Hell's Gate

The inspiration for Pride Rock
     Hell's Gate National Park lies a few miles south of Naivasha.  Comprising about 26 square miles, it is named after a break in the cliffs that is visible for miles around.  The park was the inspiration for The Lion King.  There is a tall pinnacle of rock from which Pride Rock was modeled.

Warthogs
    Emily, Joan and I took a day trip to go and check it out.  Most of Hell's Gate is wide-open, dry, scrubby plains, but with steep, dramatic cliffs in the background.  There is wildlife in abundance: zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, warthogs, gazelles, antelope, buffalo, baboons, all sorts of birds, and much more.  The park also features hot springs, as there is also much geo-thermal activity. 

 
This guy hopped up on the hood and would not get off!
    As we entered the park and were driving along the park road, we see a baboon up ahead, sitting right in the middle of the road.  We stop and honk the horn.  But then the baboon hops up on the hood of car!  He looks right at us thru the windshield.  He's a very large male.  Quickly, roll up the windows!  Baboons are mean, nasty creatures and you definitely do not want a personal encounter with one.

      But now, how do we get rid of him?  Emily tries jerking the car forward and backward - but the dang critter just holds on tighter!  Honking and yelling doesn't work either.  This guy has evidently learned that, if he is persistent enough, sooner or later the humans will throw him some food.  We consider just driving around the park all day with a baboon on the hood …

 
Scrubby plains, dramatic cliffs, and zebras
     What other tools do we have?  What the heck, try the windshield wipers.  The motion of the wipers gets his attention; he looks frightened for a moment - and then finally jumps off.  We skedaddle out of there before he changes his mind!
Down in The Gorge
     Our big excursion will be a hike thru The Gorge.  It's about a 3 or 4 miles long thru some really rugged terrain.  The Gorge follows a small creek.  It's narrow, and the walls are high and steep.  There are numerous waterfalls of various heights.

      We hire a guide named Hassan.  These guides are provided by the Park Service.  Hassan, a native Kenyan, was about my height, maybe 120 pounds, but as spry and strong and agile as a mountain gazelle.  He could scamper up and down rocks effortlessly.  He told Joan that he would be her "human walking stick", and there were some rough spots where she definitely needed his assistance.  A couple of times, he actually lifted her up and carried her on his shoulder!

Bright green algae indicates hot water spring
Joan gets a helping hand
   

Pumice is very light

We just climbed up from way down there!

    












At several spots in The Gorge, we came across hot springs, tricking down from the rocks above.  You could always tell from a distance that the water was hot because of the bright green algae that would grow there.  At one spot, Hassan told us to poke a finger down into the sand a couple of inches.  Just an inch below the surface, it was scalding hot!

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