Safari Stories

Sign to Murchison Falls on the Nile at Paraa Copyright Rupi Mangat

Made it to Murchison Falls, Uganda

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Part 1 of 2

Published in Saturday Nation 12 August 2017

Just 20-feet wide and 130 feet down - the whole of Victoria pours its waters into this magnificent river at Murchison Falls Copyright Rupi Mangat
Just 20-feet wide and 130 feet down – the whole of Victoria pours its waters into this magnificent river at Murchison Falls Copyright Rupi Mangat

In 1907, Winston Churchill the English statesman stood where we stand and exclaimed ’10 pounds will suffice to throw an iron bride across’. We’re on top of Murchison Falls, our faces wet with the spray of the water where the mighty Nile, reputed to be the world’s longest river squeezes through its narrowest point – just 20 feet across to crash some 130 feet down over red rocks that gleam in the morning sun.

What Winston said in 1907 – The iron bridge over Murchison Falls built in 1960 but got washed away Copyright Rupi Mangat
At Murchison Falls national Park inthe sturdy Toyota Crown Royal Saloon 1985 model – not a single puncture the entire 2,000km safari – copyright Rupi Mangat
Crossing the Nile – on the ferry near Paraa Safari Lodge Copyright Rupi Mangat

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Zooming in to Murchison Falls from the boat Copyright Rupi Mangat

Epic Safari to Murchison Falls

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The falls raged – our faces wet with the spray of water. Not from any ordinary river but the great Nile. Here we were, my nephew and l standing on sheer rock, spell bound by the force of the falls.

Murchison Falls - from the top. The Bakers' chanced upon it in 1864 coming back from Lake Albert (again they were the first European explorers to see it). Their boat was raised out of the water by a hippo and they had to jump on shore! Copyright: Rupi Mangat
Murchison Falls – from the top. The Bakers’ chanced upon it in 1864 coming back from Lake Albert (again they were the first European explorers to see it). Their boat was raised out of the water by a hippo and they had to jump on shore! Copyright: Rupi Mangat
The Nile crocodile on the banks of the Nile near Murchison Falls - copyright Rupi Mangat
The Nile crocodile on the banks of the Nile near Murchison Falls – copyright Rupi Mangat

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Approaching Lamu Stone Town on Lamu island Photo: Maya Mangat

Nyota House in Stone Town Lamu

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Published Saturday Magazine,Nation newspaper 5 August 2017

“This part of town was called Utukuni,” states Hadija Ernst of Save Lamu, a coalition of 36 local NGOs to promote Lamu’s sustainable development, while protecting its culture, history and natural resources.

Utukuni in Kiswahili means market. “It was a market street where the merchants had their warehouses.”

Rooftop Nyota House Photo: Maya Mangat
Rooftop view of Lamu from Nyota House Photo: Maya Mangat
Inside garden of Swahili House Museum with the central well to draw fresh water Photo: Maya Mangat

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Legend of the Spire at A.I.C. Nyahururu Copyright Maya Mangat

Nyahururu’s Historical Church

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Published Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 29 July 2017

Above: A.I.C. Church Nyahururu

A tall silver spire breaks the tree line beyond the gorge of the Ewaso Nyiro River flowing from Thomson’s Falls in Nyahururu. “It’s an old church,” tells Pushpa Ratna of Nyahururu Panari, that’s sandwiched between the gorge and Marmanet forest, and within an easy walk to the hippo pools and the historic falls first reported to the outside world by the intrepid Joseph Thomson in 1883. He is also the first European to walk from the coast to Lake Victoria through central Kenya which was deemed dangerous because of the fearsome Maasai.

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Faceted City – Nairobi

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Published Saturday magazine Nation media 22 July 2017

Above: Models in elaborately beaded costumes from Cameroon at African Heritage House – Picture copyright Gilbert Otieno

The old train streams out on the century-old metal sleepers of what was then the Uganda Railway. Leaving Nairobi Railway Station that is a historical building, the train slowly passes by a city that a hundred years ago was filled with swamps, grasslands and wildlife like rhino and lions. Continue reading “Faceted City – Nairobi” →