In Maa, the language of the Maasai, Nakuru is the dusty place where, during the hot season, the wind whips the dust from the dry lakeshore.

However, the alkaline lake is so full in September that it’s impossible to walk on its shores, world famous for flamingoes.But at this point, it’s the Great White Pelicans with their enormous yellow bills that steal the limelight.

Flotillas of the swan-like birds fill the lake while others sun themselves on the dry ground. They have completely taken over the lake but it doesn’t perturb the buffaloes cooling off in the blue water.

It’s strange to think that until the 1960s, these fish-swallowing birds with their enormous bills and webbed feet were not seen at Lake Nakuru.

And then, as humans have a habit of interfering with natural cycles without really understanding the web of life, a species of fish, Tilapia grahami, was introduced into the lake to eat the mosquito larvae.

Game drive

The mosquitoes persist but the fish became a tasty meal for the Great White Pelican. Handsome as these birds are, they bully the delicate flamingoes, especially the lesser ones, and sometimes even cause fatal injuries.

The lunchtime game drive proves to be exciting, with the white rhinos grazing on the plain. We don’t even have to search for them.

The gregarious buffaloes in herds of over a hundred, cast a black-grey cloud on the lush green grass, enjoying a siesta in the shade of the trees.

There are Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles gamboling and the more staid Rothschild giraffes nibbling on the yellow-bark acacia tree leaves while the Burchell’s zebras keep busy with the grass.

The monkeys and baboons mischievously pick nits off each other and fool around but are always on the lookout for free food from the tourists.

It’s a terrible habit to feed wild animals who are best left to eat their natural foods. Lake Nakuru is spectacular and dynamic.

It’s a mystery how a tiny shallow lake that fluctuates between five and forty square kilometers in the 188-square-kilometre park so close to an industrial hub is still holding despite the pollution and the urban areas edging onto it.

The Great White Pelicans seem blissfully unaware of the changing dynamics and crane their necks, with their enormous bills pointing skywards.

The lake is now their favoured feeding site, from where they carry fish in their pouchy bills to their young at Lake Elementaita, 10 kilometers southeast of Nakuru.

Elementaita is the last breeding place in Kenya for pelicans, which nest on rocky islands in the lake.

As of this year, three lakes in the Great Rift Valley – Elementaita, Nakuru and Bogoria – have been listed under Unesco as World Heritage Sites for their stunning beauty and fascinating biodiversity.

Lake Nakuru is also a Ramsar site, meaning that it is an important wetland for birds. It is the first national park to be listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) out of over 7,500 sites identified as IBAs in nearly 170 countries.

Dangerous lines

Seeing such numbers of the Great White Pelican is soothing because in recent times there has been a huge population decline due to uncoated wires in the power lines.

The pelicans are electrocuted by the power lines cutting across their migration routes from Lake Nakuru to Lake Elementaita.

Further up, on Baboon Cliff, the lake looks amazing, with the pelicans reflected in the water and the buffalo appearing as dots.

Rock hyraxes take a snooze in the crevices of the rocks while a baby is fascinated with a chameleon.

Finally, we head out through Nderit Gate on our way to Nairobi, but not before the 4 o’clock afternoon cuppa tea at Lake Nakuru Lodge.

By Rupi Mangat