White Sands: Mombasa

     It was a fantastic trip friends. One week extended to nearly two! But I managed to achieve what I had intended to. Saw the great migration of the Wildebeest in the Masai Mara game reserve of Kenya. It was an amazing spectacle: the battle between the Wildebeest and the Crocodiles. I would love to share a video that I managed to capture with you all. Click on this link: An amazing Fight. The trip was really inspiring but could not get much time to paint while at the reserve. But I did manage to do something at Mombasa, a port town of Kenya.

     The sand on the beaches of Mombasa is pure white and the water - a glorious blue. The color of the water changes with the sunlight and time of the day. The waves do not reach the beach but break in the distance at a coral reef. So the color of the water gradually changes from blue to green to white. Amazing is the word. Managed to find time to finish these two quick works. The top one has been done in soft pastels and the bottom one in water colors. Hope you like them and get inspired to visit this part of the world. Believe me the phrase 'The dark continent' is a misnomer and totally untrue!!!

The Great Migration

     The Great Migration of the Wildebeest from the Serengetti National Park of Tanzania to the Masai Mara of Kenya began earlier than expected this year.  Thousands of these animals will be migrating in search of greener pastures. With them come the predators...Lions, Cheetahs, Crocodiles of the Mara river. Party time for all of them! Thousands of wild life enthusiasts land up in the region to see this wonder of mother nature. Amongst them is going to be...your's truly!!! Am leaving for the Masai Mara tomorrow to spend some time in the wilderness. Might as well do it now because the way things are moving, this amazing feat of nature might not last long. Mankind has been trying to destroy nature in every form... the construction of The Serengetti Highway is one of them. Please log on to http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/STOP-THE-SERENGETI-HIGHWAY/125601617471610 and contribute to the voices of reason. Thanks and take care. Will be back with more after about a week.

Good Morning Nile - 2

     The Nile, as I have mentioned earlier, has many interesting facets. At places it has ferocious rapids and at places it can be very calm. In Jinja (Uganda) it's banks are mostly covered with thick vegetation. Both sunrise and sunset are beautiful, if you have the time to wait and watch. I have already explored a sunrise scene earlier on this blog. This is a follow up of the same sunrise some time later though at a different spot. The mist clearing up, calm waters disappearing into infinity, the sun rising, its light playing tricks with the leaves of the thick vegetation...it was a breathtaking scene. I was more or less satisfied with the results. What do you think?

The Lions of Rwindi

     Got a chance to visit the Virunga National Park on the Congo Uganda border. Was hosted by some friends at a small place called Rwindi earlier famous for a lovely forest resort (now in ruins). Could not go empty handed. What better gift than a small watercolor of a Lion......Rwindi is famous for its ferocious lions. These lions are not used to humans like in many parks of the world. I think it was a good omen. We were rewarded by a nocturnal visit by four lionesses. We were surrounded by more than 300 shivering antelopes and the predators at some distance. It was so surprising, the normally shy antelopes, knew very well that as long as they stayed close to humans the lions will not dare attack...and they were correct. After a 45 minutes stand off the lionesses left. Survival of the smartest!!!