By the time we got to Lake Nakuru during our Kenya Safari, we were itching to see some really big wildlife. We had seen a lot of elephants at Amboseli National Park, but we had yet to see any other of the Big 5 – save for some buffalo up in the distance.
We had visited Kenya after the great migration season had ended and were starting to worry that maybe we traveled all this way without seeing the big game animals of Africa.
Lake Nakuru, Kenya
Don’t get me wrong, I love elephants. They are majestic and beautiful, and I enjoy watching them. It’s just that we’ve been fortunate to witness a lot of elephants in our travels.
We cycled through Africa along the Elephant Highway in 2008, where we saw our fair share of the king of the giants. We’ve seen Asian elephants in India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. In Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, we saw more herds of elephants than we had seen anywhere in the world.
It is heartening to see so many elephants thriving and surviving; however, they still face a very real threat due to poaching and the high demand for ivory in Asian countries. When will humans ever learn?
After a very long drive from Amboseli National Park to Lake Nakuru, we were feeling a little down.
We arrived close to sunset and weren’t in the mood to search for wildlife. After only a short time driving around the lake, we told our guide Makau that we’d like to call it a day and return to the hotel.
He was a little disappointed in us, to say the least, but we went back, regrouped, and prepared for the next day of our safari in Kenya.
The following morning, we awoke before dawn and set out to find the rhinos and flamingos of Lake Nakuru.
Wildlife of Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru is one of the best places to spot wild rhinos in all of Africa, and we were determined to find them.
But first, we were greeted by all the wildlife waking up first thing in the morning who were hanging out by the side of the road.
A van whizzed past us as we snapped some photos of monkeys, baboons, and zebras on the roadside.
Lake Nakuru was already faring better than Amboseli, as we saw zebras, buffalo, and waterbucks right up close and personal.
We were feeling optimistic and wondered how the other safari van, which was racing so quickly, could even possibly spot any wildlife at that speed?
A few minutes later, Dave saw the star attraction in the distance. “Stop the truck!” he cried from behind his giant lens.
Out in the tall grass next to the forest was a rare black rhino.
Rhinos of Nakuru
It was quietly grazing. We watched in awe as another van zoomed right past it! They had no idea what we just spotted!
Makau told us that the black rhino is more endangered than the white rhino, so we felt very privileged to be watching it in its natural habitat.
After a short time, it disappeared into the forest, and we drove on.
It was less than 5 minutes later that we came upon a group of white rhinos, including a baby. Ah, this was where the other van was racing to.
He must have spotted this group the night before and hightailed it to the watering hole first thing in the morning.
Rehabilitating and Saving the Rhino
We watched these rhinos for quite some time, and Makau explained to us that rhinos aren’t native to Nakuru.
They were brought in as part of a rehabilitation project.
Initially, a bird sanctuary famous for the millions of migrating pink flamingos who feed on the water’s algae, Lake Nakuru is the only fenced-in park in all of Kenya. It’s not fenced in to keep the wildlife in, but to keep the poachers out.
Poaching is a very real problem for rhinos in Kenya. Because they are abundant here in Nakuru, they are very vulnerable.
Rhinos are slow to reproduce and have a built-in defense mechanism to not have babies if they feel the environment is unsafe. For decades, the wildlife of Africa has been decimated by hunters, causing rhinos to rarely reproduce.
The Lake Nakuru project is so successful that rhinos are having babies and, as their population grows, they’ve been transferred and donated to 23 other parks to help rebuild rhino numbers in Africa.
It’s an uplifting story, and watching these magnificent creatures, I cannot understand how people can kill them simply for the fibers on their horns. Such a waste.
The Flamingos of Lake Nakuru
After the rhinos, we moved on to see the flamingos. We just missed the high season when millions of birds call this lake home. However, there were still a fair number of birds, and what a sight it was.
You could see rows of pink lines on the water.
Makau told us that they all stand in a line because they are on a sandbar eating rows of algae. As the lake dries out, bird droppings stick around longer, creating more algae on the lake.
The more algae, the more food, and therefore more flamingos. Consequently, it is best to visit in the height of the dry season if you want to see the million flamingo phenomenon.
Lake Nakuru is located in the abundant rift valley, and when you visit this lake, you have a good chance of spotting all the big wildlife of Africa. We saw giraffes, buffalos, waterbucks, and several different types of birds.
It is worth a stop to add Lake Nakuru to your safari in Kenya. Many people we met at other parks mentioned that they saw everything but the rhino. When you visit Lake Nakuru, you are almost guaranteed a chance to see rhinos.
The rest of the Big 5 will be seen on the Masai Mara; however, if you want to see them all, Lake Nakuru is a must!
