Naivasha’s enduring allure

BY Anton Gitonga

For many, Naivasha town is the other side of "Coast," accessible enough to visitors who want to get a feel of water and sand.

Located 90 kilometres west of Nairobi, Naivasha does not have sand but has plentiful of water, largely from its main lake that gave its name.

Naivasha, which is a corruption of the Maasai word, E-naiposha (receding waters) was "discovered" for the Western world by Joseph Thomson in 1884.

Lake Naivasha, around which the town is built, has had mixed fortune, the most recent being a dip in its water levels due to accelerated irrigation activities.

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Between 1937 and 1950 this beautiful, peaceful fresh water lake was used as a landing zone for plane passengers destined for Nairobi.

Planes from London would land on the lake town where the Lake Naivasha Country Club stands today, and passengers would board a bus for Nairobi.

Today the lake town, with its cool climate, has become a retreat for mainly Nairobi residents and tourists looking for peace and quiet.

Fertile soils

Because the lake is fresh water and the surroundings have soil fertiles, Naivasha has also become a major producer of flowers, fruit and vegetables.

From Lake Naivasha to the fascinating and breathtaking Hellsgate national park, Naivasha to is some a "home away from home."

Despite water levels at the lake dropping to alarming levels, many visitors, especially avid bird watchers tour the lake by their hundreds.

According to boat operator David Kilo, Lake Naivasha has 365 birds species, while the whole catchment area has 625 species.

"For bird watchers, this is the place to be as one will find nearly all the bird varieties in Africa," Kilo says.

Others areas to visit while on tour of the lake is the Crater Lake, the Hippo Camp and the Crescent Island, which play host to hundreds of other wild animals.

Waterbucks, gazelles, dikdiks, giraffes and zebras can be spotted grazing on the island famed for its rich variety of wild animals.

A few kilometres from the lake is the world-renowned Hellsgate park, only a few kilometers off the Moi South Lake Road.

This is the only national park in the country where visitors can either walk or ride without fear of attack from wild animals. It also has the only albino buffalo in the country!

Horse riding

According to the officer in charge of the park Nelly Palmeris, horse riding and camping are some of the activities that go on there.

"The park is ideal for family outings and camping as it has several breathtaking sites in various parts of the park," Palmeris adds.

One of the sites there is the Fischer’s Tower which, at 40 metres, attracts hundreds of rock climbers eager to show their talent.

And inside the park is the 17-kilometre gorge. Many visitors only cover only a portion of it, as they find hot water springs that are fascinating to watch.

For snake lovers, the place to visit is the popular Kanji Snake Park located near Kongoni trading centre.

The park, run by a local farmer Samuel Mwangi alias Kanji, boasts several species like the 17-feet python, puff udders, the Egyptian cobra, the spitting cobra and tortoises, among others.