A family's enduring connection with the beauty of Lake Nakuru

 

A gentle breeze carried a sweet scent of acacia blossoms as Thelma Hall, a frail yet vibrant 95-year-old woman, sits on the verandah of a wooden-roofed house she once called home.

Sitting beside her is her daughter, Susan, who keeps jogging her mind as they gazed out at the sprawling landscape that has transformed from a familiar cattle ranch -70 years ago - into the iconic Lake Nakuru National Park.

“It is a place that feels like home. It brings us a lot of the memories that we had as a family before Kenya gained independence. It is a place we love visiting to reminisce about their past and watch the wildlife,” Susan says.

In 1957, John Hall, Thelma’s husband, who passed away in 2020, managed the then 30,000-acre Nderit Estate cattle ranch on behalf of Claudia Hamilton, a fellow white settler.

He lived within the expansive ranch with his family before moving out to Laikipia in 1963 when the land was sold.

But even after moving out of the property that now commands global attention as one of the prime parks in the country, a Key Biodiversity Area and a World Heritage site, the haunting beauty of the park has kept the family trooping back almost twice a year since the time they left.

They spend their stay in some of the century-old Nderit historical rooms, which they used to live in.  The historical buildings are now part of the Lake Nakuru Lodge.

Despite Thelma’s frail body and the occasional lapses in conversation, her memory is a treasure trove of stories and anecdotes occasionally interjecting into the conversation with a wealth of memories and emotions.

For close to 70 years now, Susan and her mother Thelma have kept the family ritual alive.

They have spent numerous evenings watching the sun dipping below the horizon casting long, dancing shadows across the once-familiar landscape.

They have witnessed Nakuru town grow from a single street to a city, watched the thousands of buffaloes replace cattle, witnessed the once tiny lake Nakuru shrink to a bowl of dust in the late 1950s and early 60s, and ballooning to almost four times its initial size. 

“At one point, the lake almost dried up. I remember several instances of whirlwinds that blew out dust from the lake basin into the houses. It is interesting watching how the lake has swelled to almost four times its initial size!” Susan, now 76, says.

In the face of changing climate, they have watched Lake Nakuru transform from its pink plumage courtesy of millions of flamingos to a shadow of its former self- lesser and lesser flamingos- but with the emergence of other species like fish and birds.

“In those days, the flamingos would take off from the lake, flying hundreds above our roof. It was such a sight to behold, memories that just never go away,” Thelma says.

For Susan, who schooled at Nakuru Primary School, the memories of running into lions and leopards and picking flamingo feathers washed offshore remain some of the memories she holds so deeply. She knows almost every corner of the park, from Lion hill, the fascinating Makalia falls and her favourite Enasoit Hill.

“Enasoit hill was my father’s favourite spot, a beautiful rocky hill where we would watch birds. When we moved to Laikipia, we carried along the name Enasoit to name our ranch. Even today, I named my home Enasoit because it is a name that evokes fondest memories,” Susan, now 76 says.

To document her closest ties with nature and fond memories of the wild places she grew up in Kenya, Susan has since written a book titled, “My vanishing African dreams” which features her unusual and exciting life and experiences in Nakuru and Laikipia.

The duo say they would not have wished to have the ranch converted into anything more beautiful than the park. “It is still as fantastic as it was many years ago and we are glad that it was turned into a national park for everyone else to enjoy these scenic views and abundance in wildlife,” Susan says.

Joseph Muya, marketing director of Lake Nakuru Lodge, says that the lodge has preserved as much history as possible to tell the stories behind it.

“Some buildings here were put up in 1929 and are still preserved very well. They are our antique treasures which we would like our visitors to have a feel. Each room is a unique blend of classic charm and modern comfort,” Muya says.

Muya says they spend not less than five days in the lodge whenever the family visits. 

“Hosting the same family for close to seven decades is interesting. The kind of love they developed for this particular park is amazing. In this particular visit, they have been here for five days and they will be back here again in December,” Muya says.

Even as Thelma and her daughter Susan continue keeping the memories of a family that once comprised of four members, of which the father and the son have since passed on, they say the memories of visiting Lake Nakuru makes them complete.