Rupi Mangat

On the plains of the Athi-Kapiti in search of the Cheetah

Published on October 19, 2019October 18, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Cheetah on the plains. Copyright Mary Wykstra founder of Action for Cheetahs

Published: 19 October 2019

It’s exciting at Lisa Ranch on the plains of the Athi-Kapiti with the iconic Lukenya stretched in the far horizon. The 6,000 acre ranch is both for livestock and wildlife and we’re here in search of the cheetah.

Thirty kilometres south-east of the ranch is Nairobi National Park and the busy Kitengela town.

In the bigger picture, Lisa Ranch is part of the Machakos ranches that are nestled between the Konza Technocity to the west and the Mombasa highway in the east with the Nairobi-Mombasa railway cutting through. This vast terrain measuring 300 square kilometres or 85,000 acres is one of the last wildlife areas that until a century ago hosted the Mount Kilimanjaro – Mount Kenya migration of wildebeest, elephants and other big game.

Wildebeest on Lisa Ranch.Copyright Rupi Mangat (800x600) — Wildebeest on Lisa Ranch.Copyright Rupi Mangat

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Rock Climbers of Lukenya Hill

Published on October 13, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Close up of the rock climber on the cliff face of Lukenya belonging to the Mountain Club of Kenya. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: The East African Nation media

It looks like Spider-Man is inching his way up a gigantic cliff. He’s spread eagle and through my zoom l see his muscles taut as he gets a foot-hold in a tiny cervix in the rock as his hand grips another to move up. It’s tense but the climber is secured to a harness for safety. Finally, he reaches the top while his mates cheer him from below. A few minutes later, he rappels down in seconds.

Tiny figure of the rock climber on the cliff face of Lukenya belonging to the Mountain Club of Kenya. Copyright Rupi Mangat one time use only (800x600) — Tiny figure of the rock climber on the cliff face of Lukenya belonging to the Mountain Club of Kenya. Copyright Rupi Mangat

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Leisurely Lunch at Malindi Sea Fishing Club: One of the oldest in the country with an exciting deco of the great fish in the ocean

Published on October 9, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: The Blue marlin, the ‘Grander’ and a shark at Malindi Sea Fishling Club. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: The East African Nation – 28 September 2019

I’m very hot and very hungry.

Jaws the Great white shark Malindi Sea Fishling Club. Copyright Rupi Mangat

It’s the middle of the day and l’m exhausted from playing tour guide to a friend, showing her places of interest in a town steeped in history from the time of Zheng He, the Chinese explorer who stopped in Malindi in the 15^th century, decades before the more famous Vasco da Gama did. Zheng He was presented with a giraffe by the Sultan of Malindi to gift to the Chinese emperor. The Chinese had never seen such an animal and it caused a stir on the streets as it was paraded down.

By lunch, l’m in want of food and a cold drink and we’re close to Malindi Sea Fishing Club which is open to all at a daily membership. It’s the ideal place to lunch in town on a hot, airless day.

It’s a quaint old club set in a pretty garden shaded by tall trees by the beach. Hoping off the tuk tuk, it’s a grand entry into the sea fishing club with a Great white shark barring its jaws at the entrance. Inside, it’s a simple old-fashioned club from the fifties with nothing ostentatious to it. Its white washed walls – or rather columns –are open without glass windows and the low walls between the columns double as benches. The long bar features cold beers and spirits. I’ve found my place at the bar. A cold G&T for me please.

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Diva Time in Kigali

Published on October 5, 2019October 4, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Moshions. Haute Couture in Kigali. Copyright Rupi Mangat.

Published 5 October 2019

I’m in the heart of mille collines – Kigali in Rwanda – and l’m having a blast. The city is sophisticated, charming, spotlessly clean and elegant that l’m cast under its spell.

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Mapping the Rock Art of Northern Kenya: Dating thousands of years ago, it’s an insight into a world that once was through art chiselled on rock by our human ancestors

Published on October 2, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: African Rock Art with giraffe illuminated against the night sky, north Kenya. Copyright: Paolo Torchio

Published: The East African Nation Media 28 September to 4 October 2019, abrdiged version

“It’s the night sky, the same night sky seen thousands of years ago by another person,” explains Paolo Torchio. “It’s what l wanted to capture.”

The image is taken in Turkana in Kenya’s northern desert lands, the bedrock of human evolution from several million years ago. The rock illuminated by a galaxy of stars shines on a giraffe chiselled on it by our human ancestors. It’s dated between 10,000 and two thousand years ago.

“The sky is the same thousands of years later,” comments Torchio, “but the landscape is not.”

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