travel – Page 19 – Moonlion Safaris

Elephant dwarfed by centuries-old baobab tree near Randilen Wildlife Mangement Area by Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Picture Galib Mangat

Tarangire Treetops

Published on October 7, 2017October 10, 2017 by Rupi Mangat2 Comments

Amidst the baobabs

Published Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 7 October 2017

Above: Elephant dwarfed by centuries-old baobab tree near Randilen Wildlife Management Area by Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Picture Galib Mangat

There are few grand arrivals as memorable as this.

Stopping at the gate of Randilen Wildlife Management Area that hosts the stunning Tarangire Treetops eco-lodge, the rangers excitedly run down the rock kopje hearing our Mama Safari – the Toyota Royal Crown Saloon 1985 model.

Chatu the python in Randilen Wildlife Management Area by Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Picture Galib Mangat

Continue reading “Tarangire Treetops” →

Building from the early 1900s - Barclays Bank on Jinja main street Copyright Rupi Mangat

Jinja on the Nile

Published on September 30, 2017January 1, 2024 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

where the river starts

Published 30 September 2017 Saturday magazine Nation newspaper

Above: Building from the early 1900s – Barclays Bank on Jinja main street
Copyright Rupi Mangat

Source of the Nile at Jinja - copyright Rupi Mangat — Source of the Nile at Jinja – copyright Rupi Mangat

“Speke passed on the Buganda side and standing on a rock by the river asked ‘what is the name of this river?’,” relates Captain Masanja of Jinja Sailing Club sailing us down the Nile from the mighty Victoria at Jinja, the quaint little town on the Ugandan shores – 90 kilometes from Kampala and 236 kilometers west of Kisumu on the Kenyan shores. Continue reading “Jinja on the Nile” →

Jinja Nile Resort

Published on September 23, 2017 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

The enigma of the Nile unfolds

Published Saturday Nation magazine

Above: Jinja Nile Resort – in the foyer, pictures of the men whose lives revolved around the mystery of the Nile – from left to right – Baker, Speke, Burton and Livingstone – copyright Rupi Mangat

The Nile flows smooth. Returning 16 years later to the same spot, in my mind’s eye l recall my first spotting of the rapids – the Bujagali – at this spot on the outskirts of Jinja. The cascading waters turned white by the very force of the river, had us captivated. I was with a group of Egyptians – and it is one of the few times l have watched grown-up men overcome with emotion have tears in their eyes. Without the Nile, Egypt would perish. Continue reading “Jinja Nile Resort” →

Playful young chimpanzee in Gombe National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Copyright Rupi Mangat

To Tanganyika

Published on September 17, 2017January 1, 2024 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

For the chimpanzees (sokwe mtu in Kiswahili)

Published The East African Nation media 16-22 September 2017

Above: Playful young chimpanzee in Gombe National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Copyright Rupi Mangat

When l heard Dr Jane Goodall talk in Nairobi about her ground-breaking pioneering chimpanzee research in Gombe it became my mission to get there in search of our closest relative whose DNA is 98 per cent like ours. It was Goodall who first documented chimpanzees using tools for a purpose – inserting sticks in a termite mound to fish out the insects for a snack – that made Louis Leakey the Kenyan paleoanthropologist quote famously, “Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans” Continue reading “To Tanganyika” →

New golf course at Lake Victoria Serena Resort and Spa near Entebbe, Uganda - copyright Rupi Mangat

On Entebbe Express

Published on September 17, 2017 by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

On the Marina to sail and golf, history and wildlife

Published Saturday Nation magazine 16 September 2017

Above: New golf course at Lake Victoria Serena Resort and Spa near Entebbe, Uganda – copyright Rupi Mangat

The 'Entebbe Express' to Lake Victoria Serena - copyright Rupi Mangat — The ‘Entebbe Express’ to Lake Victoria Serena – copyright Rupi Mangat

“Are you going to Entebbe?” asks the man on the side of the road that’s sandwiched between one of the largest swamps in Uganda that stretches all the way to the north and is home to rare wildlife like Shoebill stork.

Continue reading “On Entebbe Express” →