3rd Feb. 2008
(Missing images updated 13th Feb.)
My trip to the famous Haleji Lake, situated around 80 Kilometers from Karachi, started before dawn. Accompanying me was a friend who happens to share a similar interest for such random outings.
As the whole country has been encased in an uncharacteristically long winter spell, Karachi too has been colder than usual. At the temperature in the city was around 12 degrees centigrade. As we moved to the outskirts we found the temperature to be lower than than. That is probably due to the lower pollution level and open spaces.
After taking a breakfast stop over at the locally famous "Haji Malook Hotel" at Gharo we continued our journey towards the lake. Upon leaving Gharo I witnessed a beautiful sunrise that was too good to be captured through my mobile phone camera in all its magnificence. However, I did not let this opportunity pass me by uncontested.
At about 8 AM we reached our destination. Here I would like to add few words about the Haleji Lake. It is a fresh water lake spread over a 6.5 square kilometers, acting as a major source of fresh water supply to Karachi's population. At the web page on Sind Wildlife Department dedicated to the lake, it is referred to as a "A sanctuary for birds and an outdoor attraction for humans". (http://www.sindhwildlife.com.pk/protectedareas/haleji_page.htm)
It is not exactly a case of false advertisement, only the information is outdated. Currently, the situation has changed drastically, from a wildlife sanctuary to just a regular lake. This slow transformation has gone almost unnoticed and has failed to attract attention people in charge. Where there use to be various flocks of diverse waterfowl, there is nothing but open water from one end to the other. In place of thick lotus growth on the water surface there is scarce patches of water bush. The following images show the difference in the prevailing and the past situation.
Haleji Lake (undated photo) from Sind Wildlife Department website
View of Haleji Lake as on 3rd Feb. 2008
On that particular day the winds had really picked up. The water became quite choppy as the wind made its way carving diagonal patterns on the surface. Initially, when we entered the boundary of the lake I thought that may be it was due to the high wind speed that the birds have taken refuge in the growth. However, as we started driving around the lake it slowly dawned on me that the wildlife that made this lake famous does not prefer this place as anymore.
Still, I did not give up in my attempt to spot even little flocks of migratory birds in the lake. After traveling about a quarter of the total area that makes up the lake's boundary we came across a sad little gathering of "American Coots". These are black birds that look like chickens, having webbed feet and small white beaks. It is nothing less than a wonder that these birds can fly, let alone migrate. Although I did not posses an optical zoom camera, I was able to capture a low quality image of the group.
This image was taken through the lens of a binocular by manually positioning the lens of the camera on the lens of the binocular. It would have not been possible in the absence of auto-focus function in the camera. As seen in the picture there are hardly twenty birds in the group. Overall we were able to spot only three such flocks throughout the lake.
Continuing down the dirt road we came across a lot of old tress. Some of them were burnt from the bottom of the trunk where apparently people have lit fires to either keep warm or prepare food. Some of the shots I took of the trees, though not so impressive in digital form did, however, stand out in reality.
I have heard from various local people that there lots of crocodiles that inhabit the lake. After surveying the banks I remained completely unconvinced of even the lightest evidence supporting their existence in Haleji Lake. Even if they are living in the lake they cannot be in huge numbers, as locals believe. We did, however come across a lot of cows, if that is of any consolation.
To wrap things up I took a couple of photos of two truck accidents we came across. One one them was overloaded with hay, while the other one, a 40+ foot long truck was over-turned on its side for no clear reason.
