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Lake Nakuru Safaris
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4 Days
Masai
Mara | Lake Nakuru
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5 Days Masai Mara | Lake Nakuru Adventure
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6 Days Amboseli |
Naivasha| Masai Mara
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7 Days Tree Hotel | Samburu | Lake Nakuru | Mara
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10 Days
Mt. Kenya/ Samburu/ Aberdares/ Nakuru/ Mara / Amboseli
Lake Nakuru National Park
Safari
Background Information
Lake Nakuru is a very shallow strongly alkaline lake 62 km2 in
extent. It is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland
and grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes areas of
marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops,
stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a
Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter.
The lake catchment is bounded by Menengai crater to the north, the
Bahati hills to the north east, the lion hill ranges to the east,
eburu crater to the south and the mau escarpment to the west. Three
major rivers, the njoro, makalia and enderit drain into the lake,
together with treated water from the town's sewage works and the
outflow from several springs along the shore.
Lake Nakuru was first gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and
upgraded to National Park status in 1968. A northern extension was
added to the park in 1974 and the lake was designated as a Ramsar
site in 1990. The foundation of the parks food chains is the
cyanophyte spirulina platensis which can support huge numbers of
lesser flamingo.
Location:
Central Kenya, 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru District of
the Rift Valley Province. It covers an area of 188 km2.
Climate:
Ranges from Cold, Hot and Humid, Hot and Dry. Annual rainfall is
965mm
HOW TO GET THERE
Roads:
The park has a tarmac road connection with Nairobi, a distance of
156 km north west of Nairobi on the main A104 road. The most
commonly used route into the park is via the main gate, 4 km from
Nakuru Town Centre. It is also possible to enter the park from the
main Nairobi Nakuru road at Lanet Gate. The Nderit Gate is used by
people accessing the park from Masai Mara or Elementaita.
Airstrips:
The Naishi airstrip services the park for tourism and KWS
activities.
Park Roads:
The park has an adequate and well serviced motorable roads that make
most parts of the park accessible.
Park Gates:
The park has three gates, Main Gate and Lanet Gate that link the
park with the Nairobi-Nakuru highway and the less used Nderit Gate.
MAJOR ATTRACTIONS
Flamingo (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds including a
variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species in total.
Mammals: 56 different species including white rhinos.
View-points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa
Hills: Enasoit, Honeymoon, Lion hill ridge etc.
Waterfalls: Makalia
Unique vegetation: About 550 different plant species including the
unique and biggest euphorbia forest in Africa, Picturesque landscape
and yellow acacia woodlands.
FACILITIES
Bandas:
Naishi bandas; 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.
Lodges:
Lake Nakuru lodge & Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.
Campsites:
Enjoro campsite.
Picnic sites:
Makalia Falls Enjoro River Mouth near the main gate, Baharini,
Acacia, Baboon Cliff, Out of Africa, Lion Hill Summit.
ACTIVITIES
Game viewing, bird watching
COMMON VEGETATION
The vegetation is mainly wooded and bushy grassland with a wide
ecological diversity and characteristic habitats that range from the
lake waters to the escarpment and ridges.
The normally water-covered surface of the lake occupies about a
third of the park. The lake water supports a dense bloom of the
blue-green Cyanophyte Spirulina platensis from which it derives its
colour and which is the major food source for the flamingo.
The lake is fringed by alkaline swamps with areas of sedge, Cyprus
laevigatus and typha marsh along the river inflows and springs. The
surrounding areas support a dry transitional savanna with lake
margin grasslands of Sporobolus spicatus salt grass moving into
grasslands of Hyparrhenia hirta and rhodes grass Chloris gayana in
the lower areas.
More elevated areas have dry forest with Acacia xanthophloea, olive
Olea hochstetteri and Croton dichogamus; Euphorbia candelabrum
forest; and bushland dominated by the composites, Mulelechwa
Tarchonanthus camphoratus and Psiadia arabica.
