When I was 18 and volunteering in Kenya the one thing everyone said you had to do was go on safari. I was happy to do that, but I was also happy to forgo the more typical Masai Mara National Reserve and go off the beaten track -- northern Kenya! The ultimate destination was Lake Turkana, supposedly the source of the Nile, with crocodiles, hippos and Nile perch, but I saw none of these (I think I even tempted fate by swimming in the lake at night despite the crocodile warnings!).
It's part of the Rift Valley, is the world's largest desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake and is an amazing bioreserve, despite its appearance of being devoid of life. These pictures (from 1998!) don't really give the impression of its turquoise color. It's a saline, jade-colored desert lake, the 4th biggest in Africa, and it feels like the middle of nowhere.
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| Looking over the drive down to the lake. This gives you a good idea of the landscape surrounding the lake -- not a tree in sight anywhere! |
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| Our village when viewed from the water -- simple reed huts and a common room. |
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| Visiting a Turkana tribal village near the central park of the lake, |
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/801
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