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Monday, April 23, 2012

Lake Elementaita, the new safari destination

Lake Elementaita ecosystem is becoming the new safari destination for people residing in Nairobi and tourists coming to Kenya.  The lake is strategically located 120 km from Nairobi (1.5 hrs drive), 20 km from Lake Nakuru and 40 km from Naivasha town.

This makes it an excellent base for a day’s safari to nearby attractions like the magnificent Soysambu Conservancy, Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Naivasha and Hell’s Gate National Park. 

View of Lake Elementaita from Nairobi - Nakuru Highway

Lake Elementaita is habitat to flamingoes, Great White Pelicans and Great Crested Grebe and many more. It also homes zebra, gazelle, eland and families of warthog.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Tour Kenya's Rift Valley Lakes

The Kenyan Rift Valley is a section of the 6,000km Great Rift Valley which stretches from the Dead Sea in the Middle East all the way to Mozambique. It is one of Africa’s defining geographical features.
Rift Valley Lakes in Kenya are main attraction. Most of them have been declared Ramsar sites. Having been recognized internationally as a vitally important wetland.
These Ramsar sites include; Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru.
These lakes reveal not only a vast wealth of bird but also hippo, crocodile and near Lake Nakuru, the rhino sanctuary.
The following is an itinerary tour for the Rift Valley Lakes.

Day 1: Nairobi – Lake Bogoria
Depart for Lake Bogoria from Nairobi at 0700 Hrs and drive along Nairobi Nakuru Highway. Along this high way you will see the panoramic view of the Great Rift Valley. Arrive in Bogoria National Reserve and check in and lunch at Lake Bogoria Spa resort. Lake Bogoria Spa resort is the only Hotel with natural spa in Kenya. The lake is a Ramsar site and has been a protected National Reserve since November 29, 1973.

Lake Bogoria is shallow (about 10 m depth), and is about 34 km long by 3.5 km wide, with a drainage basin of 700 km².The lake displays a superb scenery of bluish hills populated with dry bush, grasslands and riverine forests, framing the calm water shallow pinned with flamingoes. Beyond the eastern shore, the soil rises abruptly to 600 m in the Laikipia Escarpment. At the opposite edge, the earth forms strangely coloured swampy crusts, which break up in deep gaps spitting stinky sulphur waters and steam jets.