Busily skiininiiig the surface of the foul water with tlieir bills 



FLAMINGOS OF LAKE HANNINGTON, AFRICA 



By Carl E. Akclct/ 



LAKE Hannington lies just under the I.aikipia Escarpment at the 

 east side of the Rift Valley, a few miles north of the Equator, Lake 

 Baringo better known to sportsmen Ijeing about twenty miles 

 farther north. The caravan route from Nakuro on the Uganda railway 

 to Lake Baringo swings in close to the escarpment just at the north end of 

 Hannington, and travelers usually get their first ^•iew of the lake at this 

 point where few flamingos are to be seen except in breeding season and 

 where the water is shallow, bordered by low mud flats crusted with a deposit 

 of salts mingled with feathers, bones and the droppings of the great colony. 

 If the general unattractiveness of the place as seen from the north end 

 were not sufficient to discourage a disposition to explore the lake, the sicken- 

 ing stench from the green waters must dishearten anyone who has not a 

 definite object in further investigation. It is not strange that so few have 

 seen the real beauties of Hannington. 



On our first visit to the lake in January, 1910, we were fortunate in our 

 ignorance of the region. We ai:)proached from Eldama Ravine on the 

 west side of the Rift Valley and having had a glimpse of the lake from an 

 elevation before reaching the Nakuro-Baringo trail, we kept on our way 

 across to a spur of the escarpment that rises abruptly from the south end 

 of the lake, ignoring the trail which would have leil us to the north end. 

 After we had gained the one glimpse of the lake and had taken our bearings, 

 we continued on through a hot, waterless, thornbush region for several hours, 

 hoping as we ascendetl each rise to see the lake again. It lies low in a 

 secondary rift of its own however, and long before we caught the second 

 glimpse of it, we began to fear that we had been following a mirage. 



As we neared the escarpment we found a small stream of crystal clear 

 water, and although it was too warm to be palatable, we were delighted 

 with the discovery since the porters and horses were sadly in need of water. 

 We decided to make camp here and while selecting a place for the tents, the 



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