So as promised I finally got around to writing up the second instalment of our Kenya trip. Rather than conservation projects (see part I) the focus of this edition is really all about a particularly beautiful destination that’s home to a couple of must visit highlights.
However, before getting into that I did want to do a quick shout out for ACRES, the wildlife rescue centre I have been volunteering at for about a year and half. You can read more about their work here (and I promise a story soon about my close encounters with eagles, cobras and a soggy palm civet during a first day shadowing the rescue team) but I really wanted to alert people (both in and outside of Singapore) to their current Chinese New Year fund raising drive. They might have hit their target of SG$5,000 - enough to feed the menagerie they look after for one month – but they could always do with additional donations. There also looking for more volunteers if you have some time to spare.
I also wanted to flag up a great opportunity to support another local conservation organisation, the Singapore Wildcat Action Group and their Citizen Action for Tiger Walks. Taking place on various weekends this year they offer the chance to spend a weekend hiking in the Sungai Yu Ecological Corridor in the Malayan Peninsular. Along with guides from the local community you will be looking out for signs of poachers and checking trail cameras in this important stretch of forest, which connects the Titiwangsa range and Taman Negara, the two largest remaining forest complexes in Malaysia. As well as being a great experience, it raises much needed funds for the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), an organisation doing crucial work finding ways to protect Malaysia's last few remaining tigers. I just confirmed that I will be heading out on a walk with them in early March and will obviously report back soon (ish).
Great Rift Valley
So from the Malay jungle it’s a (very) belated return to our December trip to Kenya, and a natural wonder located around a two hours drive north west of the chaos of Nairobi. As the red-dust coated tarmac of the Old Nairobi-Naivasha road emerges from a patch of scruffy woodland the land drops dramatically away on you left to reveal a stunning vista of seemingly unending plains stretching away into the haze.
This is the beginning of the escarpment road that plunges down via a vertiginous series of blind turns – made even more heart-racing by the swarming inter-city matatus and overladen slow-moving lorries – down to the floor of the Great Rift Valley, one of East Africa’s most spectacular and important geological sites.
To be specific this section is the Gregory Rift, part of the larger East African Rift System, a huge rent in the earth that stretches over 5000km from Lake Nyasa, in Tanzania in the south up through Kenya and Ethiopia to the Red Sea in the north. Formed over millions of years by the Nubian and Somali tectonic plates slowly pulling apart, the result is a dramatic but fertile landscape scattered with volcanoes, hot springs and a string of mineral-rich lakes. It's a biodiversity hotspot, rich in numerous plant, bird and animal species. It is also home to a number of important archaeological sites many of which shine a light on early human evolution, earning it the title the cradle of civilisation.
The hand painted signs on the tumbledown shacks that cling to the cliff side and serve up panoramic vistas alongside their overpriced sodas and souvenirs make claims on it being the 8th Wonder of the World. Looking out over the cloud-shadowed valley, the air filled with swooping swifts, and on towards the silently brooding Mount Longonot - a dormant stratovolcano - it’s hard to argue against the hype. Wherever your journey is taking you, be it west to Narok and the Maasai Mara or further north to Nakura, Eldoret and eventually Kampala, it’s always a place worth stopping to get a true appreciation of the sheer majesty and might of the planet’s natural powers.
Lake Naivasha
Our journey was actually taking us to the closest of the rift-valley lakes, Naivasha whose fresh water and shady shorelines, proves an irresistible draw for numerous bird and animal species, not to mention weekend visitors from the capital. It’s a special place and not just because we got married there over twenty years ago. Fortunately much of what made it special back then still remains.
The undoubted highlights for me have to be lake itself and the sheer abundance of bird life that call its shores home. From the high-pitched honks of the resident African fish eagles to the mournful cries of the Hadada ibis and slightly manic cackles of Hamerkops are an ever present sound track to a visit. Great White Pelicans, looking like small boats, bob serenely on the surface while long tailed cormorants and African darters perch on any available dead tree as they stretch out their wings to dry. Gruesomely comical Marabou stork do their best undertaker impressions while stalking the shore line for scraps, while yellow billed storks and purple herons wait patiently in the shallows for common carp to swim into their reach.
And then there are the superb starlings, the bird that I perhaps associate with Naivasha more than any other. Their shimmering feathers of vivid blue and orange offering wonderful flashes of colour as they flit among the yellow fever trees or forage in packs among the manicured lawns or scratchy grass of the campsites and resorts that encircle the lake front.
