Kenya is one of the thirteen countries in the world that the Equator runs through. This gives visitors the unique opportunity to visit the location where the earth is divided into a Northern and a Southern hemisphere. The specific spot is called ‘Equator Crossing Mogotio’ and is a couple hours up from Lake Nakuru.

Lake Naivasha is in the opposite direction of the equator, so we had to back track a couple hours, but there’s no way to avoid the route anyway as that’s the way back to Nairobi. We stayed at the Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge and it was an absolutely wonderful experience! The ‘rooms’ are technically small villas that a spread out around the property. The lodge is open for wildlife to wander in so deer and giraffes were usually always grazing in the backyard. It’s an unbelievable sight to wake up in the morning and look outside.

Lake Naivasha is known for its Hippopotamus population. Hippo’s are considered dangerous and easily agitated, something that animated movies did not prepare me for! Our hotel had a strict policy of calling for an escort every time we needed to get to the main building for dinner (a 5 min walk) or came back to the resort late after a game drive. Turns out, hippos are frequent night time visitors, drawn to the vegetation in the gardens to feed on. It was very hard to spot one in the dark with an untrained eye. But once our escort pointed them out to me, I realized there were several of them around us in the dark!

Last stop before we made our way back to Nairobi, was the Crescent Island on Lake Naivasha. This is a paradise for bird watchers! The island is also heavily populated with wildlife.