February - Crater Lake

During February I decided to arrange a weekend visit to Naivasha Lake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Naivasha and Crater Lake for my birthday http://www.lonelyplanet.com/kenya/the-rift-valley/lake-naivasha/sights/volcano/crater-lake-game . We stayed at Camp Carnelley’s  http://www.campcarnelleys.com/ on the Friday night (refer earlier blog for new year 2012) and then visited Crater Lake http://www.mericagrouphotels.com/craterlake/ on the Saturday. 

Crater Lake is an extinct volcano with a lake inside (as teh name suggests) it is a  conservation area and privately run. There is an exclusive hotel with only about 12 amazing rooms. Each is in a separate enclosure from the other and all are inside the crater. The experience of the crater is amazing as there are few visitors due to it being quite a trek - a 20-30 min matatu (around 50 shillings each way I think from memory) from Naivasha and then a 15-20 minute piki ride (200-300 shillings each way) from there (unless you have your own vehicle of course). 
To stay the night is very special due to the limitations on numbers who can stay. The tranquillity is amazing and the sound of the animals enclosed in the bowl of the crater is an amazing experience. In the morning we sat on the terrace as the sun rose and the animals began their morning rituals – awesome. After breakfast we walked around the crater rim with views of the giraffes, buffalo, antelopes, birds of prey etc. We only saw 5 other people on the whole 3 hour walk. Such isolation, silence, proximity to animals without being accompanied by a guide is very special and worth the trip. Finally before leaving we had a late Sunday lunch on a floating pontoon, when we had the treat of the lone hippo popping it's head up just 5 metres away..... magical. Well recommended.