Nakuru National park- a dream safari

Kenya is known as the paradise of nature lovers. Each year a large number of tourists from all over the country come to Kenya to enjoy the natural beauty, wild life and the myriad picturesque scenario. I stay in Nakuru, one of the most developing towns and business hub of Kenya , which is situated 160 kms North of Nairobi, the economic capital of the country. The meaning of Nakuru is 'dust or dusty place ' in Masai language.

Our journey starts now

Our journey started at 6:30 am. It was a fine morning with clear sky. The cost is 1,000 Kenyan shillings per person. Vehicle charges were 300 Kenyan shilling. The entrance ticket was valid for 24 hrs. from the time of issuance. For foreign residents it amounts to $100  per person. We required to show passports/ resident cards at the gate to the officer in charge at the ticketing house.

Good morning nakuru

It was a beautiful morning and never had I seen the sunlight so vivacious and those dew drops on the grass glittering and welcoming the visitors. In one word it was simply 'lovely'. Nature at her best form in Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift valley soda lakes with an elevation of 1754 mts. above the sea level. The National park marches 12.1 Kms. in south eastern boundary with the Soysambu conservancy.

Baboons on the way

Just after entering the park,  we saw  beautiful campsides, picnic spots  and the way is very nicely demarcated on sign boards. There are tourists vans available from the forest department accompanied with guides. It was a  nice experience to see baboons,monkeys on both sides of the road. We are instructed by the department , not to offer any food items to these animals as they might turn aggressive or pull cameras/ wallets or other valuables of the tourists.

Beautiful antelopes caught our attention

Watching antelopes, waterbucks was a great experience.Young deers were seen in a queue crossing roads. Never did I see such beautiful
creatures  abide traffic rules in such a disciplined manner.

Zebras grazing on the sweet grass

Other herbivorous animals like zebras were seen grazing. We got down from the car and took snaps of these lovely animals. I must say that they are very shy and avoid visitor, as I could see them move away when I tried to get their snaps.The safari is said to be spread over an area of 188 sq. Kms aprroximately.The vegatation is of savannah type.

Flamingoes the greatest attraction of the lake

Lake Nakuru is said  have  a total population of 2 million flamingoes.The lakes' abundance of algaes attract the flamingoes which famously line the shores of the alkaline lake.There are total 450 species of various birds , which underlies the main reason why Nakuru lake attracts so many tourists every year.We could see flights of bird on the sky flying in a definitive manner, thereby engaging and the visitors spellbound by virtue of its natural beauty.This place can be rightly called a 'bird watchers paradise'.

Birds eye view from the Baboon cliff point

We went up  the baboon cliff where we could see a panoramic view of the Nakuru Lake. This is the highest point in the national park.apart from flamingos there are myriad other species who inhabit in the lake like-African eagle fish, goliath heron , hamercop, pied kingfisher and verreaux eagle.

Endangered Rothschild giraffe

The National park is the home to the endangered Rothschild species of giraffes.They have been translocated from Nairobi's giraffe centre and feed on the yellow bark acacia trees which is the favorite giraffe food.These rare species are seen browsing along with the common masai giraffes.

Rhinos -one of the 'big 5' animals

We were really thrilled to see the rhinoceros.They fall in the category of 'big 5' animals of Kenya.The park is said to have 25 black rhinos as well as 70 white rhinos , which is one of the largest concentrations of rhinos in the world.The forest department arranged for a special electric fencing so as to avoid poachers or other intruders.





The other predators found in the park are hyenas, jackals and lions. These carnivores can be seen only when they intend to go for hunting. These beautiful herbivores fall prey of the carnivores for food, that's the worst part of the story , but that's the 'rules of the jungle' you see. The best time to visit Nakuru National Park is from October to December, because that is the dry season and the big five animals could be seen as the love the sunbath.