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Lake
Nakuru
National Park, Kenya
Adventure Africa Holidays is a specialist tour operator with
its office headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya but operating
throughout East Africa.
We offer Safaris to
Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya Lake Nakuru National Reserve, Kenya Lake Nakuru Park, Lake Nakuru Safaris
Nakuru, Kenya.
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Lake Nakuru
National Park, Kenya
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Lake Nakuru
National Park Background Information:
Lake Nakuru National Park is a very shallow strongly
alkaline lake 62 km2 in extent. It is set in a
picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and
grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes
areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky
cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and
rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the
eastern perimeter.
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The lake catchment is bounded by Menengai crater to
the north, the Bahati hills to the north east, the
lion hill ranges to the east, eburu crater to the
south and the mau escarpment to the west. Three major
rivers, the njoro, makalia and enderit drain into the
lake, together with treated water from the town's
sewage works and the outflow from several springs
along the shore.
Lake Nakuru was first gazetted as a bird sanctuary in
1960 and upgraded to National Park status in 1968. A
northern extension was added to the park in 1974 and
the lake was designated as a Ramsar site in 1990. The
foundation of the parks food chains is the cyanophyte
spirulina platensis which can support huge numbers of
lesser flamingo.
Lake Nakuru
Location:
Central Kenya, 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru
District of the Rift Valley Province. It covers an
area of 188 km2.
Lake Nakuru National Park
Climate:
Ranges from Cold, Hot and Humid, Hot and Dry. Annual
rainfall is 965mm
Getting to
Lake
Nakuru National Park
Roads:
The park has a tarmac road connection with Nairobi, a
distance of 156 km north west of Nairobi on the main
A104 road. The most commonly used route into the park
is via the main gate, 4 km from Nakuru Town Centre. It
is also possible to enter the park from the main
Nairobi Nakuru road at Lanet Gate. The Nderit Gate is
used by people accessing the park from Masai Mara or
Elementaita.
Airstrips:
The Naishi airstrip services the park for tourism and
KWS activities.
Park Roads:
The park has an adequate and well serviced motorable
roads that make most parts of the park accessible.
Lake Nakuru National
Park Gates:
The park has three gates, Main Gate and Lanet Gate
that link the park with the Nairobi-Nakuru highway and
the less used Nderit Gate.
MAJOR ATTRACTIONS
-Flamingo (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds
including a variety of terrestrial birds numbering
about 450 species in total.
-Mammals: 56 different species including white rhinos.
-View-points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of
Africa
-Hills: Enasoit, Honeymoon, Lion hill ridge etc.
-Waterfalls: Makalia
-Unique vegetation: About 550 different plant species
including the unique and biggest euphorbia forest in
Africa, Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia
woodlands.
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Facilities at
Lake
Nakuru:
Bandas:
Naishi bandas
Lodges:
Lake Nakuru Lodge & Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.
Special Campsites:
Naishi, Chui, Rhino, Soysambu, Nyati, Nyuki and
reedbuck.
Public Campsites:
Makalia and Bacpakers.
Activities at
Lake
Nakuru National Park:
Game viewing, bird watching and sightseeing
Common Vegetation at
Lake
Nakuru National Park
The vegetation is mainly wooded and bushy grassland
with a wide ecological diversity and characteristic
habitats that range from the lake waters to the
escarpment and ridges.
The normally water-covered surface of the lake
occupies about a third of the park. The lake water
supports a dense bloom of the blue-green Cyanophyte
Spirulina platensis from which it derives its colour
and which is the major food source for the flamingo.
The lake is fringed by alkaline swamps with areas of
sedge, Cyprus laevigatus and typha marsh along the
river inflows and springs. The surrounding areas
support a dry transitional savanna with lake margin
grasslands of Sporobolus spicatus salt grass moving
into grasslands of Hyparrhenia hirta and rhodes grass
Chloris gayana in the lower areas.
More elevated areas have dry forest with Acacia
xanthophloea, olive Olea hochstetteri and Croton
dichogamus; Euphorbia candelabrum forest; and bushland
dominated by the composites, Mulelechwa Tarchonanthus
camphoratus and Psiadia arabica.
Rocky hillsides on the Parks eastern perimeter are
covered with Tarchonanthys scrub and a magnificent
Euphobia candelabrum forest.
Source: Kenya Wildlife Service.
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