The Traveller's Magazine
This landscape of pink birds isn’t new, we’ve all seen it in some National Geographic at some point or another. It belongs to the dream-world but you can see with your own eyes in Lake Nakuru National Park. Fly to Nairobi from London for £368 with Gulf Air.
It looks impressive on TV or in a photograph but to see this pink feathered spectacle in person is a moment not likely easily forgotten. Their honking squawks, long graceful necks and almost awkward stick-like legs… is there any animal more beautiful and curious in the world? They graze by the thousands on the lake’s algae, effortlessly bending over to feed from the lake’s bottom.
Lake Nakuru National Park doesn’t just have flamingos though, it’s home to both black and white rhinos, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, packs of baboons and a dozen other mammals.
What to do in Lake Nakuru National Park
Bird watching: An obvious choice. Flamingos aren’t the only birds living in off the lake though. Storks and others feed off the algae-rich waters. The best place to view the birds is from Baboon Cliff, from which you can see almost the entire cliff. The number of birds changes throughout the year, depending on the level of food available.
Game tours: The park is rich in wildlife, so sighting big mammals is easy. Search out the endangered white rhino, laugh as the waterbucks and warthogs and don’t get too close to the hippos!
Explore the surrounding forests: This park is home to the biggest euphorbia forest in Africa. There are more than 550 different plant species on the land, including the yellow acacia woodlands.
Best views: From Lion Hill, Baboon Cliff and Out of Africa.
Have you ever visited this amazing park in Kenya?
Lake Nakuru National Park has many pelicans….among my favourite water birds. Migratory birds can also be seen. When on a Kenya safari in the park one can take a boat ride on the lake.