wildlife.

As we entered we saw several animals including Ostriches, Dik-Diks, Zebras, Grant’s Gazelles, Vervet Monkeys but no there was no doubt who the stars of this reserve were. The sight of seemingly countless pink flamingoes was truly majestic and the steamy lake surrounded by hills made for an even more breathtaking sight. It was tough to approach the flamingoes as they were very timid and it was made even more difficult to keep them from flying away to the center of the lake when my nephew decided to chase them :)

The best part about the Lake Bogoria Reserve is the fact that is probably not frequently visited by tourists and we pretty much had the park to ourselves except for maybe one odd traveler.

This region of Kenya gets pretty hot as the day wears on and having seen the flamingoes it was time to return back to Nakuru and get some rest before we took a game drive in the nearby Lake Nakuru National Park.

African Spoonbill

It might seem confusing that I have mentioned National Reserves in some places (Masai Mara, Shimba Hills, and Lake Bogoria) and Park some other places (Nakuru) but there does lay some differences between them. First is the fact that the parks are run by a governmental entity called Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) while the reserves are run by local councils who are responsible for collecting the fees, and maintaining the park as well as protecting the animals within it. The bigger difference is the fact that all human activities other than research is prohibited in the parks while reserves try to accommodate the needs of both the humans and wildlife around the region so it could be quite plausible to see domestic cattle besides wildlife like we saw Zebras besides cattle at Lake Bogoria.

Male Impala

A Grey Crowned Crane between Thompson's Gazelles

As the heat of the day started to dissipate, we entered Lake Nakuru National Park which is quite incredibly situated right on the edge of the town. The park although small at just under 200 sq. km. is a little gem and is teeming with wildlife with a fantastic mixture of birds, animals, lake shoreline, grasslands, dense bush, and rocky outcrops.

Lake Nakuru in the distance

Cape Buffalo

Female Waterbuck with calf

We managed to see several species of animals in just over three hours of game drive including Impalas, Zebras, Cape Buffaloes, Olive Baboons, Waterbuck, Giraffes, Thompsons’s Gazelles, Grey Crowned Crane, a few Flamingoes, , Pelicans, Yellow Billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Marabou Stork and several other species of birds I don’t even know their names. One animal that the family was desperate to see was the Rhino and just as were going to diverge to the exit route we came across a couple grand old rhinos lazily grazing on a patch of grassland by the southern shoreline. Although this reserve had both the Black and the White Rhino species, we saw the former while the latter is normally very elusive and prefers to graze in the bush rather than on open grassland.

Left: Male Impala                                       Right: Male Waterbuck

I had walked with White Rhinos in the wild in Swaziland so although it was good to see them again it wasn’t as exciting to be watching it from the safe confined of a safari vehicle. The family however was thrilled and seeing them just as we exited the park closed the whole safari thing in Kenya perfectly.

The park although beautiful and well managed, has a precarious future. As I mentioned earlier, Nakuru is developing at a fast clip and although good in certain respects, it’s bringing huge pressures from the growing human population all around it.

After the game drive we drove straight back to Nairobi checking into the same hotel late at night. We bid adieu to Eddie who had been our excellent driver, guide and companion for the past 6 days through our journey to Mombasa-Shimba Hills-Lake Bogoria-Lake Nakuru. We thanked him and wished him good luck and called it a night.