Lake Nakuru and Hell's Gate

This was by far my favorite adventure since arriving in Kenya. We spent Saturday on safari in search of hippos and flamingos in Lake Nakuru. And we found them. I had no idea how massive the hippos were or how hard they are to find. Some of the other volunteers had spent many days on previous safaris trying to find hippos without success so we were lucky. Hundreds of thousands of flamingos made the lake look completely pink. We basically had the park to ourselves and were able to spend quite a bit of time on the lake shore outside of the van. The sound of that many flamingos was unreal.

We spent Sunday in Hell's Gate National Park. This is the only game park that allows you to bike through without any barrier between you and the animals. It's really wild to have a zebra racing alongside you three feet away. Njorowa Gorge was one of the most beautiful places I've ever
seen. It's a volcanic canyon with sandstone walls and natural hotsprings and waterfalls. It has to be one of Kenya's best kept secrets. We spent hours climbing and never saw anyone outside of our group.

Our safari guide was arrested on Sunday afternoon because our park tickets had somehow gotten ripped. I know, it sounds ridiculous. The police were willing to drop the matter for about $30 U.S. dollars. And weren't the least bit shy about asking. After much debate and refusal to pay the bribe, our guide was eventually released. Corruption has really gotten into everything here, it's disheartening.

I leave the farm on Friday morning for Mombasa. A 9 hour bus ride, followed by a 16 hour train ride will deliver me to the Indian Ocean. The plan is to head up to Lamu for a couple days and then Malindi before going to Tanzania. My last few days in Africa will be spent on safari in the Masai Mara.

I can't believe how quickly time has passed here.