The flooded shores of Lake Nakuru as as desolated as the ones of Lake Naivasha. Pale dead tree trunks sprouting out of the water like needles. We must be 15 visitors altogether in this gigantic lodge that can accomodate around 200 guests, and we are happy we came in the rainy season even though it’s raining – a bit.
The National Park comprises the lake and its shores, as well as a relatively small stretch of land in the West. A few scenes from the movie Out of Africa where shot here. It’s made of plains and hills and in the background, we can see Nakuru, the 4th largest city in Kenya. Wildlife abounds in the form of birds – eagles, pelicans and… flamingos. From far, they form a flashy, thick pink strip between the lake waters and the land. From close, their continuous conversation melts into a loud high-pitched chirping blob, as they stand in the mud by the thousands. In the past, there used to be millions of them here. Behind the flamingos, grey rhinos are grazing while warthogs are fooling around at their feet.
Driving through the savannah further away from the lake, it’s easy to spot gazelles and buffalos, some of which lying dead on the grass – our driver and guide Victor tells us the rain came late this year and grass grew too late, and that anthrax still kills herbivores. After a week in Kenya, it’s only now that we are stricken by the ominous presence of vultures, and here in Nakuru they are joined by the grim reaper himself, the ugliest of all feathery creatures: the marabout. Together, never far from a carcass, they form team death, and seeing them at work is slightly sickening.
Fortunately, we finish our safari at sunset (by the way, safari means voyage in Swahili!) in Nakuru with much nicer encounters: two cubs under close surveillance from their dad, a couple of hippos, and at last a solitary black rhino browsing the bushes. There are only around 5,000 of them remaining today on the planet.
The morning after, it’s finally time for us to head back to civilisation. Within a few hours, we reach the green and breezy neighbourhoods of North Nairobi. We learn everything about the author of “African Farm”, whose life inspired the movie Out of Africa (partly shot around Nakuru) at the Karen Blixen house and museum. Another would-have-been-a-normal-European life that Africa put upside down and made fascinating. We meet up with our friend Bartol again, and during the weekend we discover Nairobi with him… a real modern African city with modern skyscrapers, large roads and insane traffic, shopping malls, poor and rich hard-working people out on the streets, quiet expat districts with huge Victorian mansions, trendy bars and restaurants. Not the Africa we are used to in Gabon! Still, we find ourselves happy to be back under the sun and on the seaside in our dear… Librevillage.
Tanad stories from Gabon 