Several colonial-era houses, a railway station, a golf course, exotic trees and an old cemetery leave no doubt that Nakuru was once the playground of British settlers before independence.
A few of their descendants are still around. Like a bowl, the town has a lake in the middle, Menengai to the east, Mau Hills to the west and other hills to the north and south.
Its warm and humid weather may have attracted the early settlers whose names are inscribed in the neglected Nakuru North cemetery.
Why do we neglect our graveyards in Africa? Some of them are at Nyahururu where South African Boers are buried. Ever visited the well-manicured Commonwealth war cemeteries?
One is warm weather. I know many people who have migrated from the colder Nyahururu to Nakuru. Nairobians rarely shift to Nakuru; they perhaps find it too slow and perhaps boring.
Nakuru is a regional centre, with county workers from neighbouring counties such as Nyandarua, Kericho, Baringo and Narok living there. Remember, it was a former provincial headquarters.
Daniel Mwaniki, an investor in Nakuru, noted that large-scale landowners have been subdividing and selling off their land.
There is plenty of land towards Njoro and Kabarak. And the cost of living in Nakuru is relatively low compared to Nairobi, according to Lillian Njue who used to live there.
John Kabucho, a certified public accountant, cites the low cost of living, fresh foods, warm weather and the cosmopolitan nature of the town as another incentive for making Nakuru his home.
Nyanduko Nyamweya adds tourist activities, from Lake Nakuru to the Menengai Crater, Soysambu and the Subukia Shrine. There is also Hell’s Gate National Park, Mt Longonot and historical houses that dot the county, including Lord Egerton Castle and several colonial-era churches. I recall diving into a hot water spa near Kariandusi.
