After vising Samburu we drove to Lake Nakuru. I did not realize it at the time, but this was the first time I crossed the Equator. The drive took most of the day.
We only spent a single day at the lake, thus not many pictures, so I’ll give you a little story. During the drive we stopped mid-way for snacks at a “tourist trap”. It wasn’t even in a town, so you know it exists only because the guides brings safari guests here so often. So, here we are – trapped “rich Americans”. The store had merchants galore, and many of my fellow travelers were striking hard bargains for their chosen nick-knacks.
I remember the last merchant approaching me appearing bored (do I look cheap?). His English was not very good, so he was probably a new-hire. I was looking at a wood carved impala, but was worried about the thin legs and antlers of the carving surviving the many miles of driving we were still to do, followed by international flights. So, I said to him, “If you protect it enough with packing material so it survives my travels, I will pay full price.” He stood there for several seconds, processing what I said. They his eyes got huge, grabbed the carving and ran away. A few minutes later he came back with a bubble-pack and newspaper monstrosity, larger than a pregnant rugby ball.
My fellow travelers joked me about paying full price, but the carving survived. It still sits in my living room.
Enough of that, here are my around-the-lake photos.
I don’t know what this is, but I love how it’s using the thorns to protect himself from predators. I also like the depth of field with the background being out-of-focus.
Lake Nakuru is famous for being a flamingo migration stop. The local guide was full of apologies, concerned that there were so few flamingos, saying that only the week prior there were so many birds you could not see the lake water.
Waterbucks look like slightly more-furry deer. I like the antler ridges.
We saw two types of giraffe in Kenya. Last post’s “Reticulated Giraffe” live in open areas, where at the Lake the giraffe’s live under the trees. There is a slight coloring difference between the two.
We only saw two Black Rhinos during our two-week trip. I remember the guides being very cautious around them. At the time, there were very endangered.
How warthog’s kneel to forage gives me the giggles.
That’s it for Lake Nakuru pictures. Afterwards we drove to the renown Maasai Mara. Bring a hat.