Optional Side Trips - Choose One
1. Lake Nakuru Game drive -
Lake Nakuru National Park is situated on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, covering an area of 188 km (116 miles) surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland. Nakuru means “Dust” or “Dusty Place” in the Maasai language. Visitors to the park can enjoy a wide variety of habitats and ecological diversity that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. The Park was created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, and is best known for its thousands of flamingos that nest along its shores. The lake is fairly shallow, and its surface is often almost completely obliterated by a shifting mass of pink flamingos. The abundance of algae in the lake attracts vast numbers of flamingos to gather and feed around the shore. and is ideal not only for bird watching, but more so for game drives, as well as hiking and picnics. Lake Nakuru National Park started off as a very small protected area, only including the famous lake and a part of the surrounding mountainous neighborhood, but now also include a large part of the savannahs. The park has recently been enlarged partly in an effort to provide a sanctuary for the rhino, including the critically endangered black rhino. around the lake is fenced off as a sanctuary for the protection of giraffes as well as both black and white rhino. This fence was necessitated not to restrict the movement of wildlife, but to keep out poachers. The park also houses a number of predators like lion, cheetah and leopard, the latter seemingly increasing in numbers over recent times too. In the dense woodlands of the park some large sized pythons can be found and are often seen while they are crossing the roads or are dangling from trees.
2. Boat Safari with Crescent Island Walk and Biking Hells Gate
Hell’s Gate National Park is located in the southern part of Kenya just northwest of Nairobi. The National Park encompasses an area of 26.35 square miles (68.25 sq km). Hell’s Gate borders the sister Lake Nakuru National Park. The park is only 56 miles (90 km) from Nairobi sitting at an elevation of 6,200 feet (1,900 m) above sea level. Hell’s Gate Gorge is the main attraction and basis for the park’s name. Red walled cliffs travel along the gorge and feature two volcanic rock formations known as Fischer’s Tower and Central Tower. The park is famous for its natural hot geysers, eagle and vulture breeding grounds. Visitors have the choice of driving, walking, cycling and rock-climbing within the park. The Park is home to African buffalos, zebras, elands, hartebeests, Thomson’s gazelles, baboons and over 100 bird species including vultures, Verreaux’s eagles, augur buzzards and swifts. Rare lammergeier vultures, as well as the Chandler’s Mountain reedbuck and the klipspringer antelope also call the park home.
Boat Ride in Lake Naivasha which is a home to scores of birds, and also has its share of land and water animals such as buffalos, zebras, elands, impalas, waterbucks and other grazers, as well as a favorite place for hippos to cool themselves during the day.
3. or Relax at the hotel
Return to Sarova in Nairobi