lake baringo
' THE ISLANDERS LAKE '
THE LAKE BARINGO NATIONAL PARK
Lake Baringo National Park is a fresh water lake well known for its hippo and crocodile population. The crocodiles are often seen lying on the shores or swimming through the shallows, hunting waterfowls. Fishing is a widely practiced activity carried out by the Njemps community as a source of livelihood. The Njemps community is also a fascination and offer entertainment in the form of song and dance enabled by the excursions provided to their villages. The surrounding environment is arid, red- soiled with sparse vegetation offering a good atmosphere for setting up picnics or just meditation. The lake has an average depth of 8m (25ft) and has three islands – Ol Kokwe, Teddy Bear and Gibraltar, which can be accessed by boat trips provided by the lake’s administrative authority. Hippos are seen in the lake on boat trips. From the lakeside lodges and camps, hippos are seen at night grazing the lawns. Seeing how large a hippo is when it emerges from the water is an awe-inspiring vision, even more so when they are grazing a few feet from the door of your tent. Fish is in abundance & as a result, an equal abundance of fish eagles, cormorants and pelicans thrive. This makes the lake a well known birding destination, with 300 species recorded in a single hour at the Baringo Club. Boat trips are the best way of exploring this area. Baringo Community Museum and Reptile Park educates local people and visitors about reptile species. The museum displays several species of snakes including the Black Mamba, Puff Adder, Boomslang (tree snake), Spitting Cobra as well as the harmless stripe bellied sand snakes. Other reptiles that can be seen here are the Monitor lizards, Crocodiles and endangered tortoises.