Category: Safari Stories

Revelling in the Sekerr Range

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Part 1 of 2

Above: Baboon parliament on Kaimot Hill in Sekerr Range. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published 24 August 2019 saturday Nation magazine

Little known and shrouded in secrecy, the Sekerr range is a striking feature of the Pokot land in north-western Kenya. Reaching Kapenguria at dusk from South Nandi forest we’re unsure whether we should drive at night into unknown territory.

“It’s safe,” replies John Yoposiwa Ywalasiwa the highland Pokot and our host at Mt Mtelo Eco Lodge. “I’ll be waiting for you at Maarich Pass trading centre.”

It’s a downhill road following the curve of the Cheranganis – only we can’t see the massif blanketed in darkness. Ortum the town before Maarich Pass trading centre is lit with electricity and an hour later, we meet Ywalasiwa and follow him on his pikipiki up into the Sekerr Mountains. The darkness is absolute save for the stars sparkling like jewels flung in the sky.

Mtelo View Eco Lodge. Accommodation in Mtelo Banda facing peak of Mt Mtelo. Copyright Rupi Mangat (800x450)
Mtelo View Eco Lodge. Accommodation in Mtelo Banda facing peak of Mt Mtelo. Copyright Rupi Mangat

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The Unique Kitich Camp of Samburu

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Above: Kitich Forest Camp – Dinner under the stars with a herd of elephants.

Published: The East African Nation media – FEBRUARY 13 2015

It’s the deep-throated growl of the lion that alerts us that he’ around. The sound wafts through the forest night uninterrupted by any other. Seated by the open glade of grass where the river flows, we’re surrounded by silhouettes of the mountain peaks rising 6,000 feet high, visible in the glare of the full moon. Decked in a mesmerizing forest of sky-spiraling trees and endemic cycads that have been here since the time of the dinosaur, l scan the glade beyond for a glimpse of the mighty king of beast. But it’s only his growl that gives him away – and the hidden camera.

Kitich Forest Camp - The island forests of Mathews Range in the semi-arid north Kenyain d
Kitich Forest Camp – The island forests of Mathews Range in the semi-arid north Kenya drylands

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Mid-year Mara

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Above: Maasai giraffe, mother and calf. In Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 27 Juy 2019

It’s the mid-year bonanza in the Maasai Mara. It’s lush and green after a long dry spell. We’re in the south-eastern part of the 1,510-square-kilometre park that is a continuation of the 14,750-square-kilometres Serengeti National Park.

It is this enormous space that is world-famous as big game country: big for the huge herds of wildebeest, big for the big cats, big for the world’s largest land mammal – the elephant and big for the tallest – the giraffe. There are so many superlatives that describe the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem that it is mind-boggling.

June 2019 Wildebeest arriving from Serengeti into Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat (800x600)
June 2019 Wildebeest arriving from Serengeti into Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat

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Gone to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Above: CBD Goma. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 20 July 2019

Congo’s been my dream destination even before Nyiragongo erupted in 2002 and nearly wiped out the little town of Goma in eastern DRC that’s on the shores of Lake Kivu and neighbouring Rwanda. The country is gigantic and the second largest in Africa, the Congo River sways 3,000 kilometres across its girth flowing through the mighty Congo forest which like the Amazon forest is a major lung of our planet. The river empties with such force into the Atlantic that for 200 kilometres into the ocean the water is said to be fresh.

2002 Nyiragngo lava near Goma.. Courtest Bantou Mangat (800x450)
2002 Nyiragngo lava near Goma.. Courtest Bantou Mangat

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At Kahuzi Biega in Search of the Endemic Grauer’s Gorilla in DR Congo

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Above: Life-size statue of Grauer’s gorilla at Kahuzi-Biega National Park, DRC. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 13 July 2019

Part 2 of 2

While waiting for the great gorilla safari planned for the following day from Bukavu on the shores of Lake Kivu in the Albertine Rift, the taxi driver arrives for the chimpanzee sanctuary in Lwiro that is 50 kilometers away.

Rescued Chimpanzees at Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center. Copyright Rupi Mangat (800x600)
Rescued Chimpanzees at Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center. Copyright Rupi Mangat

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