By Steve Mkawale
Over the years, Lake Nakuru National Park has been marketed as a major tourist attraction site.
The park continues to attract many local and foreign tourists.
It is one of the leading revenue earners for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an organisation that manages the natural resource.
A site at the Hyrax Hill Pre-Historic site in Nakuru |
A recent fire that destroyed the park could be a blessing in disguise, as tourists’ attention is shifting to other sites in town, such as Hyrax Hill Pre-Historic site.
It is one of the most attractive natural environment spots in the country, yet is little known due to poor marketing.
Hyrax, four kilometres from Nakuru town, off the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, is a globally known archaeological centre.
It was here, in the 18th century, that British settlers discovered Iron Age fossils.
The fossils, dating back 5,000 years, have provided information about the original communities in the Rift Valley Province.
A preserved hyrax at the museum Photos: Lucas Thuo/Standard] |
Most of the residents are also ignorant of the site’s importance or activities.
"I have lived in Nakuru for many years, but have never been interested in discovering Hyrax," says Ms Jane Nyambura, 34.
Unlike the world famous park, renowned for millions of the pink flamingos and thousands of other bird species, Hyrax rarely attracts tourists.
While the national park boasts an annual revenue of more than Sh500 million, Hyrax is rarely visited.
"This site has tourism potential just like the park’s, but it is yet to be fully exploited, due to poor marketing. We stay here the whole day without seeing anyone," says a worker.
Animal collection
Tortoises, the mystic land reptiles, are part of site’s animal collection.
Three years ago, the museum established a tortoise pit, which is one of the major attractions.
The Deputy Museum Curator, Mr Peter Talam, says the tortoise-breeding project is intended to conserve wildlife and provide an opportunity for tourism and research.
The animals are found in the natural environment or donated by locals, who get them from the bushes near the site.
Although Hyrax, which was discovered by the Louis Leakey family in the early 1920s, has been mentioned in a few hotel brochures and some websites, nothing much has been done to market it.
The Menengai Crater is another site in the region that has been all but neglected.
Although the crater has a historic connection with Lake Nakuru, little has been done to promote it as tourism site.
"It is time the local authorities (Nakuru municipality and county councils) pull resources and start marketing the crater as a tourist attraction site," says the chairman of Nakuru Business Association, Mr Peter Njeru.
Njeru says if the same attention given to the park were directed to marketing the other areas, it would boost the councils’ revenue.
He admits that Menengai Crater and Hyrax Hill have not been well marketed by the Kenya Tourist Board.
Menengai Crater is an extinct volcano that is over 2,200 metres high, eight kilometres from Nakuru town.
It plunges 500m down from the rim, and offers a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside, nature reserve, and Nakuru town.
The crater offers an excellent opportunity for hiking to the rim.
Apart from the panoramic view, myths about its origins and nature abound.
Sometimes back, there was a proposal for the construction of an information centre at the crater, where tourists could obtain information about its volcanic history and other related data.
Currently, tourists visiting the crater depend on information supplied by a group of youth operating curio shops there.
However, the Ministry of Roads has allocated money for the rehabilitation of the road that leads to the crater.
Tourism site
Roads Assistant Minister Lee Kinyanjui, who is also Nakuru Town MP, says the ministry has set aside Sh8 million for the works.
"Rehabilitation of the road will start soon and we hope the improvement would boost the potential of the crater as a tourism site," he says.
Already, a group of youth with an eye for business has set up curio shops at the edge of the crater.
Njoro River Caves is another historical site that has been forgotten.
Archaeologist Mary Leakey excavated blades, beads, and vessels that were evidence of cremation rituals.
Despite being a major historical site, the caves have been neglected and there is hardly anything to indicate their importance in the evolution of man.
