Nakuru: Flamingoes and Big Game

by Leigh Kemp, 28 November 2007

Dabbed in colours of pink as far as the eye could see, the lake shore throbbed to the squawking and croaking of a multitude of feeding flamingoes.

On the shore white rhino and waterbuck grazed among troops of foraging baboons.

Although Lake Nakuru National Park is a haven for wildlife of all sorts, it's the flamingoes that have earned it its fame. Dubbed the world's 'greatest bird spectacle' by renowned ornithologist Roger Peterson, I was expecting a great sighting on my first visit to the park - and was not disappointed.

The moment was, frankly, overwhelming.

More than Flamingoes

Nakuru is the most accessible, and popular, of the soda lakes of the Great Rift Valley. Apart from being the best lake for viewing flamingoes in vast numbers, it offers even more.

From a vantage point on a ridge, I tracked the lakeshore and the pink hue that smudged most of the perimeter. An occasional splash of white indicated a small group of pelicans, recent arrivals at Nakuru.

Park authorities here stocked the lake with small alkaline-tolerant fish in the 1960s in a bid to control mosquito larvae. The fish bred rapidly and in turn attracted a wider variety of birds to the lake.

The area is a depression, not unlike Ngorongoro, with the lake dominating the scene.

From the shore, plains of grass reach into forests of fever trees that hug the ridges.

Big Game Sanctuary

Game in Nakuru is plentiful. On the drive in we saw impala, defassa waterbuck, white rhino and big herds of buffalo on the open grasslands.

A glimpse of a twitching ear revealed a pride of lions lying in the shade of a small tree.

A special sighting at Nakuru is the Rothschild giraffe, introduced into the park for their special protection. With its distinct patterning, the Rothschild matches the reticulated giraffe of the north for dramatic looks.

Although it doesn't have elephants as there's concern that they would damage the fever tree forests, the park is a sanctuary for both white and the rare black rhino.

It also boasts the highest number of leopard per square kilometre than any park in Africa.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there long enough to experience this leopard phenomenon and therein lies the misfortune of many visitors to Lake Nakuru National Park: most visitors use it only as a stopover en route to the Masai Mara, spending just one night trying to absorb the experiences the park has to offer.

Apart from the spectacle of the flamingoes, Lake Nakuru National Park offers visitors great wildlife and with enough time to appreciate the area, a stay here will be a highlight on any safari.

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