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The Big and the Beautiful
Many people go to Kenya’s Lake Nakuru National Park in search of the Big Five – which include the unpredictable and dangerous African (Cape) buffalo populating the background of this landscape. I personally prefer the graceful animals of the plains – like this elegant Grant’s zebra (Equus quagga boehmi), the smallest of the plains zebras.
There is so much more to Kenya than just the animals.
But, as I was going there anyway, not taking advantage of the game parks seemed a waste – especially as it had been many years since I had visited an African national park (see: Etosha, Namibia).
I was signed onto a photographic trip to Kenya’s northern tribal villages (Watch this space!), and decided to arrive early and take myself on a game safari through some of East Africa’s National Parks. With the benefit of comparison sites, I found a ten-day safari through five parks, starting in Nairobi, Kenya at the crack of dawn, and ending in Arusha, Tanzania mid-afternoon.
The company I booked through provided no input on before- and after-arrangements, so I found an overnight accommodation close to the airport on Booking.com for the night before my 7am collection. I arrived into Nairobi, full of optimism – only to discover that my ‘taxi driver’ needed my GoogleMaps to find the hotel. When we finally arrived after a few loops around the airport expressway, the gate security staff at the complex had no idea what we were talking about, and the phone number I had been given wasn’t answering.
So – off to another hotel – and onto the task of sending messages to every number I could find for the Safari company to make sure the driver knew where to find me the next day.
After that inauspicious start, I was pleased to be collected on time in the morning – albeit into a grubby (but serviceable) Land Cruiser for the four-hour drive north-west: into to the edges of the Rift Valley and almost to the equator.
Once there, we entered Lake Nakuru National Park.
This park is known for its abundant wildlife – especially the myriad of birds around the alkaline lake itself, which sits at 1,754 m (5,755 ft) above sea level. In 2011, the Kenya Lake System of the Great Rift Valley, which includes Lake Nakuru – along with Lake Bogoria and Lake Elementaita – was inscribed by UNESCO as “a natural property of outstanding beauty…”.
We had a picnic lunch overlooking the lake, and a full afternoon of exploring the muddy ‘roads’ before pulling into the night’s accommodation in the outskirts of Nakuru City.
Join me for Part One of our drive to and around Lake Nakuru:
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Nairobi Sunrise
Because Nairobi sits just below the equator, sunset and sunrise from the top-floor restaurant of my modest hotel were both dramatic and quick.
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Overlooking the Rift Valley
One of my most vivid childhood memories is the televised program about how the Leakeys found the remains of the Australopithecine they named Lucy. This is the place: the cradle of humanity!
Elephants at the Souvenir Stand
It feels wrong to be considering souvenirs on day one of a trip – but who could resist?
Scenes from a Land Cruiser
The highway we are on is smooth enough, and full of vehicles – but modernity falls away at the verge. The shoulders and slip roads are all dirt and mud puddles, and shopfronts are mostly colourfully painted concrete blocks.
Lake Nakuru Park Ranger on the Job
We finally reach the entrance to the National Park, where the rangers are well armed. Kenya has a “shoot-to-kill” poaching prevention strategy, which has greatly reduced the problem in the country.
Superb Starling – Lamprotornis Superbus
I always get excited by my first animals – even when they are birds! These cheeky little beauties are so prevalent that they were almost picked to be Kenya’s national bird.
Lake Nakuru
Once part of a deep freshwater lake, Nakuru is in a endorheic basin with no outflow. As a consequence, it has become a soda or alkaline lake which hosts a diversity of birdlife. We stopped for an early lunch at a picnic site overlooking the rising waters.
Toilet Paper Plant – Plectranthus Barbatus
Our lunch stop gives me the chance to examine the local flora. These plants were traditionally used for toilet paper and sanitary products. The leaves are naturally antibacterial and have a fresh, herbal scent.
Fever Tree – Vachellia Xanthophloea
Early European settlers blamed this tree – rather than the mosquitoes that shared the swampy ground it often grows in – for malaria. The thorns are deadly!
African Daisies – Osteospermum
Buffalo Grazing
The first of the Big Five we come across are the Cape buffalo. They are known for their unpredictable behaviour and their tendency to congregate near water sources.
Cape Buffalo – Syncerus Caffer Caffer
Big-game hunters in the 19th-century named the most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt on foot the Big Five.
Male Impala – Aepyceros Melampus
A red billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) feeds on the ticks that have made their home on an impala.
More Buffalo
Rhinos Resting
Lucky for me, my guide spotted another one of the Big Five – these rhinos in the shade of tree.
White Rhinoceros – Ceratotherium Simum
Patience paid off! We waited in the Land Cruiser – and one of the often-elusive rhinos stood up and revealed themselves.
Another Herd of Cape Buffalo
The buffalo were everywhere! The males are huge, weighing in at 500 to 900 kg (1102 to 1984 lbs).
Buffalo in the Landscape
Look Up!
The tall acacia trees are the perfect giraffe habitat. A Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) happily browses on the thorny branches.
An Aviat A-1 Husky
Not everyone drives to the park!
Giraffes
A population of the near-threatened Rothschild’s giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) was moved to safety here in Lake Nakuru National Park from Western Kenya in 1977.
Rothschild’s Giraffes
These beautiful giraffes are distinguishable by their white kneesocks and relatively light coat markings.
Grant’s Zebra – Equus Quagga Boehmi
It was an unusually wet year, so the grass has grown rich and green. The animals are everywhere!
Impala – Aepyceros Melampus
Female impala graze in herds scattered around the grasslands.
A Male Impala – Aepyceros Melampus
One male impala dominates the harem, while a small band of ‘bachelors’ practice their fighting skills nearby – waiting for the opportunity to oust the alpha and take over.
A Tangle of Giraffes
In spite of their near-threatened status, Rothschild’s giraffes seem to be doing well in the park.
Male Giraffes
Everywhere I look, they stand out tall against the sky.
Although we only saw two of the Big Five, we certainly experienced a rich array of beautiful and healthy-looking animals on our travels around the park.
Clouds were rolling in, and it was time to head back to the lake in search of waterbirds before our day was washed out – along with the roads!
More on that soon.
Happy Travels!
Pictures: 11May2026
