Lake Nakuru offers easy wildlife viewing of most big safari animals with the exception of elephants. Black and white rhino were re-introduced in the 1990s and have bred to healthy populations. White rhino are usually easy to see on the lakeshore. Rothschild giraffe, buffalo and hippo are numerous as well. Lucky visitors might see lions, which occasionally climb trees. Leopards are present, but not often encountered.

Despite being near the equator, it rarely gets hot at Lake Nakuru. It’s the park’s altitude that cools everything down, particularly in the early morning when you’ll need your warmest clothing for game drives.

The Dry season stretches from June to February, while the brief Wet season (March to May) is at its dampest in April. The usual problem with wildlife watching in the Wet season (March to May) is that animals disperse when the rains come. That’s not an issue at Lake Nakuru, though, because the national park is ringed by fencing. Still, the wet weather has been known to spoil more than a few game drives, so you might want to visit in the drier months of the year.