As you’ve read from my previous post here, we visited Lake Baringo first, checked into the hotel we were to stay at, Lake Bogoria Spa Resort, and then planned to visit Lake Bogoria the next day, with no particular hurry.
Lake Bogoria was supposed to be near our hotel, theoretically. Google Maps had told us around 20 or so kilometers. The only problem was that from the online reviews, people were complaining about the road to Lake Bogoria. They said that even big cars struggled with the road. But what choice did we have? We had not come all the way to not see Lake Bogoria.
So on this particular day, we woke up late, went on to have a delicious breakfast, and then went to prepare to leave. We left at around 11am. In hindsight, we should have left earlier.
The turns can be a bit confusing because the main road that was leading tourists to the hot springs, is currently under water due to the rising lake’s water. So even KWS has had to shift it’s offices, or rather, build new ones. At that time, their signage from the road we were into, into the turn we were supposed to take to their new offices, were not so large or clear. So we asked kids by the roadside, who directed us to the newly made roads.
The KWS offices are by the new murram road. Nothing to speak home about. So we just paid and left.
And whoever complained about the road, was not lying. And then now mix it up with the scorching heat, and it’s this really rough journey.
Only made easier by the beauty on the side. Lake Bogoria is that pretty lady that you just can’t get enough of her beauty. On its side are these huge mountains, while it lies below, calm, not so deep and full of flamingos. Like something made by the gods on a calm afternoon. Like a beauty in the middle of a tough terrain.
Speaking of the terrain, the place is sometimes rocky but also full of trees and shrubs. And every so often, one sees beehives. We must have seen hundreds of them on this journey. And those were the only ones by the roadside. So it did leave us thinking about the thousands more inside those forests and shrubs. Baringo, truly has a lot of honey.
As if the people making the road knew those using it would get tired of it’s roughness, every 6 kilometers or so, they tell you how many more kilometers left. That is up to the hot springs besides the lake.
When I first visited this lake in high school, the hot springs used to jet into the sky. Like 6 meters up. Others forming curves almost across the road.
But with the lake rising and the road under water, a lot of those springs are buried. From the top of the water you can see some bubbling though. And at point zero, when we finally arrived, there were small hot springs some meters away from the water. We were alone for a while there, before we were joined by a primary school, and watched as they boiled eggs.
We took in the beauty and also took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, due to the sun, we couldn’t stay for that long. So we went back to the vehicle to start the journey back.
And I would say we enjoyed the journey back, way more than the journey to. This time we knew what to expect and how long we would take. So we stopped a lot of times along the journey back, and at some points even parked, and followed a trail in the forest to the lake.
My favorite activity was ‘ chasing’ the flamingos. My God!! I would highly recommend this. It made me feel so giddy and childishly happy, watching those pink things fly so noisily over and over again. And they made such beautiful patterns in the air as they did. I highly recommend getting near flamingos, they scare easily and watching them fly, is like watching a miracle unfold.
This was such a delightful treat to my birthday.
Anyway, we went back to the hotel for lunch and later went swimming in their hot springs swimming pool. Maybe I’ll tell you about the hotel in a different post.
But all in all, Lake Bogoria, deserves it’s flowers. And I hope that whatever is happening to it, doesn’t alter it indefinitely. So maybe you should visit it before then.
Enjoy some pictures from Lake Bogoria below.
Mwende Kyalo 