East Africa 2012 - Lake Nakuru

East Africa 2012 – Photo Safari to Kenya and Tanzania

February 2 – 4, Lake Nakuru National Park

Sarova Lion Hill Lodge

This day we left Nairobi in our five Micato Safari vehicles (all Toyota Land Cruisers) to drive northwest along and into the Great Rift Valley, which cuts north/south across Africa from Israel to Mozambique. The road is paved and is a pleasant drive through the country.

Colobus Monkey

Soon after we entered the park we were treated to a rare sighting of a Black & White Colobus monkey in the trees along the lake’s shore. With its large lake and numerous ponds, as well as the forests, this area is home to over 450 species of birds. Everywhere there was water there seemed to be large flocks of flamingos, pelicans, storks, and herons among others. There were a few avid birders in our group who had a great time.

White Rhino

The area is a Rhino Sanctuary and we were able to see a number of both the black and the rare white rhinos on our drives. We were also able to see the endangered Rothschild giraffe.

Rothschild Giraffe

The drives were always pleasant in the pop-top vehicles. They provided good stable support for our cameras at just the right height. We only had four people per each six-passenger vehicle, so there was plenty of rooms to move around and to keep our cameras close by. It was always fun to be in the middle of a group of animals as they moved from place to place, mostly ignoring us.

Cape Buffalo

While driving back to the lodge on the last evening at Lake Nakuru, the setting sun was particularly striking as the light touched the groves of yellow acacia trees. We just had to stop for more pictures.

Each evening before dinner a local group performed songs and dances. The end always involved some audience participation. The first night, I just couldn’t say no to the nice young man who talked me through the dance routine; a real aerobic workout!

The morning of February 4 we said good-bye to our driver guides at the airstrip and boarded two planes to continue our adventure at Little Governor’s Camp in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

 

That's it for now. Grace and Paul