Sometimes, the hussle and bussle and the noise of traffic in the city can get on your nerves. But, it can also get on your nerves if you, as a foreigner, prefer not to go into town alone. You then are dependent when others (coincidentally) have to go into town. You have to stay home with a large piece of land around it transformed into a garden annex parking lot and an adjacent vegetable garden that in Kenya is called 'shamba'. And, if you still feel a bit too confined, you just come up with a plan. Get away for a few days. Off to the pelican colony.
Lake Elmenteita, also spelled Elementaita, is a soda lake. It located between Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha. The banks of the Lake Elementaita are occupied by series of resorts and even a camping. Why? It's the flamingos whohave their habitait in huge numbers.
Pelican Lodge borrowed the name from these birds, The lodge is a luxury resort and is some hundreds of meters from the old main road Nakuru-Nairobi. If you come from Nairobi, the lodge is located on your left hand but from Nakuru it's on your right hand. A walk from the main road to the lodge takes an hour until you reach on your right hand a steel gate (there is another one in front of you) The resort is guarded. I have booked locally as that is cheaper than via a booking website.
The lodge has a parking that was completely empty when I was there and a swimming pool entirely for me and my wife. There was no entertainment maybe because the season has ended. It might look boring but it wasn't as there is always the choice to leave the compound to have a walk in the area. There is even a possibility to get closer to the flamingos by paying a fee at the steel gate that was ahead when going from the main raid to the lodge
HOW DO YOU PAY?
You cannot pay with cash money. Payments are via M-Pesa you need to install on your mobile phone. The app is on Google Play. Download the app, install it and open an account. You deposit any amount of money of your choice into your app by going with cash to a M-Pesa shop. Give the money to the shop owner and tell that you want that money in your mobile phone. He or she will ask for your passport when you are a foreigner. Never leave the shop until it is 100% that the money is in your mobile phone.
Now back to Pelican Lodge where I was off-season,. Off-season is between January-March every year as the holiday season is from November to December.. Resorts then need to find ways to keep their businesses running. which is the best time to book.
Click on the first image to open the gallery.
