November 10 – Drive to Lake Naivasha and crescent island
We left Nairobi this morning and took a bus to Lake Naivasha. On the way we passed through much of Nairobi including Kibera which is one of the largest slums in the world, with a population estimated to be around 1 million people. It definitely puts life into perspective.
We stopped at the Great Rift Valley escarpment to view the landscape and learn a little bit about the geology in the area.
From there, we headed to Lake Naivasha and checked into our hotel. After lunch we headed out to Crescent Island which is in Lake Naivasha. This island is home to a variety of African animals without any predators. The trip to the island was approximately 45 minutes on a small boat.
Lake Naivasha flooded in 2020 and the water has never returned to old levels. In shallow waters old houses and other buildings, electrical poles, fences, etc. are still visible, but they are now under 1-1.5m of water. During the boat ride we saw many birds perched on trees that died after the flood. It provided great photography opportunities, but it’s devastating to the community.
In the water on the way out we also saw hippos! One was a family of five including two babies.
Once we got to crescent island the wildlife experience started immediately as there was a water buck just behind the ticket building. Crescent island hosts a number of different species and it is explored via a walking tour. We were there for nearly two hours learning about the animals and taking photos.
Someone asked for more food pictures, in Zanzibar we cooked at our hotel a lot and so far meals have been family style or buffet so they don’t look great. I did have a new to me fruit today, a thorn melon. It has a thick skin (the thorns were removed) with a green flesh that is similar consistency to an orange and seeds like a cucumber. It had a very mild flavour similar to a citrusy cucumber.
Tomorrow we are off to Lake Nakuru to hopefully see large quantities of flamingoes!
Thanks for wandering with me,
Julie
J Cork Photography 