 |
| Glenn's Journal for 10-22-02 - Nakuru This morning we had a chance to sleep in until 7:00 am. After breakfast we rented bikes so we could ride into Hell's Gate Canyon. The bike ride to the park was a little strenuous but once we made it to the entrance we stopped for some water before continuing on. Richard met us at the park entrance to pay our entrance fees and we took off riding our bikes along the main road of the park towards the Gorge. Let me remind you that these were strictly dirt roads and the fact that the wild animals were wandering freely around us. Richard recommended that we stay clear of the buffalo as they can be pretty aggressive if bothered. Erin also noticed a sign that a section of the park had been closed due to a spotting of a pack of lions earlier this year. Of course she didn't mention that to me until we were well into the park. We made our way through the park maintaining our way along the main road. About an hour later we found ourselves at an entrance gate at the other end of the park. Conveniently the ride into the park was mostly downhill but we knew what that would mean upon riding back out of the park. We stopped occasionally along the way to enjoy the zebra, warthogs, gazelle, and some buffalo (but not close enough to get in any trouble). It was spectacular to think that we were only yards away from these animals and only on bikes. We had agreed with Richard that we would return to the park entrance around 11:30 am so we started back around 10:15 am to give us plenty of time. Well, the ride back did not take as long as expected and we were back at the entrance just after 11:00 am. Instead of waiting for Richard to return we told the guard at the gate to let Richard know that we would ride back to the campground where we had rented the bikes. Erin was not so sure as the ride to the park was wearing since most of the road was loose dirt. Well, once I coerced her to continue on we found the ride back to be much easier. We did not realize that riding to the park had been all uphill so on the way out we just coasted to the main road. Once on the main road we passed Richard heading the other way. We met up with him back at the camp after he had a chance to turn around. Our next stop was Elsamere where we would learn about Joy Adamson. Joy Adamson is famous for "Born Free" having been the lady that lived with Elsa the lioness. We spent some time enjoying a movie about her life, along with her husband George Adamson, then looking through the museum representing their life. Afterwards we relaxed with drinks and a snack while looking over Lake Naivasha and watching the colobus monkeys run around the yard. We returned to the campground where we had lunch before taking off for Lake Nakuru. We arrived in Nakuru in time for an afternoon game drive. Nakuru is known for the many pink flamingos that cover the lake along with a few pelicans. We also enjoyed seeing some white rhinos, giraffes, buffalo, and the baboons. We even spent some time watching the baboons clean themselves and the young ones play together. After the game drive we headed to our camp for the next 2 nights. Boy, were we disappointed and we let Richard know. We were not interested in going another night without hot water so we asked to have some water boiled for us. They provided us with a large bucket of hot water in which we shared and bathed ourselves. Dinner was below average at this accommodation as well but we lived!!! (We did take pictures and made notice to the main office about our disappointment. We even let them know that we would advertise it on our website.) After dinner we quickly cleaned up and crashed for the evening. |
| The Black Rhino is extremely rare and tough to catch in the open |
 |
| The White Rhino, a grazer rather than a browser like the Black Rhino, is easier to spot, especially in the Nakuru reserve! |