Lake Bogoria National Reserve Is Said To Be `Natures Studio.

Written by Joseph Kipkoech

Kenya is one of Africas great tourism destinations, with wildlife being one of the richest and most diverse tourist attractions in the continent.Apart from wildlife, Kenya is known for its diversity of landscape, cultures, and sweeping savannahs to tropical beaches and coral reef, dense equatorial forests to mighty snow capped mountains and more, the country is a world unto itself. The country with vibrant tourism industry and it has developed it into second largest economic sector after agriculture, is visited by over one million tourists annually .This is thanks to long history of the efforts in wildlife conservation and emergence of laws controlling hunting methods and trade in wildlife which date back to 1898. In the past, Lake Bogoria in Baringo County, which is today recognized as world heritage and Ramsar site, was called Hannington after a Bishop who explored the area. When Bishop James Hannington saw the lake in the heart of the Great Rift Valley, he described it as the most beautiful view in Africa and thereafter several explorers, adventurers and travellers for centuries made trips there to explore one of the unique wonders of nature. Lake Bogoria National Game Reserve, the Chief Warden Mr. William Kimosop said, with the backdrop of the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley, it is a stunning beauty that has always enchanted visitors. The contrast in colours from the grasslands into the lake and the sky can only describe the place as natures studio. Lake Bogoria was gazetted on November 20, 1973 as a national reserve. It is 10 kms north of the Equator and 285km north of Nairobi. It sits on the floor of the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley at an altitude of 1,000m above sea level from which the escarpment forms one of the Kenyas most picturesque backdrops. Mr. Kimosop added that the lake is 107 kms square and most of the reserve is occupied by Lake Bogoria, a spectacular sight reflecting searing blue skies and the rose pink of flamingos. The Lake is also well known for its hot springs and geysers dotting the southern shore of the lake. In the steam jets, an egg can be boiled and cooked in seven minutes! Rift valley Provincial geologist Mr. Enoch Kipseba said that sulphur water gushes out of the ground and it is known to have therapeutic value. The hot Springs water geysers are extremely hot- the gushing out water is at boiling point and visitors are forewarned to be careful. The national reserve is home of Africas most magnificent antelope, the greater Kudu, and a host of other savannah wildlife such as Zebra, Impala, Grants gazelle, Klipspringer, buffalo, dik diks and Patas monkey among others. Predators include the leopard, cheetah, hyena, mongoose, jackal and karakul cat. The chief warden further said that the reserve has 135 species of birds. Like Lake Nakuru, thousands of flamingos, greater kudu, impala, buffalo, zebras, klipspringer and leopards attract visitors to the reserve.

In the recent past, Mr. Kimosop noted, it has become the most stable home of the lesser flamingos with a population approaching two million birds. This is in addition to more than 374 resident and 50 migratory species of birds which have been recorded. Most animals are seen early in the morning or in late afternoon due to the hot weather conditions. It has a closed drainage system, meaning that the water is alkaline and supports only microscopic algae with no fish, he added. In 2000, Lake Bogoria was named the third RAMSAR site in Kenya and last year it was declared a world heritage site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).This was along side with Fort Jesus and Lakes Nakuru and Elementaita. In the national reserve, there are several outstanding tourism attractions such as Lake Bogoria Spa Resort and cultural centres, which combined with other unique features in the lake, attract over 15,000 thousand tourists and generate close to Sh.20 million a year to our economy.

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