Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Pink Ladies














Lake Nakuru, Kenya
June 5th, 2009

After some more R&R at a gorgeous campsite in Elderet we headed towards the famous National Park- Nakuru. This park is especially known for the volumes of flamingos which flock there due to the tremendous soda lake.(the park’s namesake). We were not disappointed. We saw thousands and thousands of them. It was amazing to see how they moved- in little groups no more than ten following a leader, moving tightly together and making sharp turns. The nice thing about the lake is that you can get out of your car close to the shore for those all important pics.

Besides the birds we also saw loads of Rhino. We saw two before heading up to a viewpoint and then proceeded to see another two- mother and child. By the end of the day we counted twenty six of them (twenty five white and one black). It was so nice to see the rhino close up and watch them graze completely unconcerned. Apparently Lake Nakuru has the highest concentration of rhino in East Africa parks with a total of 76 rhino, the Serengeti by comparison has only about ten and they are kept under armed guard due to the serious nature of poaching. Curious fact for you- a rhino’s horn is actually made up of hair. Completely unrelated but still interesting a hippo’s skin is four inches thick and bullet proof, and it’s skin can weigh up to a ton (the skin is 25% of its total weight).

We also saw huge, and I mean huge herds of buffalo, giraffe, zebra and buck. Most exciting though for me was seeing a Black and White Columbus monkey, two of them to be exact. These monkeys are endangered and to see them you often have to pay a guide and go on a primate trek without any guarantee that you will see them at all. They are very funny looking with long black and white patches and their little faces make them look like small old men. Very cute.

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