Tag: travel

Urban Crowns

Published on by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Meeting the Apex Hunter in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary

Above: African crowned eagle at nest Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira

Published: 3 November 2018

“Listen,” said Fleur Ng’weno of Nature Kenya.

A piercing shrill drifted through the trees in the forest.

“It’s the African crowned eagle.”

african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800x542)
african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira

It was what we were hoping for but like any creature on the wild, nothing is guaranteed.

Quietly we walked along the path and there in the tall croton tree, was perched Africa’s mightiest raptor by its nest.

An OMG moment!

IMG_0870 (800x800)
Ngong Race Course that is in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary Copyright Rupi Mangat

Here we were at the Ngong Race Course that is in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, in one of the busiest part of a city of four million people – and in its midst we’re in a natural forest that’s home to some of the rarest creatures including the Jackson tree snake.

Urban Crowns

I’ve borrowed the title from a short film by Washington Wachira, a young ornithologist studying the African crowned eagle.

nest of african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800x600)
Nest of African crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800×600)

Continue reading “Urban Crowns” →

Searching For The Beauty of Africa – Step In At The Nairobi Gallery

Published on by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Sculpture by Francis Nnaggenda at Nairobi Gallery – Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 27 October 2018

After an exhausting and stress-filled morning spent in the government office to renew a passport, l needed an energizing boost. The answer lay in the neighbouring Nairobi Gallery, built in 1913 as the PC’s office and dubbed ‘matches, hatches and dispatches’ where all marriages, births and deaths were recorded.

Continue reading “Searching For The Beauty of Africa – Step In At The Nairobi Gallery” →

Whales and Waves Make Adventure in Watamu

Published on by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Above: Humpback whale in Watamu, Kenya coast, Indian Ocean, doing its back flip
Copyright Jane Spilsbury/Watamu Marine Association

Published 13 October 2018 Nation Saturday Magazine

The waves surged, heaved and fell at full throttle, grey and dark with the wind howling. In the raging ocean, with a lurching stomach, l kept my eyes glued on the equally dark, grey heavy clouds threatening to burst at any point. And they did.

seastorm 3 (800x605)
Humpback whale in Watamu, Kenya coast, Indian Ocean, in Seastorm the Hemingway boat impressing tourists. Copyright Jane Spilsbury/Watamu Marine Association

Continue reading “Whales and Waves Make Adventure in Watamu” →

On The Heights of the Aberdares

Published on by Rupi Mangat1 Comment

Published 6 October 2018

I feel like l’ve stepped into a hidden, magical world on the heights of the Aberdares. We’re entering a part of the Aberdares that until recently was shrouded in mystical mists only accessible for tough hikers and mountaineers. We’re in the northern part of the 160-kilometer range that looms in the skyline when driving along the Nairobi-Naivasha upper road or towards Nyeri-Nanyuki.

Continue reading “On The Heights of the Aberdares” →

West Side Story

Published on by Rupi Mangat1 Comment

Published: The East African (Nation Media)

Friends wanted a holiday with a difference. Not the usual coast and game parks. Since it was August, high on the list was the migration. That is, the annual migration of the wildebeest trekking in from neighbouring Serengeti into the Mara following the grass route that is their diet.

So with 10 days on hand to arrange a safari on a budget – that was the other thing – it had to be affordable and at the same time not cheap hovels. It’s a notion that you can only enjoy a holiday if you have tons of money in high-end hotels and lodges. Kenya and the rest of East Africa are opening up to local budget travellers in style.

This was easy. From the Mara to Mfangano via Mbita Point and return via Menengai – by chance all beginning with M, we set out to our first destination. Continue reading “West Side Story” →