c u on top - satyabrata dam

. At first sight, seeing from the upper escarpment, shrouded within the afternoon hot haze, Lake Baringo does not appear exciting or in any way unique; except that the water body is dotted with several tiny islands and has good amount of forest cover all around. It is the end of our Turkana trip and after the long, dry, dusty spell from Maralal I am only too glad to spread my legs just about anywhere. Lake Baringo seems to be better than ‘anywhere.’ By then I was back in the beer guzzling couple’s dusty SUV hence slightly better off than my truck-bound companions, whose posterior flesh had taken severe beating till now. The road winds down towards the lake and I am delighted to see the never ending row of volcanic and metamorphic rock to my right, ideal though hazardous rock climbing site. We finally reach Marigat (the main settlement in the area) and take to the broad tarmac road. We cross the entry gate, where we pay the fee and then proceed towards Robert’s Camp where we wou...

Mara Porini Camp – Ol Kinyei Conservancy My next destination with Gamewatchers was their Mara Porini Camp in Ol Kinyei Conservancy. This happened during the latter half of January and by this time I had gained adequate experience for wildlife and all things wild to consider myself a little above ignorant in such matters. So I start off with some sense of efficacy as I ride with Mr. Pappu, the rotund good natured Indian origin Gamewatchers overall manager cum all-purpose man. Pappu loves driving, eating and music and is a Formula race fan; thankfully he drives like a normal person. In few hours and with our vehicle full of supplies and provisions for the camp, we arrive at Narok, the staging town for Mara. A brief halt to pop few samosas inside our growling stomachs and we speed off on the un-metaled road towards the conservancy. The sky is grey, air is breezy and Pappu is full of funny stories. At a point we leave the road and drive into a dip, through a stream and up on the oth...

Porini Camps – Model of Wildlife Conservation & Sustainable Tourism One of the primary areas I wished to experience and understand in Kenya was the various models of wildlife conservation efforts that were being done privately across the country. Since, according to various reliable sources, the government wasn’t doing anything significant in this field at all. This is ironic as to the outside world most African countries, Kenya in particular, are marketed as the haven for wild life, unique flora-fauna and spectacular landscape. Normal tourists flock to these nations, jump out of the planes, board safari vehicles and are whisked away into the national parks (at exorbitant costs) for a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience where they dine while watching elephants, big cats, rhinos, etc grazing in the vicinity. These are beautiful sights indeed but with only few days stopover, while rushing from one park to another and flying over the Savannah, most of us miss the point that wha...

This post is about an incident that happened during my trip to Kwenia with Simon (which you can read in the post ‘Flight to Kwenia’). The incident lasted for less than 20 minutes but was of such significance that it needed a separate post. So here it is. While atop the Kwenia cliff, while Simon and I are exploring the vegetation looking for birds and other animals, suddenly Simon gives a low whopping cry of joy and flattens himself into the grass like a stalking snake. He bids me to follow his example and keep my mouth shut. I do both and look around in anticipation of something big, marauding and perhaps looking for a human prey. My heart begins to beat afresh in excitement. Whenever I sense that my end is near, I am super excited. But I see nothing, not even in the scale of those vermin called soldier ants. I am little disappointed but to see Simon one would feel that he has finally found the city of El Dorado. He beckons me closer. I crawl on my chest and then he points to a tree...

Even to the most seasoned true-born Kenyans and Kenyan safari experts, when I admit I am Kwenia bound shortly, each one of them express complete incomprehension about the place or its significance. This confirms that I am indeed up to something unique, remote, and therefore fascinating; something exactly up my alley. But then as my friend and host Sandy confirms, to do anything with the person, in whose company I am heading for Kwenia, is bound to be up my alley. This trip happened only due to an enigma, a phenomenon and one of the most fascinating persons I have ever met outside of the mountains – Simon Thomsett. Sandy introduced me to Simon on the very first day of my arrival and there was an immediate bonding between us. I would be putting up a separate post on Simon, for he and his life deserve not only a mere post but a full length book, which I might write in the future. As of now this post is about our trip to Kwenia and my apprenticeship under Simon, who is arguably today...