Lake Nakuru National Park

Sam and I drove to Nakuru the last weekend in May. The 3-hour drive from Kisii town is beautiful. We pass Keumbu and Keroka, both of which I see daily from the matatu ride to work, and hilly maize and tea fields in between. The journey to Nakuru also gave us the chance to pass through Kericho, famous for its tea plantations. The tea fields varied in their shade of green, but all beautifully complimented the blue sky and stark white clouds.

Anyway, we got into Nakuru town a little later than expected, and since the sun drops like a rock here at the equator, it was pitch black when we tried to find a hotel. I’d reserved a room for us right in town, but as we drove by, we realized we’d never find a parking space at all, let alone a secure one. So we decided to try our luck finding something else. That proved to be a challenge, but we eventually settled in at Pivot Hotel (“PY-vot”) that first night. We sat in the garden and took nyama choma, ugali and a few Tuskers for dinner. It was lovely.

We spent Saturday driving through Lake Nakuru National Park, where we saw plenty of rhinos (many whites, one of the elusive blacks), pelicans, baboons, Rothschild’s giraffes, plains zebras, impalas, a warthog and a few hyenas. It was a beautiful day, and it was nice having Sam drive so we could stop when we wanted to. Unfortunately we missed the lions that had been spotted the previous day, and we didn’t see any leopards either. No predators. As Sam put it, no reason for us to be scared, except when the rhino that was literally larger than our little sedan crossed the road in front of us. I was thrilled though. The giraffes and zebras were absolutely amazing in person. I stood outside of the car for a bit while several dozen zebras trotted past me. It was pretty cool.

There are a few photos on facebook, so check them out here if you like. The way I pay for my internet discourages me from posting pictures on the blog.