Our vans turned off the main highway & soon started descending the escarpment into the Rift Valley. There are a number of view points on the way down & we stopped at one near the top. Of course each one has a few craft stalls to "support the local community".
Obviously there was more than market stalls to check out. We were able to look over the vast expanses of fertile farmland in the Rift Valley. It's so vast that you lose perspective. It was a good opportunity to get a group photo.
After 3 hrs on the road we reached the Lake Nakuru campsite just outside the boundary of the park. We had lunch and a bit of time to ourselves to relax & explore the little village. Later in the afternoon we were back in the vans excited to be off on our first game drive. We had to drive through the Nakuru town to the main gate.
While we waited for Mosses to organize our park permits, we wandered around the car park photographing the Vervet Monkeys (below). The monkeys weren't at all fearful of us & were no doubt checking us out in case we had snacks for them.
This one looked like she was waiting for a bus (below).
There were also some equally opportunistic starlings (Glossy Starling below) following around the tourists.
What was slightly unnerving was the park wardens armed to the teeth. I guess that's what it takes to stop the poaching. Lake Nakuru is a small park but a protective sanctuary for a couple of endangered species including the Rothschild's Giraffe & both black & white Rhinos. 
Finally we were off! The drivers popped the rooves of the vans so we could go into proper wildlife spotting mode.
Our tour was called 'In Search of the Big Five' and almost immediately we ticked off the buffalo from the five. We only had to find Rhinos, Lions, Elephants & Leopards to complete the list. The buffalo seemed to like the yellow acacia trees as scratching posts. This big bull was having a big go and the egret was busy picking off the insects that follow these huge beasts around.
Lake Nakuru is a salt lake similar to the ones we saw in Bolivia & is just as attractive to flamingos. The setting isn't as spectacular at the Altiplano but the wildlife easily made up for it. Other than the flamingos there's a variety of water birds including pelicans, cormorants & gulls.
While we were out of the vehicles photographing the lake & the birds, a busload of school kids piled out next to us (below).
The tour is by no means all about the big five. East Africa is famous for the variety & sheer numbers of animals & Nakuru is no exception. The Thomson's Gazelles (or Tommies) were to first ones we saw. The tommie below was impersonating a unicorn!
The Grant's Gazelles (below) are a bit larger than the tommies & the males have an impressive set of horns. Typically the tommies have the black stripe on their flanks, but the true way to be sure is the Grant's white markings continue above their tails.
Impala (below) are common at Nakuru. It's easy to spot them by their near orange coats & twisted horns on the males. The small herd below is fairly typical & is made up of females with their offspring & one male (right of picture). Impala are the favourite food of leopards. 
The antelope mingle with large herds of zebra & buffalo that are all very tolerant of each other. Each species has its own niche so they effectively don't compete for food and benefit from the extra eyes looking for danger.
We moved off the grass plain next to the lake & up the hill through the trees to Baboon Cliff view point. From there we had unobstructed views of the lake & the grass plain from where we'd just come from.
Baboon Cliffs had no baboons when we were there but there was a large family of rock hyrax (below). They're an odd rodent like animal that are mainly vegetarian. The most interesting fact is that their closest relative is the elephant! 
Moving away from the view point through the open forest we encountered our first baboon troupe. The big male below was sitting right next to the road & wasn't about to move on our account.
Baboons live in big family groups & this one was about 50 strong. We'd see much bigger troupes in the Serengeti.
We were very lucky to see some Dik Diks. These are the smallest antelope on the planet & are about the size of a rabbit. They're quite nervous animals & we had to be quick with the cameras before they scurried into the thickets. 
As we were descending back down to the lake the trees opened out a little where we found a small herd of male Rothschild Giraffes. There are only 300 left in the wild & Nakuru is one of four sanctuaries where these graceful creatures are gradually increasing in numbers.
Not long after we popped through the trees onto the plains we were able to tick the second box of the big five. White Rhinos! These are the main reason why the park wardens are armed to the teeth. They're quite peaceful animals provided you don't antagonise them.
The white rhinos are grazers which means that they are grass eaters. They black cousins are browsers meaning they prefer to eat tree leaves. The white rhinos were quite happy sharing the plains with the other grazers such as the tommies & zebra, not to mention the buffalo that were busy antagonizing each other.
A call came in on the CB radio that lions had been spotted in amongst the trees so we left the rhinos headed in amongst the trees. What we found before the lions what this huge eagle owl (below). They're an impressive looking bird of prey. This one was probably trying to sleep before the vehicles started rolling through.
We found the lions or evidence of them. There were about 10 vehicles lined up trying to see them. After some shifting around we were able to see them (just). They were sleeping in a big tree leopard style. They were a fair way off & it was getting pretty dark by that point, but we could still tick lions off the big five list. This was too easy! Only elephants & leopards to go & we were only a couple of hours into the safari.
We left the lions because we couldn't see them very well & they weren't doing anything, & went back to the rhinos.
There were half a dozen of them all quite close together including the huge male above. He wasn't up to much, but was shadowing a female with her calf (below).
The rhino below had a massive front horn. The minerals in the lake help the Nakuru rhinos grow these big horns. The zebra in the background didn't seem too intimidated though.
It was starting to get quite dark so we were forced to head back to camp. Just as we were under way we spotted our first hyenas (below). They were just getting up to start causing trouble for the night.
