The resonant thumping song of the Long-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus climacurus) through the dry air is a sound of blessing. The hot undulating desert landscape of sand-coloured sedimentary rocks are bare of greenery, except a few dead-looking bush punctuating the morning sunrays. The rufous-brown coloured bird, with an exceptionally long tail, makes its distinct call, a… Continue reading The Divination of the Turkana
Northern Kenya is a wild frontier country inhabited by some of the toughest and most interesting people in Africa. Spartanish, tall and regal, these nomads belong to a mythical race of African ancient warriors who migrated south in the late 10th century, or from the lower Nile valley in about the 15th century. The Samburu… Continue reading Beads of Tradition
The road trip from Nairobi to Maralal is an unforgettable drive through the Great Rift Valley and the Aberdare Ranges. The 348 km scenic drive to the small hillside market town lying east of the Loroghi Plateau within Samburu takes about 6 hours, and is home to the little known Kenyatta House. I recently toured… Continue reading Facing Mt. Kenya: A Tour of Kenyatta House, Maralal
Driving up north from Nairobi, that familiar feeling of excitement slowly grows and as the roads wind down towards the dusty, desert heat of Samburu, city life is now a distant memory. Samburu County is predominantly semi-arid with scarce erratic rainfall. Breezing past reticulated giraffes, pretty-eyed dik-diks and comical flocks of vulturine guineafowl, I’m headed… Continue reading About Samburu
It was a wild sight; the ring of spearmen, intent, silent, bent on blood, and in the centre, the great man-killing beast, his thunderous wrath growing ever more dangerous. At last the tense ring was complete, and the spearmen rose and closed in. The lion looked quickly from side to side, saw where the line… Continue reading Book of The Month: Theodore Roosevelt’s African Game Trails
