Exploring Ruma National Park

Located in Homabay, Ruma National Park sits on a massive of 120 square kilometers. It is literally in the middle of nowhere This park is off the beaten path, the road to the park is quite rough. Brace yourself for a 12-kilometer snail paced off road bumpy ride to the gate of the park, which took us a little over an hour.

This was a good time for us to bond and sing to our favorite jams while traversing into unknown paths. Finally, we got to the gate at around 1:00 pm. That was quite late for a game drive. Nevertheless, we were there to have an enjoyable time.

The first thing we notice is how “exclusive” the park is. There is just one KWS guard at the gate she was quite pleasant. Make sure you have M-Pesa, credit or debit card because they don’t allow cash payments.  We get the ticketing business out of the way and the nice KWS warden advises us on the best route to take within the park to ensure maximum viewing of animals. This park has no maps to take with you so make sure you are attentive to the instructions. Nyamu was clever enough to take a picture of the map at the gate. We are pumped, we just endured a 1hr drive on a rough road. This park better deliver, not just for us, but for you guys too.

We drive in, and for the first 20 minutes, it was the drive without the game. We saw no animals, now we start wondering what kind of park is this, where are the animals, and why did we choose this park? But since we are here, what choice do we have but to make the whole drive. We had set our expectations to zero and enjoyment to 100.

All of a sudden we see one giraffe. That long neck popping out of the grasslands. The look on Nyamu’s face, priceless. The excitement was high because the animal drought was real. We take tons of pictures of the one giraffe. We were the paparazzi, she was the celebrity. We continue our drive and all of sudden, we see about 30 giraffes, all at once. Nyamu was literally hyperventilating almost to a point of concern. Giraffes are her favorite animals. If asked, she could be one in another life. This is serious eye candy, we spend about 20 minutes just taking it all in and capturing pictures. There is something about the experience that a picture cannot capture.  Nyamu doesn’t want to leave the giraffes. But we must go, this park is not all about giraffes. Turns out this park is a hidden gem, we viewed herds of buffaloes, the Roan antelope, Oribi antelope, bohor reedbuck, zebras and guess what more giraffes. This park is also a great spot for bird watching, if you are into that.

Enough of the stories. Here are some pictures. Ruma National Park is a treasure, and it offers a very intimate safari experience, of all the 120sq kms, we saw just one other car. Although we didn’t have a lot of time, it’s a priceless experience to be driving in a park with just your babe and the wild. The scenery and landscaping is picturesque.

Travel tips:

1. Get there in good time to get the ultimate experience
2. Carry a snack or packed lunch. We bought the big 500ml sodas and some buns on the main road and they came in handy. The website says you can picnic in the park, we didn’t see a picnic site and weren’t too excited about getting out of the car in a national park.
3. A 4×4 is preferable because the roads are rough and if it rains it gets worse. However, any car with a good driver can make the drive.
4. Take selfies with the giraffes J
5. Take your time.