While it was great to see that so much had stayed the same a comment that could be levelled at most of the places we used to stay the area had also undergone plenty of changes. One transformation, that’s definitely for the better reflects the Kenyan government’s decision to ban single use plastic carrier bags back in August 2017. It raised eyebrows globally at the time, but it certainly seems to be having the desired effect. The bushes and ditches around the lake road used to be covered in a thick coating of plastic rubbish, an inadvertent side effect of the army of labourers working at the flower farms, but now they seemed almost pristine in comparison. A very visible sign that this kind of top down legislation can make a difference and help improve local environments. Fingers crossed other countries take note, though I fear it maybe a slow process – Singapore has only recently announced that shops will start charging people 5c (less than 2p) for using bags at supermarkets from August.
However, the most notable and visible were the changes to the lake itself. Back when we first visited the water in Lake Naivasha was dropping dramatically (it reached its lowest levels in the 2010s) and its surface was becoming clogged with invasive water hyacinth. At the time many pointed the finger at the flower farms whose polytunnels hug the shoreline along the South-Moi lake road and whose boquets are flown daily to the flower markets of Europe and beyond. The belief was they were using too much water for their horticultural needs and that their fertilizers were leaching into the lake leading to the hyacinth bloom.
While the hyacinth still remains a problem, covering about a third of the lake, the water levels have undergone an unexpected rise in recent years. In fact, the same thing has happened at many of the lakes in the Kenya rift valley and it’s not exactly clear why with theories ranging from excessive rainfall, deforestation and climate change to shifting tectonic plates causing changes to underground water tables. The effect has not always been positive either with widespread flooding leading to plenty of costly damage and forcing many to relocate from their shoreside homes.
In Naivasha, the water levels are beginning to abate slightly again, but the previous impact is still visible. Derelict buildings lie abandoned on the shorefront, while a forest of Yellow Barked Acacia trees sit partly submerged, their skeletal, denuded branches stretching up out of the water like bony fingers. It’s an eerie, if slightly beautiful sight, especially as they are now a popular roosting spot for many of the lake’s birds.
The shifting waters don’t seem to have impacted the local hippo populations either, as evidenced by the near constant honking and huffing echoing from the lake. There are estimated to be as many as 1500 of these impressive, if notoriously bellicose and downright dangerous creatures, living in numerous pods around the water’s edge. Despite weighing up to three tons they can be remarkably hard to spot during the day when they prefer to remain almost completely submerged but for their nostrils but you certainly notice them at night when they lumber out of the water to nosily munch on the grass a few meters from your room.
As a sign of how much the water levels have changed, our stay at the Lake Naivasha Country Club where we had got married saw us treated to front row seats from our room’s balcony as two pods of hippos decided to have an aquatic tussle over territory. The irony was it was pretty much the spot where Clare and I had previously exchanged our vows!
And on that note, I will just briefly indulge myself with two other special moments from our trip. One was an afternoon sat on the lawn of Elsamere, the former home of conservationist and author of Born Free, Joy Adamson. As Clare and the boys sat inside watching a documentary, I sat on the splendid lakefront lawn enjoying a cup of tea while being treated to a wonderful showcase of just some of the multitude of bird species (at last count around 400) that call the Naivasha area home. To cap it off the resident troupe of black and white colobus monkeys clambered down from the trees to watch on impassively, I was treated to a showcase of different birds flapping, hopping, gliding and screeching past my garden table as my cup of tea quickly got cold…
We were also treated to another magical experience during our early morning boat ride out on the lake. With the sun rising over the surrounding hills and the water like glass the scene was just jaw dropping . The wildlife on display was equally amazing, from spotting a baby hippo and its mum having a final graze on a tiny island before the heat of the day drove them into the water to watching a flock of swallows explode from their roost on a dead tree in the middle of lake, to admiring a tower of giraffe grazing on the lake’s central Crescent Island.
Straight to Hell…
OK last but not least I wanted to finish with a final Naivasha highlight – Hell’s Gate National Park, located a very short drive from the lake. At just 68 square kilometres, its tiny when compared to some of Kenya’s other national parks, but it more than makes up for it with its abundant wildlife and unique geography.
