Kund Malir – Re:Discover Pakistan

22.01.2020 update

Excellent Fishing! Kund Malir Fishing Port (Balochistan)

While camping around Kund Malir, there was a night with no waves or wind and we could see the fishing light thru the darkness of night. The next morning of such a calm night, we visited the fishing port.

Kund Malir is a really small fishing port. The system here is that the larger fishing vessles off load their catch to the smaller fishing boats to bring them into the beach. When we arrived at the beach, there were already many boats out gathering off the harbor.

This is the fishing boat. They had already caught so many fish. As I was wondering what fish that was…I found out it was a largehead hairtail (or beltfish). They say that these adult beltfish come to the surface of the sea in the early morning hours.

The smaller fishing boats offload their catch onto the beach for transport.

Locals carry the fish to the trucks. Even in such a small fishing village there is an Ice Factory. The fish are packed in ice and transported directly to Karachi.

The local people all pitch in to help with the haul. They were kind enough to allow us to see their catch for today.

These are the largehead hairtail. Now that we have seen them, we cannot resist buying a little. Such a fresh catch! We loaded it in our cooler and took it to camp. Working with our cook Noor, we prepared the 15 beltfish and made sashimi. We grilled some with salt over the charcoal and ate our Fish Nanban (escabeche). It turned out to be a gourmet meal with our steamed Japanese rice and all kinds of prepared fish for dinner.

At our campsite, we dined on our fresh fish sashimi with the beer and wine we brought along with us.

This really amazing beltfish grilled with salt…was beyond delicious. This night, there were 7 Japanese people to gorge themselves on the 15 fish that were prepared. In my many long years of travelling thru Pakistan, it turned out to be the best dinner I ever had.

Photo & text : Mariko SAWADA (Including photos taken from drone footage）
Visit: Nov 2019, Kund Malir, Balochistan

03.10.2019 update

The Long-legged Buzzard (Balochistan)

This is a long legged buzzard that was seen on the coast of Kund Malir, in Balochistan. These birds are found throughout the African and Eurasian continents. They breed in Central Asia and then travel to the open areas in southern Pakistan during the winter months.

And there certainly are plenty of ‘open areas’ all over Balochistan. The buzzards often prey on rodents, lizards, small birds etc.

Balochistan is famous as a place where Arab millionaires go to illegally hunt wildlife. These rare birds are unfortunately being targeted for the sake of Eagle Hunting hobbyists. Recently, thankfully, these kinds of threats to the birds are being spotlighted on social media and other media outlets, so now people have more awareness about the problem.

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Nov 2019, Kund Malir, Balochistan

Category : ◆ Balochistan > ◇ Birds of Pakistan
Tag : Pakistan Travel Blog , long legged buzzard , Travel to Balochistan , Wildlife of Pakisan , Indus Caravan , Saiyu Travel Pakistan , Balochistan , Birds of Pakistan , Balochistan Tour , Hingol National Park , Pakistan Travel company , Kund Malir , Pakistan tour operator , Pakistan Blog , Pakistan Photography Tour

11.03.2019 update

Grey Francolin -Balochistan

A Grey Francolin, which lives in the courtyard of a local guesthouse in Kund Malir. For a moment I was bewildered, when I heard a loud voice, she was just so close to me. It seems that this courtyard is the territory of this Grey Francolin couple, so no matter whether a person or a car is passing by, they do not care at all.

Grey Francolin lives in the dry flat area of the Indian subcontinent. It is a wild bird deprived of the place to live due to the land development.

In Haryana State of India, I went to observe Grey Francolin early in the morning. Particularly, at that time I thought Grey Francolin is a very shy bird who would not approach towards any human. Nonetheless, I was slightly surprised at how Grey Francolin is walking around the courtyard freely.