Our tour was called 'In Search of the Big Five' and almost immediately we ticked off the buffalo from the five. We only had to find Rhinos, Lions, Elephants & Leopards to complete the list. The buffalo seemed to like the yellow acacia trees as scratching posts. This big bull was having a big go and the egret was busy picking off the insects that follow these huge beasts around.Lake Nakuru is a salt lake similar to the ones we saw in Bolivia & is just as attractive to flamingos. The setting isn't as spectacular at the Altiplano but the wildlife easily made up for it. Other than the flamingos there's a variety of water birds including pelicans, cormorants & gulls.While we were out of the vehicles photographing the lake & the birds, a busload of school kids piled out next to us (below).
The tour is by no means all about the big five. East Africa is famous for the variety & sheer numbers of animals & Nakuru is no exception. The Thomson's Gazelles (or Tommies) were to first ones we saw. The tommie below was impersonating a unicorn!
The Grant's Gazelles (below) are a bit larger than the tommies & the males have an impressive set of horns. Typically the tommies have the black stripe on their flanks, but the true way to be sure is the Grant's white markings continue above their tails.Impala (below) are common at Nakuru. It's easy to spot them by their near orange coats & twisted horns on the males. The small herd below is fairly typical & is made up of females with their offspring & one male (right of picture). Impala are the favourite food of leopards. The antelope mingle with large herds of zebra & buffalo that are all very tolerant of each other. Each species has its own niche so they effectively don't compete for food and benefit from the extra eyes looking for danger.
We moved off the grass plain next to the lake & up the hill through the trees to Baboon Cliff view point. From there we had unobstructed views of the lake & the grass plain from where we'd just come from.
Baboon Cliffs had no baboons when we were there but there was a large family of rock hyrax (below). They're an odd rodent like animal that are mainly vegetarian. The most interesting fact is that their closest relative is the elephant! 
Moving away from the view point through the open forest we encountered our first baboon troupe. The big male below was sitting right next to the road & wasn't about to move on our account.
Baboons live in big family groups & this one was about 50 strong. We'd see much bigger troupes in the Serengeti.We were very lucky to see some Dik Diks. These are the smallest antelope on the planet & are about the size of a rabbit. They're quite nervous animals & we had to be quick with the cameras before they scurried into the thickets. 
As we were descending back down to the lake the trees opened out a little where we found a small herd of male Rothschild Giraffes. There are only 300 left in the wild & Nakuru is one of four sanctuaries where these graceful creatures are gradually increasing in numbers.
Not long after we popped through the trees onto the plains we were able to tick the second box of the big five. White Rhinos! These are the main reason why the park wardens are armed to the teeth. They're quite peaceful animals provided you don't antagonise them.The white rhinos are grazers which means that they are grass eaters. They black cousins are browsers meaning they prefer to eat tree leaves. The white rhinos were quite happy sharing the plains with the other grazers such as the tommies & zebra, not to mention the buffalo that were busy antagonizing each other.
A call came in on the CB radio that lions had been spotted in amongst the trees so we left the rhinos headed in amongst the trees. What we found before the lions what this huge eagle owl (below). They're an impressive looking bird of prey. This one was probably trying to sleep before the vehicles started rolling through.
We found the lions or evidence of them. There were about 10 vehicles lined up trying to see them. After some shifting around we were able to see them (just). They were sleeping in a big tree leopard style. They were a fair way off & it was getting pretty dark by that point, but we could still tick lions off the big five list. This was too easy! Only elephants & leopards to go & we were only a couple of hours into the safari.
We left the lions because we couldn't see them very well & they weren't doing anything, & went back to the rhinos.There were half a dozen of them all quite close together including the huge male above. He wasn't up to much, but was shadowing a female with her calf (below).
The rhino below had a massive front horn. The minerals in the lake help the Nakuru rhinos grow these big horns. The zebra in the background didn't seem too intimidated though.
It was starting to get quite dark so we were forced to head back to camp. Just as we were under way we spotted our first hyenas (below). They were just getting up to start causing trouble for the night.I was very impressed with how many species of animal we saw in such a small park in such a short period.
Dinner was pretty much ready for us when we arrived back at camp. After that we all wandered around the corner to the local bar & had a couple of beers. We turned in early for the night as we had a 6am start the next morning.
The interaction people are allowed with the animals is much more relaxed than in the western world. Our guide picked some leaves for us that we were able to feed to the colobus monkeys.
The white rhino (below) didn't seem anywhere near as cranky as it's reputation would suggest. The guide again grabbed some leaves & it came up to the fence for a snack.
There were two albino zebra at the Safari Walk. These were captured from the wild when they were very young to save them from being picked off by predators. In Africa it doesn't pay to stand out from the crowd. They've become a bit of a novelty.
There are a few lions that lay around & sleep a lot (just like most lions). There is also a leopard (below). A mob of school kids had been through just before us & had driven it up the tree. In typical leopard fashion, it made sure there would be no postcard photos.
From the elevated walkway around the leopard enclosure we could see over the fence into the National Park. The impala (below) being wild animals were very nervous & soon trotted off into the scrub.
The Kudu (above) & the Bongo (below) were a couple of antelope species that we didn't end up seeing on safari.
Baby elephants who's families have fallen the victim of poachers are bought to the orphanage & hand reared. Once they are older, they are introduced to wild herds of older elephants that are themselves orphans. It's a great program that has some wonderful results.
Our last stop for the day was the giraffe centre. This centre was set up to save the Rothschild's Giraffe that were down to a wild population of 130 individuals. Thanks to the centre, the population across four national parks is now at 300. Zoos around the world are now part of the effort.
Once again, the interaction with people is more relaxed. The giraffes come right up to the building where you can feed them little pellets. If you're mad (like Kerri below) you can encourage them to give you a very wet kiss by putting one of the pellets between your lips. Yuk! The giraffe's name is Kelly.
Warthogs are quite the opportunists. They take advantage of the kindness of the tourists scavenging anything the giraffes miss.
