We arrived late in the afternoon at Lake Nakuru, and it took us quite some time to get approval from rangers to park there overnight. This park is among Kenya’s finest national parks, flanked by rocky escarpments, pockets of acacia forest, and at least one waterfall. The park is gorgeous year-round and home to black and white rhinos, lions, leopards, hippos, and endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. Rising water levels in 2014 forced the park’s famous flamingos to flee, and the lake is now hauntingly surrounded by drowned trees.
We paid the entrance fee in cash (60 USD). We hired a driver with a van from Paul at the local travel agency Clarion Tours for 150 USD (09:00-15:00). Unfortunately, we had no time to visit Out of Africa Lookout and Baboon Cliffs. Still, we did stop at Makalia Falls at the extreme southern end of the park.
Our stay was disturbed by two big, nasty demonstrations from the local community. Luckily, our mechanic was at the truck on the first day, and he could move the truck from the gate where we originally parked to the upper parking lot next to the park offices. The other day, we tried to leave the park through the main gate, but there was another demonstration, so we left with the help of a ranger through the Lanet gate after some easy off-roading.
Parking location – Nakuru NP: 0.309134S 36.084024E (🅿️,🚻,💦)