Lake Nakuru | Most Wonderful Nature

Share Top Five December 21, 2018

A streak of blue (and pink) in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru is home to thousands of pink flamingoes that flock here to feed on the lake’s algae. A UNESCO Heritage Site, Lake Nakuru National Park is also home to hippos, white and black rhino, giraffe and buffalo. Take a matatu 156 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, or a plane to the Naishi airstrip,More info:cnn

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#10 LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK,More info:kws.go

On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park. Visitors can enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. Lake Nakuru National Park is ideal for bird watching, hiking,picnic and game drives.

#9 Lake Nakuru ,More info:wikipedia

#8 The essence of a full day excursion to Lake Nakuru National Park,More info:andbeyond

The breathtaking Lake Nakuru National Park is a mecca for a plethora of birds, specifically the lesser flamingo. These fascinating birds, bright pink in colour, stand on tall stilted legs and their knees bend backwards each time they take a step.

Enjoy a thrilling drive through the fascinating Rift Valley where the sight of a sweeping flamboyance of flamingos is an overwhelming attraction. A unique take on ‘pretty in pink’, spend some time observing these unique creatures.

Wading in picturesque Lake Nakuru these flamingos create a stunning spectacle as they take flight from the surface of the lake. 2.5 million gangly-legged, shockingly pink-feathered birds caught up in a powerful surge as they glide through the air in an enormous V formation.

These glamorous water birds require a very specific, highly specialised habitat and the population of the birds at the lake depends on the alkalinity. There is no guarantee that you will see the vast number of flamingos, as the majority of the birds feed and nest at the lake that offers the highest quantity of blue-green algae, cultivated by their own droppings, Based on seasonal rain variations, enormous numbers of flamingos migrate to other neighbouring soda lakes in Kenya such as Bogoria and Natron for a brief stint.

The ideal time to observe these blush coloured birds is during the dry-hot season in January and February. Even if you don’t see the magnificent flamingos, there are a myriad other wildlife that you will be able to view at the shoreline.

#7 Images of Kenya – Lake Nakuru flamingos,More info:geography

Lake Nakuru lies within the National Park of the same name, famous for its millions of pink flamingos as well as nearly 500 other bird species and for its giant euphorbia trees. It is a small, shallow soda rich lake unlike many of the other lakes in the Rift Valley. Its waters have a pH of 10.5 and it is highly alkaline. As a result, its ecosystem is very fragile and anything that upsets its alkalinity levels will disturb and even destroy the fragile system.

This small (188 sq.km) National Park was created in 1961 mainly as a preserve to protect its photogenic pink flamingo. These depend on the planktonic blue-green algae that thrive in the soda rich waters. Change the pH and the algae disappear along with the flamingos! Also present in the lake are large numbers of a salt tolerant species of Tilapia. Before its introduction in the 1950s and 1960s to combat mosquito breeding, there were no fish in the lake. The Tilapia are now one of the primary consumers of the blue-green algae and are in competition for this rich food with the flamingo. The introduction of the tilapia has led also to the migration of the Great White Pelican to the lake. This is a good example of the effects on an ecosystem as a result of the actions of scientists unable to predict the effects of their actions.