Kenya - Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is situated approximately 164 kilometres from Nairobi, a two hours drive from Nairobi city. It is dominated by a gentle undulating terrain with open bush and woodlands, typical of the dry rift valley vegetation. Twenty seven percent (27%) of the park is composed of the Lake Nakuru waters. The lake is 2km north of Nakuru town at grid reference 0°19'- 0°24' S/36°04'-36°07 E, and covers 49,00ha (9km long and 5.5km wide maximum) at an altitude of 1758m asl. The area around the lake is exclusively used for wildlife conservation while the land in the catchment area is intensively used for agriculture, forestry and ranching. The lake was established as a National Park in 1961. The park was expanded over the years to 188 km2 to provide a perimeter buffer zone to protect the lake from encroachment by settlements and to minimise the impacts of urban and agricultural development in the immediate catchment. The park was declared a rhino sanctuary in 1983. The Rhino stocking programme which ensued received white rhinos from South Africa. Currently the sanctuary has approximately 45 black and 31 white rhinoceros