Game Reserves in KenyaLake Nakuru National ParkLake Nakuru National Park is one of the smaller Game reserves in Kenya but it offers some attractions that others don’t. Pink Flamingos can be seen around in the lake in large numbers feeding on the special plants and algae that grow in the lake. The beauty and grace of the flamingos, draws tourists here year after year.
Because Lake Nakuru is a smaller park, a good way to view it is to add it in to your itinerary and make it a stopover point on your way to one of the bigger game reserves, or on your way back. The Lake is 156 km North West of Nairobi, not far from the Aberdare National Park, another Kenya Game Reserve. It is midway between Mt. Kenya and the Masai Mara so it would conveniently fit into your itinerary if you intend to visit more than one game reserve during your stay in Kenya. In addition to the pink flamingos, which are native to this area, you will see lions, baboons and 50 or so other types of mammals. More recently black and white rhinos have been introduced here, and, because of the lake, there is a large variety of birds here. Birdwatchers will definitely want to put a trip to Lake Nakuru on their itinerary. There are roads in the park, making it accessible to motorists, and a small airstrip. There are also some lodges and public campsites. The town of Nakuru continues to grow around the national park area. Nakuru is the Swahili word for “dusty.” The landscape of the park is marsh and grasslands, combined with rocky cliffs, and of course the lake itself, a shallow lake that is known as one of the soda lakes of the Rift Valley. There are 8 lakes in all in the Great Rift Valley in Africa. Two of them are freshwater, and the rest, like Nakuru are alkaline. Alkaline lakes support different organisms and life forms from fresh water lakes, and are therefore strong targets for environmentalists and protectionists. Botanists will find over 500 species of plants in the forests and acacia woodlands. Flamingo flocks are smaller than they once were - years ago they numbered in the millions. Following drought and pollution conditions the flamingos began to migrate to other lakes in the area, and their numbers appear to have gradually diminished. However, the lake rebounded from a drought in the last decade and the flamingo still flock here in the thousands and this is still the best Kenya Game Reserve for flamingo viewing. Have A Great Story About Lake Nakuru?Do you have a great story about this? Share it!
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