Rocky hillsides on the Parks eastern perimeter are covered with
Tarchonanthys scrub and a magnificent Euphobia candelabrum forest.
Lake Nakuru National Park - Kenya
Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in Maasai language. Lake Nakuru
National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. It
started off small, only encompassing the famous lake and the
surrounding mountainous vicinity. Now it has been extended to
include a large part of the savannahs.
Lake Nakuru, a small (it varies from 5 to 30 square kilometers)
shallow alkaline lake on the edge of the town of Nakuru lies about
160 kilometers north of Nairobi. It can therefore be visited in a
day tour from the capital or more likely as part of a circuit taking
in the Masai Mara or Lake Baringo and east to Samburu. The lake is
world famous as the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth
- myriads of fuschia pink flamingoes whose numbers are legion, often
more than a million maybe two. They feed on the abundant algae,
which thrives in the warm waters. Scientists reckon that the
flamingo population at Nakuru consumes about 250,000 kilos of algae
per hectare of surface area per year. There are two types of
flamingo species: the Lesser flamingo can be distinguished by its
deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater, which has
a bill with a black tip. The Lesser flamingos are ones that are
commonly pictured in documentaries mainly because they are large in
number. Flamingo populations in Lake Nakuru are on a steady increase
again. The numbers had been reduced due to the El-Nino weather
pattern that flooded the lake, and changed the alkaline
concentration. The flamingos feed on algae, created from their
droppings mixing in the warm alkaline waters, and plankton. But
flamingo are not the only avian attraction, also unforgettable are
two fish eating birds, pelicans and cormorants. Despite the tepid
and alkaline waters, a diminutive fish, tilapia grahami has
flourished after being introduced in the early 1960's. The lake is
rich in other birdlife. There are over 400 resident species on the
lake and in the surrounding park. Thousands of both little grebes
and white winged black terns are frequently seen as are stilts,
avocets, ducks, and in the European winter the migrant waders.
Lake Nakuru National Park, which surrounds the lake, has recently
been enlarged partly to provide a sanctuary for the black rhino.
This undertaking has necessitated a fence - to keep out poachers
rather than to restrict the movement of wildlife. The park now has
more than 25 rhinos, one of the largest concentrations in the
country, so the chances of spotting these survivors are good. There
are also a number of Rothschild's giraffe, again translocated for
safety from western Kenya beginning in 1977. Waterbuck are very
common and both the Kenya species are found here. Among the
predators are lion and leopard, the latter being seen much more
frequently in recent times. The park also has large sized python
snakes that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen
crossing the roads or dangling from trees.
Due credit should be given to the World Wide Fund For Nature
organization, and local Kenyan wildlife foundations for supporting
the preservation of animals, protection of the rhinoceros population
and research into the effects of surrounding communities and
industries
The Great Rift Valley, mostly known in Kenya as the East African
Rift Valley, was formed between 2 and 7 million years ago. It is the
longest rift on the surface of the earth. The Rift Valley starts all
the way from Jordan, Middle East, and runs through Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Congo, Malawi, and ends near the coastal town of Solada in
Mozambique. The amazing attribute about the Rift Valley is that once
it reaches the Kenyan border, it diverges into two rifts, which
later converge near Lake Rukwa in southern Tanzania.
The Great Rift Valley is approximately 4,000 miles long and 35 miles
wide. It was formed due to geological tension in the earth's crust
that caused a deep depression, while probably forcing the sides
upwards. The floor of the valley is normally below sea level. In
Kenya, the Rift Valley gave rise to many lakes that have become a
habitat for diverse wildlife. The walls of the Rift Valley are
called escarpments; the famous escarpments of Kenya being the Mau
Escarpment. The Mau escarpments are famous for their height, which
rise over 8500 feet.
To the surprise of many tourists, geological movements still occur
in the Rift Valley. In 2000, the British media, BBC, reported that
Mount Kenya had reduced in height. Both Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro
are almost adjacent to the Rift Valley.
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