Livestock graze in lake that led Scot to discover waterfall

By Moses Njagih and James Munyeki

The Scottish geologist and explorer Joseph Thomson, after whom the Thomson Falls in Nyahururu are named, would not recognise the scenic beauty that attracted him to Kenya’s highest town if he passed by today.

Once inhabited by sea creatures such as hippopotamuses, what remains of Lake Ol Bolossat in Central Province is a patch of water where animals graze and drink water. Photo: Standard

And even if he did, he would think twice before naming it after himself.

The one time attraction, which fascinated locals and tourists alike, has paled over the years since it was ‘discovered’ by the Scot in 1883 and would today fittingly be called a stream than a waterfall.

It is said the reason behind this is the decrease in water volumes of Lake Ol Bolossat, which feeds it.

Folklore has it that the explorer, after discovering the Aberdare ranges arrived at this massive lake and triggered by his "experimental" nature, took a motorboat and rode 40km until he reached and ‘discovered’ the falls.

Voluminous lake

Though there have been efforts in the last three decades to conserve the once voluminous lake, at one time considered an important bird area in international circles, salvaging the feature from eventually drying now looks humongous.

Despite the heavy rains that have pounded the area in recent months, the deepest part of the lake, fed by tributaries flowing from the Aberdare, and which serves as the catchment for the Ewaso Nyiro River, is hardly a metre deep.

Of course cows, like the wildebeest, are known to cross rivers, but here they need not swim, as the waters are not even knee high. They just tread and feed on the vegetation that is in plenty.

Local church elder Stefano Ndiang’ui, 68, recalls with nostalgia the once massive lake whose waters he watched diminish and the shores rapidly recede to the current worrying levels. The birds and the hippopotamuses that dominated the lake are nowhere to be seen. It is easier for you to spot a cow inside the lake than a sea animal.

The PCEA church elder recounted to The Standard how, growing up as children, they had been told of Joseph Thompson’s adventure that led to the discovery of the falls that lies a few kilometres from Lake Ol Bolossat.

The more than 40km wide lake has diminished to only a few metres of swamps, leaving huge tracts of shores where human settlements have been erected. The only evidence of the extent of the alkaline-water-lake to visitors are the rocky escarpments on the shores, some of which have now been put to human activities.

"I have seen the lake since I was a small boy and calling what you now see a lake is an abuse of the term," Ndiang’ui tells The Standard team that toured the site. He adds: "What has sadly remained of the famous Ol Bolossat are patches of water that can hardly trouble even a child."

Bird species

Ndian’gui says when he was a child, the area around the lake was sparsely populated and the lake was a massive phenomenon that was home to many species of birds and other aquatic animals.

Farmers along the shores of the lake have diverted tributaries that fed the lake.

A farmer, Cecilia Njoki, cannot agree more.

"It is difficult now to find hippos yet a few years ago they were a constant menace as they strayed from the lake to our farms. The decreasing waters means they can no longer survive and many have died," she says.

Herders have come from as far as Baragoi in Samburu to graze their animals at the shores of the Ol Bolossat.

When The Standard visited the area, more than 2,000 animals were freely grazing in the ‘lake’, with goats enjoying the alkalinity in the soil left behind as the water recedes day by day.

Lemeleng Koit migrated with his animals from Baragoi.

Drying up

"I have been coming here over the years and I think with the rate the lake is drying up, there will not be any water in the next year or two. It would, however, serve us good as this would increase our grazing land," says Koit, oblivious of the dangers that are likely to emerge. This would also lead to the drying up of Ewaso Nyiro, which is also relied upon by thousands of the herders downstream.

But venture towards conservation of the lake, dubbed Lake Ol Bolossat Management Plan 2008-2013 is reassuring.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director Julius Kipng’etich decries the wanton land use over the years, and blames it for the current state of affairs.

"Human settlement, small and large-scale intensive agriculture, ranching and forestry threaten the sustainable development and conservation of Lake Ol Bolossat catchment’s ecosystem," he says.

Scot explorer Joseph Thomson said to have discovered the falls in Nyahururu.

The director says past initiatives that would have saved the lake were largely ineffective, as they were not well co-ordinated. The community around the lake was also not involved and sensitised in the efforts.

Kipng’etich says there has been lack of a framework that integrates and guides the conservation initiatives, which led the KWS, National Environment Management Authority and other stakeholders to develop the current plan to save the lake.

Ndiang’ui says the lake started drying up when human activities were allowed inside the Aberdare Forest, where the lake drew its tributaries.

Its tributaries

The last nail on the coffin may have been in the early 90s when the Government allowed people to settle at the shores of the lake, which resulted to massive farming and redirecting of streams for irrigation purposes.

This also led to the siltation of the lake due to soil erosion.

Hopes that Lake Ol Bolossat will regain its waters are pegged on the new management plan. Whether the initiative succeeds as planned by 2013 remains to be seen. Posterity would need to see the lake, and the waterfall, instead of relying on folklores.