Day 6, 7 (July 21, 22) - LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK - After breakfast we enjoy one last game drive as we leave Samburu behind. Driving southwest, our destination will land us in the heart of the famed Great Rift Valley. Though this drive will be among our longest, it will also be among our most scenic. We will make stops along the way to view and photograph many of the awesome panoramas of the valley below from the winding mountain roads that line the escarpment. We will also enjoy a picnic lunch at Nyahururu Falls, a beautiful waterfall that plunges hundreds of feet into a mist-filled gorge.

Lake Nakuru National Park will be our destination and home for the next two days. Our charming lodge is located on top of a broad plateau overlooking the sparkling waters of the park's namesake - Lake Nakuru. Waterholes located around the lodge's perimeter attract scores of wildlife from large herds of majestic impalas to huge troops of comical baboons, creating endless possibilities for image making. Afternoon thunderstorms and colorful rainbows are common in the area at this time of year and often yield dramatic photographs.

Over the course of our stay we will spend our time exploring this small but varied park. Its area is comprised of dense acacia forests, open savannas, towering cliffs, and the only giant euphorbia forest in the world. Despite its size, wildlife throughout the park is prolific and includes among others zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck, buffalo, and warthog. Lions abound throughout the park, as does the normally elusive leopard, providing us more opportunities to capture on film these powerful cats. The bird life here is equally impressive with huge flocks of flamboyant pink flamingos, both lesser and greater, feeding from the algae-rich alkaline waters of Lake Nakuru. Also common around the lake are storks, spoonbills, fish eagles, the colossal great white pelicans and a variety of other exquisite shorebirds and raptors.

Nakuru also provides us the opportunity to photograph a couple of rare species that have become great success stories under the park's tireless protection efforts. One of these species is the elegant Rothschild’s giraffe, whose numbers had plummeted into the double digits during the past decade. Now thriving in strong numbers, this is also the only area in Africa where the rare giraffe can still be viewed and photographed in the wild. Another species that has greatly benefited from the park’s rigid protection program is the white rhinoceros. Once near extinction, they are now so prolific in the area - with populations approaching triple digits - that the prehistoric looking creatures have become one of Nakuru's main attractions! Overnights Lake Nakuru Lodge (B, L, D)