Located within reach of Nairobi, lakes Naivasha and Nakuru are two of the best-known lakes in the Great Rift Valley. Visit the former home of Born Free personality Joy Adamson on the shores of Lake Naivasha, then spot tree-climbing lions, black and white rhinos and clouds of pink flamingos in Nakuru National Park.
Fringed by papyrus and with the extinct Mount Longonot as a backdrop, Lake Naivasha is the highest of the Great Rift Valley lakes. It’s only a short drive from Nairobi but feels a world away from the capital’s busy streets, stretching into the distance like a vast, sunlit sea. The lake is home to a colourful collection of birdlife, including fish eagles, herons, kingfishers, pink backed pelicans, ospreys and black crakes, as well as resident hippos that sit just below the water like semi-submerged submarines. One of the lake’s hidden gems is Crescent Island, a private island sanctuary and one of the few places in the Rift Valley where you can walk among giraffes, zebras, waterbucks and impalas. Also well worth a visit is Elsamere, the former home of the late Joy Adamson of Born Free fame. Boat trips on the lake are available from most camps and lodges. Further north, about two hours from Nairobi, is Lake Nakuru National Park. Set along the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, the park is pretty year-round and is one of the best places in Kenya to spot endangered black and white rhinos. It’s also one of the few places where you might encounter rare tree-climbing lions, not to mention leopard, buffalo, zebra, elephant and Rothschild’s giraffe. For years the park was famous for the huge flocks of flamingos that used to carpet the lake in pink. Around ten years ago, rising water levels forced the flamingos to flee but we’re happy to say they’re back, often appearing in their hundreds of thousands to feast on the algae that thrives in the lake’s warm waters.