Safari Stories

On The Heights of Elgon

Published on by Rupi Mangat3 Comments

Above: Mount Elgon. Copyright Maya Mangat

Published: 2 February 2019

The grand massif dominates the western skyline around Kitale. Superlatives describe it as the oldest extinct volcano in East Africa dated at 24 million years ago – much older than the 19,340-foot tall, three-million-year old Kilimanjaro that is Africa’s tallest.

With an eighty kilometre diameter, Elgon also boasts the largest volcanic base in the world. It would have once towered over Kilimanjaro but over millennia much of it has been eroded to leave behind dramatic bare faced cliffs and peaks with the highest, Wagagai at 14,177 feet in Uganda. Elgon now is East Africa’s fourth and Africa’s eighth highest mountain with a dramatic 40-square-kilometre caldera.

wild flowers on endebess cliff mount elgon copyright maya mangat dec 2018 (800x450)

Wild flowers on Endebess cliff on Mount Elgon. Copyright Maya Mangat

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Wandering Through Kitale Nature Conservancy

Published on by Rupi Mangat2 Comments

Above: Kitale Nature Conservancy police. Copyright Maya Mangat

Published: 26 January 2019

It’s been an exciting night camping in Saiwa Swamp National Park sandwiched between Mount Elgon and the Cherangani Hills. After a filling breakfast at the roadside kiosk near the park, we’re off to Mount Elgon, Africa’s eighth highest peak. A sign near Kitale perks our interest – it’s Kitale Nature Conservancy.

kitale nature conservancy entrance. copyright maya mangat dec 2018 (800x450)
Kitale Nature Conservancy entrance. Copyright Maya Mangat

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Kapenguria’s Famous Address: The Kapenguria Museum

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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

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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

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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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