Picnicking in Lake Nakuru National Park

Picnicking in Lake Nakuru National Park: Lake Nakuru National Park, the bird paradise in Kenya is one of the most visited parks in Kenya, for the birds, animals and for picnic adventures on some of the most scenic ridges in the park.

The park is known mainly for being a bird sanctuary with over 400 species that include the flamingos that cover Lake Nakuru pink; but the park is a rhino sanctuary with about 100 plus black and rhinos and is also home to over 50 mammal species. On top of all this Lake Nakuru National Park is endowed with magnificent ridges that not only compliment the beauty of the park but offer amazing picnic spots to the guests of the park.

These picnic spots in Lake Nakuru National Park are all raised high above the park ground level that while on top of any of them your able to enjoy delightful views of the park, the lake, the birds, the animals and the entire park surrounding.

The popular picnic sites in Lake Nakuru National Park are:-

Baboon Cliff: it’s a picnic site near the western shores of Lake Nakuru in the north western part of the park, its high on the edge of a cliff and it’s a great place for sightseeing, bird watching and interacting with baboons as they are always around the cliff.
Lion Hill: it’s a picnic site at the north eastern shores of Lake Nakuru and it offers distant views of the lake but delightful views of the surrounding and animals especially the lions.
Out of Africa Look out: it’s a picnic site at the south-western shores of Lake Nakuru in the western end of the park, with the most scenic views of the lake and park’s surroundings. This picnic site is very popular for its scenic views that were captured in the movie of the same name.

Other less popular spots are the Acacia Picnic Site and Pelican Picnic Site. All picnic sites are accessible by car from the park’s different gates and they all have sanitary facilities, sitting areas and parking areas.

Picnicking in Lake Nakuru National Park is very ideal and perfect for anyone who wants to get away from the city noise, take a vacation or even just enjoy the wild.

Lake Nakuru National Park is 3 to 4 hours from Kenya’s capital Nairobi so you can always have your in lake Nakuru National Park on the same day you travel to the park. If you leave Nairobi at 7am you will be at the park by 10am or 11am which is a great time to start your picnic.

Lake Nakuru National Park being a bird and animal habitat, the picnics at the park a full of bird watching among other birds flamingos, Shining sunbird, Maccoa duck, Northern puff back, Montane white-eye, Pallid harrier, Red-capped lark etc.

The picnics are also full of game viewing several animals in the park including but not limited to the waterbucks, impalas, buffalos, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos and if you are at the baboon cliff you will not miss the baboons.

All these picnic sites as stated are raised above the park’s ground level, so on top all the bird watching and game viewing, guests are treated to some of the most scenic views of the lake and the surrounding; the sightseeing on picnics is always the icing on the cake.

The picnic sites are also picture perfect spots so guests can couple their picnic experience with photo sessions to capture memories but also to take advantage of the picture perfect spot.

Picnicking in Lake Nakuru National Park is done anytime of the day throughout the year, though the most advantageous times are the dry months because the rains are minimal so your picnic won’t be interrupted by the rain. The dry months include June, July, August, September, October, January and February.

The best hours of the day to have your picnic in lake Nakuru National Park are between 10am and 5pm; the weather is calm not hot shiny and not too cloudy just perfect for a time of refreshing and relaxing on the raised ridges. The other advantage of Lake Nakuru National Park is that the park’s climate is sub-humid, so anytime of the year it’s not too hot or too cold meaning you get to enjoy you picnic adventure with the best weather.

When having a picnic in Lake Nakuru National Park, you of course carry you picnic ensemble which will include but not limited to picnic mats, meals- you can get a picnic meal from any of the restaurants in the park or you can carry one for yourself, cameras and other items you prefer to have on your picnic. The park management can always advice you on the different items you need.

While picnicking in Lake Nakuru National Park, you should observe the rules and regulations, that include maintaining the picnic site clean, not littering the area, not causing conflict with other groups or individuals picnicking at the same location and most important don’t do anything to harm the animals – like throwing food or stones at them and even feeding them. Conserving the animals in the park is priority so if you are found doing anything to sabotage the wellbeing of the animals you will be fined and kicked out of the park.