Visiting Kenya in January
I’m pleased to announce that the first country I got to officially visit in 2020 was Kenya.
Kenya had long been on my travel radar. In the past, I have had fairly long layovers in Nairobi but never had the chance to officially leave the airport and visit. I wanted that to change in 2020.
Since I had a significant amount of free time from December to January, I decided to make another journey to Africa. I’ve always enjoyed my time in Africa in the previous times that I have gone, and since the continent is very large with many things to see and do, I knew I would be in for a treat no matter where I went.
Even though Americans can apply for a visa on arrival, I opted to apply for a visa online, and this actually turned out to be a good thing. Prior to getting on the plane to Kenya, I was asked to show the online visa paperwork three different times. It makes me wonder what would have happened if I did not have the online visa.
Getting the online visa was very easy and upon arrival in Nairobi, I just presented my passport and the printed-out eVisa to the immigration. The immigration office kept the eVisa, stamped my passport, and handed it back to me. With that, I was officially admitted entry into Kenya. Very easy and no problems.
Mount Longonot in Kenya
In the previous times when I considered visiting Kenya, I always paid attention to the time of the year. The time of year will often determine how many animals you will be able to see. In general, most people say that June to October is the best time to see the wildlife. However, January to February is also good.
When I went in mid-January, it was considered low season, and I was pleasantly surprised.
While most people who go to Kenya go on safari, I did things a bit differently. Rather than go on safari and stay in lodges, I based myself in Westlands, Nairobi and simply did day tours to a couple different national parks; Hell’s Gate National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park. In addition to those national parks, I also paid a visit to Lake Naivasha and the Menengai Crater. I personally found the low season to be a wonderful time to go. There were very few other tourists around, and this made it feel like you had the whole place to yourself. In addition, I was still able to see many different animals.
Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate National Park Gorge
This was the first place that I visited with a guide. Even though it is considered dry season in Kenya in January, the country had been receiving an unusually large amount of rain, and this altered plans for the tour a bit.
The original plan was to visit Hell’s Gate National Park and then hike down into the famous gorge which is home to a variety of unusual rock formations. However, my guide told me that due to the influx of rain, the gorge had become too dangerous to hike inside since flash floods could occur very quickly, and the authorities had closed it until February. While I did not get to go inside the gorge itself, I was able to get some amazing views of the gorge from a beautiful viewpoint that a Maasai guide took me to (see above photo).
Even though this was a bit disappointing since I had really wanted to get inside the gorge, the visit to Hell’s Gate was still amazing since there were very few other tourists in the area, and there was a large variety of wildlife such as zebras, warthogs, gazelles, and baboons. The only downside was that many of the animals were far in the distance and without a good zoom lens, it was not possible to get good photos.
Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru
The second national park that I had the opportunity to visit the day after Hell’s Gate National Park was Lake Nakuru National Park.
In my opinion, this place is much better than Hell’s Gate National Park due to the large amount of animals that can be seen here and the scenic views. In the course of my tour through the park, groups of zebras, gazelles, baboons, giraffes, buffalo, warthogs, rhinos, and a lion were seen along with a large variety of birds.
Unlike Hell’s Gate National Park, where the animals did not come particularly close to the vehicle, at Lake Nakuru, many of the animals seem somewhat habituated use to vehicles and actually came very close to the road, so it was very easy to get excellent photos. Due to this fact, it was not permitted to leave the vehicle unlike in Hell’s Gate National Park.
While the animals were amazing, I also really enjoyed Lake Nakuru because of the amazing viewpoints that one can get from different areas, especially from the top of a cliff that presents a view of the entire lake.
Lake Naivasha
Zebras at Lake Naivasha
I visited Lake Naivasha after visiting Hell’s Gate National Park. Upon arrival at the lake, I had the opportunity to get in a motorboat and be taken around the lake and around an island that is home to many different animals for about an hour and a half.
The lake is very large, and it is possible to see all kinds of birds, and it was even possible to see a group of hippos at a relatively close distance although the boat captain was cautious about not getting too close since hippos are known for being aggressive. Admittedly, photographing hippos in the water was not easy since you can only barely see their eyes and noses, and the only way to find them is to listen to their breathing.
Menengai Crater and the Great Rift Valley
Menengai Crater
During my time in Kenya, my driver also showed me marvelous views of the Great Rift Valley, which runs north to south through the entire country, and Menengai Crater, which is also located in the Great Rift Valley.
The Great Rift Valley was more a side attraction since it was on the way to the national parks from Nairobi, so it was just a matter of pulling off the side of the road. There are several view points along the road with souvenir vendors that all approach and want you to check out their products. From what I could tell, the souvenir shops and vendors all sell the same type of carved animals that may or may not be worth buying.
I always enjoy large panoramic views, and the views of both Menengai Crater and the Great Rift Valley were truly amazing sites to behold. Not only was I surprised by the large size, but the weather was also perfect for these views that allowed excellent photo ops.
If I have to be honest, even though my trip to Kenya was quick (like most of my journeys), I am extremely thankful that I finally had the chance to visit Kenya, and I am especially thankful that I visited in January. Even though there were times that it rained quite heavily, it was never for the entire day, and the weather usually cleared up really nicely for the better part of the day. In terms of the temperature, it was a bit hot and humid but it was certainly not unbearable.
While I cannot speak for a safari, I think visiting Kenya in January is a wonderful idea since it is low season, so the national parks are almost completely empty and free from other tourists, and the weather is not terribly uncomfortable. If you’re looking for your next holiday destination, I recommend looking into Kenya in January.
