Rupi Mangat

Kapenguria’s Famous Address: The Kapenguria Museum

Published on January 18, 2019January 14, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Kapenguria Museum – The Heroes Cells of the Kapenguria Six on trial. Copyright Maya Mangat

Published: 19 January 2019

We’re at Barnley’s farm near Saiwa Swamp famous for its rare herd of sitatunga, the marsh-loving antelope with its water-repellent coat and splayed hooves when we learn that the road from Kitale to Kapenguria and beyond is now smooth as silk. It has the mind wandering to a destination that we hadn’t planned on doing because until recently the un-tarmacked road was treacherous despite the short distance.

Kapenguria Museum - the Heroes Cell of the Kapenguria Six. Copyright Maya Mangat — **Kapenguria Museum – the Heroes Cell of the Kapenguria Six. Copyright Maya Mangat**

Kapenguria was the place in the 1950s that the colonial government saw fit to have the famous freedom fighters arrested and tried in a place that boasted a path for a road minus any modern amenity like electricity and running water. Continue reading “Kapenguria’s Famous Address: The Kapenguria Museum” →

The Sitatunga of Saiwa Swamp

Published on January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Sitatunga in Saiwa Swamp National Park. Copyright Maya Mangat

Published: 12 January 2019

It’s the last days of 2018 and we’re en route in search of things still not seen over the many years. Topping the list is the sitatunga of Saiwa Swamp past Kitale. The sitatunga is special for it is strange and rare, an antelope of the swamps and the only protected area to see it is at Saiwa Swamp National Park that measures a paltry 2.9 square kilometres. It takes pride of place as Kenya’s smallest national park.

bridge through saiwa swamp copyright maya mangat — Bridge across Saiwa Swamp. Copyright Maya Mangat

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Underground River, Coffee and Birding in Juja

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

Above: Osprey in Juja. Copyright James Kashangaki

Published: 5 January2019

When Elspeth Huxley penned the Flame Trees of Thika, the road out of Nairobi in 1913 was very different from the Thika super-highway we are driving on to reach Juja, 40 kilometres away. Her description from the novel is of her as a six-year old with her mother on an ox wagon travelling out of Nairobi to meet her father who has just acquired virgin land that’s deemed to be great for coffee farming.

Pygmy Kingfisher. Copyright James Kashangaki (800x601) — Pygmy Kingfisher. Copyright James Kashangaki

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Wandering in Vuria and Iyale on the Mist Mountains of the Taita Hills

Published on December 29, 2018December 24, 2018 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Tree Fern Forest in Vuria. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 29 December 2018

Giant lobelias in Vuria. Copyright Rupi Mangat

It’s a hide-and-seek game with the mist and the mountains. Standing at the base of Vuria, the rock peaks vanish in the white mist only to reappear and vanish time and again. Vuria is the highest hill of the Taita Hills. The hill tops are draped in ancient forest surrounded by local homesteads and farms of the Taita people.

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Terrific Time in the Mist-Clad Taita Hills

Published on December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Part 1 of 2

Above: Ngangao Cliff face that is part of the Taita Hills. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 22 December 2018

Nestled in Ngangao on the ancient hills of the Easter Arc Mountains

I love the forests of the Taita Hills because they are one of the most amazing places on earth. Rising from the plains, the massifs of the magical mist mountains straddle the skyline near Voi and are the northern extreme of the Eastern Arc Mountains. Like beads on a string the first to show by the side of the road is the single massif of Mbololo, followed by the Dabida cache of hills and then the Sagalla Hill that frames the town of Voi surrounded by sisal plantations on red soils.

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