Lake Nakuru
So we
went on our 5 day expedition to Lake Nakuru National Park. It turns out; the
park is an 8 hour drive away. We had to start packing the Rhino Truck at 5 in
the morning, to leave at 6.30. We stopped along the way to go to the bathroom,
and arrived in the park at 4.30. We were staying in an old hostel. It was
interesting, because all the girls slept in two rooms, so there were 13 girls
in my room. There was an actual kitchen and electricity, which was good, but
there was also only one working bathroom, which made it interesting getting
ready.
The
first night we were kept up by an animal. Some of us thought that it could have
been the buffalo outside the fence, but it turns out that it was really a
lioness. When we got up for the morning game drive, we saw two lions right
outside our fence.
There
was also traveling lectures. We were in our cars, and as we drove along the
road the professor would come on the radio and tell us about the vegetation. It
reminded me of Jurassic Park, and some of us were expecting dinosaurs to appear
out from the trees. We also had a trip out to Nakuru Town. There we learned
that they are abusing the water and it is very contaminated. The city has grown
beyond what was expected by 1 million people, so all the water is dirty. We
went to a waterfall inside the park, and the water coming over the edge was
brown. It looked really gross.
We also
got to see many animals. The park is completely fenced in, so there is no migration.
It is also small, so some species of animals have died out in the park. This
included the elephants, cheetahs, and the reedbuck. But it is a rhino
conservation center. We saw so many rhinos. There was even a little baby. And
after seeing just one rhino in Tanzania from a large distance, this was really
cool. We also got to see a lion in a tree.
Lake
Nakuru is usually 5-40 km2, depending on the season. But it had been
raining every day for the past year, that the lake is about 60 km2.
Campsites are flooded and the forests look swamp like. It was very interesting.
It also rained a lot. Every afternoon and almost all night. I am so glad that
we were not in tents.
On the
drive back, we stopped at an elephant orphanage. We had to be there by a
certain time, and were almost late due to traffic. The drivers ended up driving
on the wrong side of the road and on the shoulders to get us there in time. The
baby elephants were really cute. But to avoid the traffic afterwards, we took
some side roads. These roads were not paved at all. Remember the dinosaur ride
in Disneyworld? The one where you are in a car and tossed side to side, thrown
up out of your seat and have sudden starts and stops? We got to experience that
for over an hour. And it was hot so we had the windows open, meaning that we
were also very dusty by the end of that trip.
Yesterday
was a day of rest, and I did laundry. And today we had two traveling lectures.
I got to climb a hill in my flip-flops, and when we all got back we sat there
picking the thorns out of the bottom of our shoes. We also saw more evidence about
how people of the area are not using their water well. They have irrigation
channel to brink clean water into the city, but unfortunately, people have been
using this as a bathroom, so it is not turning out so well.
Tomorrow
is our homestay with the Maasai. It should be quite enlightening.
Kylie
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