During peak season Lake Nakuru, in southwestern Kenya, hosts between one and two million flamingos. It’s a gathering that has been described as the greatest bird spectacle on Earth.
Flamingos. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Flamingos flock to the lake to feed on its algae. The algae grows there partly because the lake is shallow and alkaline – conditions that algae thrive in – but also because there is so much bird poop in the water. It’s a chicken and egg paradox.
Lake Nakuru National Park
Southern white rhino. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
But Lake Nakuru National Park supports more than just birds. In fact the park has been considered a refuge for imperilled animals since the 1970s. The first refugees to Nakuru were a bunch of Rothschild’s Giraffes. Eastern White Rhinoceros followed. And Eastern Black Rhinoceros came behind them. Nakuru now has one of the highest concentrations of black rhinos in Africa.
Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
The refugees were brought here to guard them from poachers. An electrified fence keeps the poachers out. Unfortunately the fence also restricts the animal’s movements, and prohibits migratory species from wandering through the park. Further expansions of the park’s boundaries are under consideration.
Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Ever wondered how much a rhinoceros poops? Me too.
Now I know.
Water buck. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
The electric fence also allows the national park to extend right up to the edge of Nakuru township. Humans and wild animals living side-by-side, free of conflict over food and land. All thanks to the fence.
Cape Buffalo. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Speaking of dangerous animals, Cape Buffalo are a cantankerous creature at the best of times, but the ones in Nakuru are particularly nasty. Each buffalo we passed made it clear they intended to run us down if we came anywhere near them. Keep your distance from these brutes.
Marabou Stork. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
The Marabou Stork is my favourite bird in Africa. It’s the Grim Reaper of birds. The baby-delivering-stork that turned bad and now deals crack on the street corner.
Baboon eating a springbok. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
We pulled up alongside this Olive Baboon as we noticed it was eating something peculiar. It’s lunchtime meal turned out to be a baby gazelle. I’ve heard they also eat the flamingos.
Agama lizard. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Think taking part in a safari takes extensive planning, preparation, and cost?
Well, it doesn’t. Just arrive in Nakuru the night before your intended visit to the park. Ask around the hotels and restaurants and you’ll find someone willing to take you into the national park in their car. It’ll cost about the same as hiring a taxi for the day. You might want to inspect the car first.
Lake Nakuru viewed from Baboon Cliff. Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Nakuru is only 160 kilometres from Nairobi, so it can be done as a long day trip if desired. The best time to be in the park is early morning though, so it’s better to overnight in Nakuru.
Flamingos feeding in the shallow water of Lake Nakuru. Photo credit: Benjamin White
Water levels dropped alarmingly in the 1990s, and there was concern that decades of deforestation, urbanisation, and conversion of woodland to crop-based agriculture in Kenya, along with climate change, had irreversibly altered the environmental conditions that created Lake Nakuru.
Photo credit: Amrita Ronnachit
Water levels have increased again in recent years, but the same threat remains, and climate change is inescapable. All the more reason to start planning that trip to Lake Nakuru now.
Practical information and how to reach Lake Nakuru:
Nakuru is a 4 hour drive from Nairobi. More transport info here.
More on Kenya:
Old Town, Lamu – 12th Century Swahili port city, caught in a time bubble
Ol Pejeta Conservancy – black rhinos, Grevy’s Zebras, and the elusive oryx
My favourite animal encounters:
Gelada baboons? Bleeding Heart Monkeys? 80s perms? The Simien Mtns, Ethiopia
South Luangwa NP, Zambia – camp alongside the hippo highway
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania – lions, rhinos, hippos, zebras in a 600m deep pit
Jigokudani, Japan: hot springs + snow + monkeys = Valley of Hell?
De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa – perfect for your first self-drive safari
Humpback whale watching, Fafa Island, Tonga
Grande Riviere Beach, Trinidad and Tobago – leatherback turtle egg laying
or visit my unexpected animal encounters page
More on East Africa:
Rwanda:
Hiking amongst the Tea Fields of Gisakura
Kigali – clean, green capital with harrowing genocide tours
Tanzania:
Zanzibar, Tanzania – mystical paradise or cold, hard, tourist trap?
Climbing Kilimanjaro (Lemosho Route)
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania – lions, rhinos, hippos, zebras in a 600m deep pit
Uganda:
Kampala, Uganda – worth a visit?
We better start planning!! That was a big poop! I’m not sure I like your grim reaper bird, it sounds and looks very grim, certainly. Great. Photos again and what another interesting spot.
Kazzieandkitty
Marabou storks look nasty, but they’re probably quite sweet once you get to know them. 🙂