Lake Duluti: Trip V

Baby monitor lizard

We didn't realize it, but we hadn't visited Lake Duluti in nearly a year (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III, Trip IV). The last time we were there we took two friends of ours on an "intro to birding" type trip, though I didn't blog about it here for some reason. I think Duluti got put in the back of our minds as a result of us always pushing for longer and further away trips. Duluti always seems like an easy day trip since it takes about an hour to get there and non birders will probably finish up before lunch time. We also love it for the fact that it provides a nice walk, with a well trodden trail circumventing the crater lake in a sliver of forest.

We arrived to Duluti at about 10am and did our usual walk along the crater rim. There is a short trail that leads to an area that has been informally colonized by a religious group. There is a nice little walk and views of the plains on one side, and the lake and Mt. Meru on the other. The religious group has a somewhat permanent presence there but we discovered on Sunday it was even more busy. We cut our walk a bit short to avoid a man that was pacing around half attempting to speak in tongues and half preaching.

We had a coffee and a snack down at the lake where there is a very adequate picnic area. The long grasses to the north of the lake were cut back, which is odd as we've always seen it high and full of Taveta Golden Weavers. We saw a very happy tourist coming off a canoe trip, said hi, and then carried on to the walk around the lake.

The most notable thing of the trip was the presence of many tiny monitor lizards. The monitor lizards here are of the same family as the more notorious "Komodo Dragon" and they grow up to a meter (3-4 ft) long. The juvenile monitors looked more like the everyday lizards but still retained their distinct crocodile like gait and unique shape. They weren't as skittish as the adults at the lake and we enjoyed a mini photo shoot with some.

We promised ourselves to return to Duluti sooner than one year! As always, the walk was enjoyable and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.