Reaching Makindu in the 1890s

At the beginning – Makindu and the iconic Sikh Temple Above: Makindu gurdwara lit at night. Courtesy Raju Mangat Published: Saturday Nation media 13 May 2022 Gold-painted domes dazzle twixt the Chyulus and the Yatta Plateau, announcing that one is approaching Makindu on the busy Mombasa-Nairobi highway where trucks and trains ply the route 24/7. […]

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Show of Beauty in times of War, photographer Alissa Everett at the Venice Biennale

Above: Yazidi Wedding Celebrations, Mosul, Iraq, 2003 Copyright Alissa Everett Published: The East African Nation 30 April-6 May 2022 Fresh out of university, graduating in political science and international relations, Nairobi-based American-born Alissa Everett took to the road in 2003, to capture events happening around the world. Armed with a camera, her first stop was […]

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A Steppe Eagle returns home to Russia from Kenya

Above: Steppe-Eagle.-Copyright-Shiv-Kapila- Published: The East African Nation 30 April -6 May 2021 A few weeks ago in March, Simon Thomsett – Kenya’s raptor guru and co-founder of Kenya Bird of Prey Trust – is elated. He’s been tracing an eagle’s fly-path from Kenya to Russia on his smartphone. He reports, ‘The eagle has now landed’. […]

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Mara after the Rains

Above: Risasi the Mara cheetah 28 Feb 2022. Copyright Rupi Mangat Published: Saturday magazine – Nation newspaper 19 March 2022 Heavy rains drench the Mara in the early weeks of the year. “Elephants don’t like to get their feet wet,” jokes Edward the Maasai guide at Aruba Mara, the delightful tented camp on the banks […]

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Fine Dining on Safari at Finch Hattons in Tsavo West

Above: Lunch at Finch Hatons Tsavo West – the Vietnamese summer roll. Copyright Rupi Mangat Published: The East African Nation magazine 19-25 March 2022 While African safaris are famed for their big game like lions and leopards, dining on safari is just as exciting…foods presented like work of art, desirable and delectable…even the gods melt. […]

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Sikh History in Tsavo

Above: Mzima Springs Tsavo West March 2022. Copyright Rupi Mangat Published: The East African Nation magazine 19-25 March 2022 “We are Sikhs,” I stated. This was in response to Taznim Mamuji of Finch Hattons, the uber-luxe camp under canvas lit with chandeliers in every suite. The camp accepts a minimum of two night stay. We […]

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Exploring the 2.4 million year old cave and grounds of Paradise Lost

Above: Mbai Cave facing waterfall at Paradise Lost. Copyright Rupi Mangat Published: Saturday Nation magazine – 5 March 2022 After a two-year hiatus, the birders from Nature Kenya are out again. Driving into Paradise Lost set in the midst of a coffee plantation and grass pastures boasting gigantic trees in flower, the morning sun is […]

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Worry as studies show Kenya’s Maasai Giraffes on the verge of extinction

Above: Maasai giraffe on the plains of Mount Kilimanjaro in Selenkay Conservancy. Copyright Rupi Mangat Published: Daily Nation newspaper: 7 March 2022 The giraffe is one of the most featured wildlife in ancient rock art.   Our hunter-gatherer ancestors living in caves are the early artists who portrayed their world on the rocks. In faraway […]

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Uncovered: Kenya’s first report of Cuvier’s Beaked Whale

Above: The 2005 photograph of Cuvier’s beaked whale starnded on Lamu Island Kenya. Courtesy Louis Van Aardt and Tim Collins Wildlife Conservation Society Published: Daily Nation 23 Feb 2022 A recent chat between long time Lamu resident Louis Van Aardt and Wildlife Conservation Society marine mammal expert Tim Collins, revealed a momentous marine report.  On […]

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Elephant’s best kept secret: Natural carbon capture agents

Above: Forest elephants meeting. Courtesy Elephant Protection Initiative Published: The East African Nation newspaper: 12-18 February 2022 Elephant Protection Initiative says species could save itself by leading carbon footprint turnaround Very few people have seen an African forest elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis. Living in the dense rainforests of the central African nations which are mostly politically […]

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