Blog: Flamingo Strut

Flamingos

If you’re not familiar with Africa’s national parks, close your eyes and imagine that opening scene from “Out of Africa”, the one where the bi-plane swoops down low over a lake and sets off a pink powder-puff storm-cloud of flamingos: that sequence was filmed at Nakuru in Kenya!

Flamingos at Lake Bogoria

The floor of the Rift Valley is surprisingly high (1,754 m above sea level) and there are several lakes that lie in a chain running north-to-south. Some lakes are fresh water and some alkaline, or “soda lakes”. The significance is that soda lakes support the algae that flamingos filter from the water and live upon. So if you would like to see flamingos, you first need to identify the soda lakes. The two main ones are Lake Nakuru and the rather hidden-away Lake Bogoria http://www.ventureco-worldwide.com/africa/kenya/lake-bogoria-nature-reserve/

These two neighbouring parks contain a wide variety of habitats that include savannah grassland, steep wooded slopes and the all-important wetlands. They are best known for their flamingo population (both Greater and Lesser flamingos) which number in the millions; the population fluctuates with food supply (the algae) the breeding season and the water level. The best vantage point is Baboon Cliff which rises sharply from the shore and presents a glorious panorama.

There are 25 black and 70 white rhino as well as the rare Rothschild’s giraffe (the same species that lives at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi). In recent years it has also become one of the best places East Africa to see leopards. Something for everyone!

Think of these parks as a “2 day module” that can be included in any safari itinerary. We can tailor-make safaris and here’s a useful guide to the National Parks of Kenya http://www.ventureco-worldwide.com/africa/kenya/national-parks-of-kenya/