It also has the added bonus of being one of the few Kenyan parks that you can cycle through, serving up a very different safari experience and the chance to get super close to the local wildlife - top tip hire your bike from the actual gate as it saves you having to pedal up the sand track from the main road. It’s got to be said there’s something pretty special about being yards from a male giraffe as he strides laconically across the path or catching the baleful glare of a surly African buffalo nestled in a low thicket as you pedal past. The lack of engine noise also means you can truly drink in the natural soundtrack of insects and birdsong.
One main reason for being allowed to bike in Hell’s Gate is the lack of big cats, no lions or cheetahs here, though the occasional leopards have been spotted. Still there’s plenty else to keep you entertained from Thompson’s gazelle, zebra, hartebeest, baboons and warthogs to the aforementioned giraffe and buffalo, plus over 100 bird species, including a number of rare raptors such as the lammergeyer or bearded vulture.
These can often be seen catching the thermals above the imposing red stone cliffs whose violent fissures and deep scars reveal the strong volcanic forces that first shaped this region and now form the spectacular landscape of the park. One of the most notable geological features is also home to one of its more unusual residents.
Not far from the main gate is Fischer’s Tower, which looks like a huge flint axe head thats been discarded by some prehistoric giant. It’s actually a volcanic plug formed by cooling lava and is now a popular spot for rock climbing as well as home to a sizeable population of rock hyrax.
With their squat bodies, short ears and pointed heads these odd-looking mammals are a weird hybrid - think a fat rabbit with the head of a chipmunk - maybe even a touch of quokka about them and can be found all over Sub-Saharan Africa and even the Middle East. Weirdly, their closest living relatives are manatees and elephants! This was a tale I had discounted for the longest time but further research seems to suggest it’s true. Many years of close human contact in the park mean they are pretty fearless allowing you to get up close as they snuffle around the rocks and grass at the base of the tower.
The park’s small size means you can explore quite easily via bike, though be warned its pretty undulating and the gravel and dust paths can take their toll on the thighs. We did manage to cycle up to one of the park’s very basic campsites situated on the edge of clifftop and were gifted with some wonderful views over this torn and twisted landscape of scrubby bushes, well well-worn animal trails and the snaking tendrils of dried up river beds; not to mention a close encounter with a huge Tawny Eagle that flapped past us at head height.
Another notable landmark is the Ol Njorowa Gorge that twists its way through the central area of the park. Unfortunately, its been closed since 2019 following a fatal accident resulting from flash flooding in the gorge. However, one of the local guides did tell us they are hopeful that a new early warning system will lead to its reopening. If it does get the green light then I can confirm its well worth the time to take a guided walk through this serpentine ravine and marvel at the different coloured rock strata and how the relentless force of water has helped shape and twist the rock walls over millennia.
Indeed the force of nature is pretty evident throughout the whole park giving it a magical feel, a view shared by the Maasai people who believed that the region’s geothermal activity linked it to their creation story. The name Hell’s Gate came later in the 1880s, coined by European ‘explorer’s’ Joseph Thomson and Gustav Fischer who likened the path through the imposing red cliffs to the entrance to hell.
The volcanic forces are still very much evident and active if you travel through to the eastern side of the park. Here you’ll find Olkaria geothermal plant, which was the very first of its kind in Africa when it opened in 1981. Passing through this area you are treated to a landcape thats dotted with thick plumes of white steam, tangles of huge metal pipes and a strong stench of sulphur; it’s certanly not hard to imagine that you might indeed be approaching the entrance to the underworld.
Of course there is much more to explore beyond the lake and Hell’s Gate, in. the region from Crater Lake to Crescent Island. Those looking for a good walk can also try the hike up to and around the crater edge of Mount Longonot. It’s a steep but short cllmb and offers spectacular views down into the overgrown and currently dormant crater. In fact, I would probably have bored you further with tales of our expediton except we tried and failed miserably to decipher which mud trail was actually the road the main gate and the start of the walk so you’re spared that. And that sign of defeat is also probably a very good time to stop these rambles.
I’ll confess it has been a bit of battle of wills to finish this entry and I must also congratulate you if you’ve also made it this far. Coming soon (I will committ to some time in 2023 for sure) part III and maybe part IV of our safari which will offer up my reflections on a congested but still magical Maasai Mara and some unexpected wildlife watching in Watamu. I’ll also aim to drop in some shorter pieces on other projects a little closer to home. That’s if I make it back from the Tiger Walk in one piece!