Tag: kenya

Exploring Kenya’s Northern Scapes

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Above: Campfire at Melako community conservancy – Marsabit county. courtesy NRT

Published: The East African Nation media 16-22 May 2020

After COVID-19, escape to Kenya’s northern-scape or even now if you’re not in Nairobi or Mombasa during

By Rupi Mangat

It is from the shoulder of god’s mountain that you get that first unforgettable view of the land below that stretches into infinity. It’s the plains and peaks of the northern frontiers of Kenya that is so alive with peoples, wildlife and cultures unique to this part of the world, adapted to the searing sun and resilient flora.

Until 20 years ago most of it was unknown to the outside world until the success of Lewa Conservancy that became one of the first black rhino sanctuaries during the infamous poaching era that saw the country’s rhino numbers crash from 20,000 black rhino in the 1970s to fewer than 300 by the 1980s.

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Maasai giraffe at Ecoscapes Conservancy Lake Naivasha

A Weekend Away on Lake Naivasha

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By Rupi Mangat

Above: Maasai giraffe at Ecoscapes Conservancy Lake Naivasha

Published: Saturday Nation 4 April 2020

We’re in a land from the time of the dinosaurs. While there may or may not have been dinosaurs around Lake Naivasha, there’s a tiny wasp that has been around for some 60 million years ago when dinosaurs where going out of fashion.

Driving on Moi North tarmac road that circles part of the freshwater lake that is the highest of the rift lakes, the earth road that follows is a gorgeous grove of fig trees – Ficus wakefieldii to be precise because there are over 750 species of fig trees in the world. Each one of them has strong trunks with wide spread branches that look like a work of art in a natural gallery.

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Valentine Weekend

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It’s here again! Stretch it into a weekend celebration dedicated to love

Above: Kitich Forest Camp Mathews Range- Dinner under the stars with a herd of elephants.

Published: 8 February 2020 Nation Saturday magazine

Stretch Friday 14 into a Valentine weekend and l’ve got some great places to safari to that are unique. So get your map out and start mapping your Valentine weekend.

Tip: You can fly to any destination in the country including Lake Turkana for the weekend.

The Little-Known Secrets

Mathews Range. Copyright Luca Borghesio
Island forests on Mathews Range in the drylands of northern Kenya. Copyright Luca Borghesio

Settle into the little known secrets in the far-flung mountains of the north like the Mathews Range or Mount Nyiro where crystal clear streams gush from ancient forests little touched by humans. Explore the forests and swim in the fresh pools from Kitich Camp https://kitichforestcamp.com/ in Mathews Range or Desert Rose on Mount Nyiro. There’s plenty of wildlife around and ancient plants like the cycad from the time of the dinosaur. Small and exclusive, you’ll love these little known havens.

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Why African Fish Eagle is under threat of extinction

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By Rupi Mangat

Published: East African Nation 11 July 2011

Above: Shiv Kapila releasing African Fish Eagle. Copyright Shiv Kapila

The African fish eagle is one of Africa’s most charismatic raptors. Donned in a copper-coloured mantle with a clear white collar, its very presence commends respect. Its loud and distinctive call is unmistakable – once heard, always remembered – the call of Africa. Its hunting prowess is legendary – it can spot a fish from the highest tree and swoop with talons outstretched to scoop it out of the water. Many a wildlife film has been shot on this powerful hunt.

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The Giraffe …Going, going… Can we save the Maasai giraffes of Maanzoni from ‘Gone’

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By Rupi Mangat

Published: Daily Nation Kenya 27 January 2019

Above: Maasai giraffe browsing in Maanzoni

In Ancient Egypt’s royal tomb of the famous  pharaoh, Tutankhamun are images of giraffes  nibbling leaves while he sits in state some 3000 years ago.  Giraffes and elephants including the rare okapi lived in the midst of the Egyptians until the forests were plundered to build boats and pyramids for the pharaohs, which heralded in the Saharan Sands.

Giraffes have globe trotted the earth since the Miocene era 23 million years ago when their range included Europe and Asia.

Engraving of giraffe in Afgaba gorge northern Kenya made around a thousand years ago by hunter gatherers who might have been Batwa.. Copyright David Coulson of Trust for African Rock Art TARA (800x527)
Engraving of giraffe in Afgaba gorge northern Kenya made around a thousand years ago by hunter gatherers who might have been Batwa.. Copyright David Coulson of Trust for African Rock Art TARA

“Giraffes appear more frequently than most other animals on rock art,” states David Coulson of the Trust for Africa Rock Art (TARA) that is a digital repository of Africa’s most important prehistoric rock art. “It is the earliest  artistic expressions of humankind, a window on how our ancestors related and interacted with nature and the natural world,” continues Coulson.

A Tuareg man by a 6,000 year life size engraving of giraffes in Niger. Copyright David Coulson of Trust for African Rock Art TARA (538x800)
A Tuareg man by a 6,000 year life size engraving of giraffes in Niger. Copyright David Coulson of Trust for African Rock Art TARA

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