When I was researching this trip the one hotel that kept popping back up on all travel lists was the Sopa Naivasha Lodge. The pictures were beyond belief and most people said that the experience was even better. It was going to be tough for anything to live up to that expectation!

It is a 2-hour drive from Nairobi to Naivasha. This time our airconditioned mini-bus was replaced by three land cruisers that would stay with us for the rest of the trip. There wasn’t much luxury or even air conditioning but these were quite comfortable. Once we got out of the city the scenery became quite beautiful. We stopped at a midway point with a fantastic view of the Rift Valley – the 9,600km long landmass between Mozambique and the Red Sea. The stop had a souvenir shop and a cafe, but the shop was too expensive and we had eaten a heavy breakfast in the hotel.

The charm of the Sopa Lodge started right when we turned into the main gate. Our way was blocked by some giraffes crossing the road. The parking lot had Zebras eating grass on the side, my first sighting of a zebra. Check-in took a bit and some rooms weren’t ready, so we went straight to lunch. The buffet wasn’t massive but really good food and as always some Indian options too. We had a table permanently reserved for us – that felt good till we realized that everyone staying had reserved seating for the duration of their stay.

I could write a blog just about the hotel. The reception, bar, and restaurant were in a circular building that looked so much like a true hunting lodge. The rooms faced Lake Naivasha and the lawn in the middle had Zebras grazing. There was also an electric fence separating the lake from the rooms. This was to keep the hippos away from the rooms. Hippos came out of the water late evenings and grazed in that area too. The place was quickly living up to the hype and a bit more. To make things even better, the rooms were large and luxurious, the service was great, and even the pool was just fabulous. The rooms all opened into this lawn with cute little sitouts where Zebras were just strolling around – that got everyone excited.

We walked around a while and even found a lovely jetty at the lake which was great to just sit and enjoy the scenery and an amazing variety of birds. The lake was full of hippos but they only came out after day and the gate leading to the jetty (with the electric fence) would be shut at 6:30. A natural beauty and wildlife extravaganza was right outside the rooms.

After a bit of a break, at 4, we left for a boat ride in the like. The boarding point for the simple motor-operated long boats was about 15 minutes away. The lake water level has risen significantly in the last few years and the pier and the buildings around it were half under water. This left just a crude boarding area right next to the underwater waiting room and facilities. The boat ride was a great bird-watching experience with some hippos thrown in. We saw pelicans, fishing eagles, cormorants, pied kingfishers, and some other beautiful species. The scenery was spectacular and the spray of water on the way back was so refreshing. Naivasha is a large lake and this was a good way to look appreciate its vastness.

We picked up some booze and mixers from a grocery store on the way back and spent the evening enjoying the porch, the scenery, and good conversation. Just before dinner, the hippos appeared and we got some up-close sightings from across the electrified fence. Dinner was delicious and we were tired enough to want to crash early but we did make plans for the next day. The group was going to split in two. Some of us were going to take the 2-hour drive to lake Nakuru and the other a 30-minute ride to Hells Gate National Park. Lake Nakuru is one of the best bird santuaries in the area with large numbers of flamingoes. It was just going to be a long and hectic drive with a $65 per person entry fee. Hells Gate is a canyon with some animals, but more a relaxed place where you can cycle and enjoy the nature.

We started after an early breakfast. The hotel had recommended we leave at 7, but we left around 9. It was a good two-hour drive, the road was nice till we got to the entry of the Lake Nakuru National Park. We stopped to buy tickets and in that time the drivers raised the roofs of the land cruisers to get them in the safari mode. We could now stand on our seats and get a great view outside. The road was rough but soon we were driving at the side of the road. We saw some wild buffaloes, zebras and gazelles and load of birds, but no flamingoes. Then we saw a few vehicles gathered at a place and it was a lioness sitting in the bushes. I could only get one of the eyes, but that was one of the best shots of the trip.

We kept driving by the lake in the hope of seeing Flamingoes but there was no such luck till we got to the end of the lake. Suddenly we saw not just a few but a flick of hundreds of pelicans and maybe about a hundred flamingoes. There were several other birds in the group but the pelicans and flamingoes dominated the landscape. We could see hundreds of birds fly around and create a majestic symphony of white and back (their top and bottom colors). We were expecting to see a lot more flamingoes but it seems their populaiton has been lesser in the last few years as the rising water level has reduced the areas on the beach where they lay eggs. Inspite of this, the bird spotting here was majestic.

The Sopa Naivasha Lodge has a sister lodge in Nakuru, the Sopa Nakuru Lodge. They had agreed to transfer our lunch package to the Nakuru Lodge for this instance. On the way to the lodge, we saw the white Rhinos. Of the big 5, rhinos are the most deceptive in Masai Mara because they are the most shy of humans. We got a decent look at 2 double-horned white rhinos but didn’t see any black rhinos on the whole trip. The lodge was far inside the park, away from the entrance gate. While the food and the view from the lodge were great, it added over 45 minutes to our return drive – not entirely sure if it was worth it. It was almost 5pm when we got back to the Naivasha resort, again with some chips and muchies.

This time we didn’t just sit out and drink – we started with the bar in the lodge. A very colonial hunting experience as the fireplace and the dim lighting added to the affect. We followed this by dinner and some more drinking in the room. The restaurant dinner was always great tasting but didn’t have the dozens of option we were now used to. Even though it was a smaller affair, it always had some local food as well something Indian.

We had to leave early morning. We did try convince our drivers that we wanted to leave late, but they mentioned it was a long drive to Masai Mara and we had to get there before lunch time got over at the hotel. Some bridge had broken so we also had a bit of a detour to take. 8 am departure, coming up…