On Safari: Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
- whereintheworldsar
- Aug 19
- 2 min read
The unforgettable thrill of that first safari trip will stay with you forever!
When I think back to my travels in Africa, I giggle at the memory of our truck-bus when we did our first safari; a bunch of Kiwis and Aussies thrilling over the sights of wild animals roaming around our vehicle, the truck-bus swaying side to side as inside it we all raced back and forth, clamouring over each other to get the best views and photographs; as if we might not see any more animals in the whole of Africa! But hey, after all, this wasn't a paddock of sheep, mate! Brilliant....
Everything revolves around the waterhole...
Our first stop was to get our permit to enter the Nakuru National Park, and as we waited, I caught the action around the waterhole .. a tap! At first the birds drank from the drips, then a family of baboons came down and, after one baboon turned it on, the rest had a drink, including a mother with her baby clinging on for dear life around her undercarriage. Little did I realise at this point that gathering for drinks around the waterhole would be a feature of this trip, and this 'waterhole' was certainly unique, as would be the amount of babies that we would see on our journey.
Where exactly are we?
Lake Nakuru National Park rests on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, in Kenya, a drive of approximately 3.5 hours from Nairobi. The lake is surrounded by woody and bushy grassland and has a wide ecological diversity, varied wildlife habitats, plant, bird and animal species. Covering an area of approximately 188 sqkm, the park is famous for being home to millions of Flamingos, the endangered Rothschild giraffe and a large Rhino population. We camped here overnight and it was a great place to start our African adventure...
Close to the lake, it's all about camouflage amongst the foliage, nourishment, mud-bathing and water to drink:
Then on the lake itself are the birds and the activities in the water, including the remnants of the old forests:
And further on into the grasslands and grazing:
Summary:
The morning and sunset drives that we did in the truck-bus for our first safari, couldn't really have been a better way to start our African adventures. We saw an amazing amount of wildlife, the landscape was beautiful and varied and we were blessed to start off by getting a good view of a number of Rhinos, black and white, including a baby. Seeing the 'Big 5' seems to be a driving factor for many who come to this continent and we have already ticked a couple off the list! Roll on the next one ...
Further reading on Africa ...
Comments