Let's Go Tree Hugging!!

Mark Hugs the tree of Luck

Hey nature lovers! Are you planning a visit to Diani beach or already here? Don't miss this close unusual encounter with nature in it's real friendly form. Escape from the modern world of sky-scrappers, chaotic cities and enjoy a moment of peace with mother nature in Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest.(http://kaya-kinondo-kenya.com/ABOUT_US.HTM)

You love Hugging trees? Then this is place to be. A walk through the corals, under huge trees, birds flying overhead, monkeys jumping from tree to another, butterflies and dick dick antelopes here and there.... Learn the history and cultural believes of the local Digo community. The different trees and herbs have various uses and benefits to the inhabitants.

It takes less than an hour to be there from any point within Diani.

Please contact me to book your day excursion.

A 5day Camping Safari

Justin from USA, Colorado, wrote me the following inquiry:

"I've been trying to book a 5-day camping safari that goes from Nairobi to Mombasa, but I'm travelling alone, and the only company I found needs a minimum of 3 people in order to take the trip. So it's likely that it won't work out. Do you offer camping safaris as well? I could always catch the train from Nairobi to Mombasa and then take some trips from there. I wanted to see Tsavo and Amboseli if possible."

I made Justin an offer and itinerary for the whole safari. It turned out to be exactly what he was looking for. We exchanged phone numbers to be able to text message/call each other when he would arrive in Kenya, and I promised to pick him up from his Nairobi hotel.

On the 24th of June I drove from Mombasa to Nairobi to meet Justin in the evening. The following morning we woke up at 6:00 am and hit the road 30 minutes later. By 09:00 am we arrived in the town of Emali for breakfast, filled up the gas tank, did some shopping and headed towards Oloitoktok. Justin wanted to visit the town. It was a market day so there were a lot of people, including some Masai, everywhere selling and buying goats, sheep, cereals, and fruit.

From Oloitoktok we drove towards Amboseli national park, Kimana public camping site. We pitched the tent, prepared some fruit salad for lunch, visited a Manyatta Masai village and went for an evening game-drive and sighted a group of lions. I was the chef and Justin helped me to prepare ugali and beef for dinner. We were the only campers during that night.

On the second day we had breakfast and packed our lunch ready for the full-day game drive. There were lots of baboons, hundreds of elephants, zebras, gazelles, on our way to the observation hill. The place is so beautiful and amazing with the Lake Amboseli lying beneath. We saw hippos grazing on the grasslands, countless elephants, gnus, birds, warthogs, hyenas, and giraffes. Unfortunately Mt. Kilimanjaro was covered in clouds, but the weather was warm. Back in the camp we prepared early dinner before dark.

On the third day we drove to Kimana gate to inquire escort convoy, but the officers told us that it wasn't too dangerous so we drove back to Oloitoktok again for shopping. Then we headed towards Tsavo west stopping on the way for taking photos of schools, animals, and landscapes. We had ample time all alone at the Shetani lava before any tourist van made its way to the site. Then we droveto the KWS Tsavo west camping site a kilometer away from the Chyulu gate, the best camping site in the area. A friendly warden organised us some firewood for the evening bonfire.

I prepared a fruit salad and we headed to the game drive to Mzima springs to see the beautiful forest of Acacia and other trees, hippos, crocodiles, fish, and countless monkeys. When Justin saw the Chaimu hill, Justin wanted to hike up. For me, it was the first time to climb up the hill. On the top we took some photos and spotted an eagle. That was a great moment. When driving away we saw a young dick-dick (What is this? Never heard of that. Perhaps you could explain it a bit to readers?) in front of us. Justin took a photo and just after that, the the eagle grabbed the poor animal. We witnessed the eagles feast in the bush. Rhinos in the Rhino sanctuary were a bit camera-shy and hid under thickets. We saw loads of antelopes, giraffes, elephants and buffaloes on the way back. For the dinner we prepared some beef with pasta. We were again the only campers around.

On our fourth safari day we headed to game drive and exited the park through the Mtito Andai gate. We stopped in a town called Voi to get some food and refuel our van, and continued to Tsavo east national park through the Voi gate. There were hundreds of elephants, a lot of giraffes, and zebras. Before pitching our tents in Ndololo public camp site we went to witness lions mating near Aruba. This exclusive and exceptional performance happened five times in 20 minutes. Lions are aggressive during this 2-week mating period, so one has to be very careful. Before dinner and camping, we drove a bit around and got attacked by a mob of crazy monkeys trying to steel our cabbage. The park ranger came to our rescue and scared them away with a sling.

We managed to cook the dinner in turns to fight the intrusive parasites, mosquitoes, while elephants were gazing at us. We heard that there were lots of lions around, too. Our campfire kept the wild animals away from our tent at night, but in the middle of the night, Justin woke up and whispered that the fire was off. We were again the only campers - this time among screaming hyenas, mooing elephants and roaring lions. The fix to the problem was sleeping the rest of the night in turns.On the fifth and last safari day we washed the dishes after breakfast and packed the car. On the game route we saw many animals including a mating ostrich couple. The male ran incredibly fast away from the female right after he had finished. We travelled through Bachuma gate down to Mombasa, had a late lunch at the Coast dishes restaurant. I booked Justin to Baobab beach resort for the next night.

Our safari ended on the 29th of June. We made our own plans and schedule, and realized them as agreed. According to Justin, the safari had fulfilled his wishes and he was happy. Thank you for choosing me, Justin.

Local Snokelling

Damien from France had to do something within his two days stay with me. We walked the beaches on the first day and had a Kole kole fish bar-barque with the local fishermen by the sea. We arranged to do go snorkelling on the morrow.
Following morning we headed to the beach to meet Hamisi and his captain. The crew mounted the sail to start off our adventure. The wind drove the boat smoothly on the waters for about 45minutes. Hamisi would keep on directing captain Juma for a suitable area with features to see. The boat was steered to a stand-still, sail lowered and anchor dropped into the water. Both Damien and I put on snorkelling equipment jumped into the water. Wow! what a beautiful underwater life. We snorkelled for nearly one and a half hours but never had enough as it got more and more interesting watching the wonderful world.
We didn't do any fishing as exercise was more interesting. There are lots of different varieties of fish and coral reefs. The crew advised we sail out due to the upcoming bad weather. It was such good experience.

Kongo mosque and river

Kongo mosque is situated in Diani beach and lies next to the Indian ocean. It was used by the early Arab merchants for prayers as they toured the east coast. Today the renovated ruins has been turned into a historic site and the local Muslims offer prayers here as well. And now the well kept compound is home for huge baobab trees, some are as old as 300years.
The Kongo river neighbors the mosque from the northern end. As it meanders into the ocean, a big permanent sand bank forms. Here both local and foreign tourists enjoy sun-bathing and swimming by the source of this river. Sailing through the mangrove trees on canoes on the Kongo is so amazing. Mostly people wait to witness the sweet sight of the sun-downer over Boabab and coconut trees.
Unlike other areas of the beach, you'll enjoy your peace with the few beach boys around Kongo mosque since there isn't a resort hotel near here.
You can easily walk over the waters to cross to Tiwi beach on the other side of the river. You don't risk walking alone to all the way to Twiga lodge in Tiwi because of security purposes.

2days Tsavo East

This was not an ordinary adventure as I arranged to give a treat to my old friend, Elijah, who desired to accompany his boss and two guests. We were headed to Epiya Chapeyi camp.
The game-drive began from Bachuma gate and we saw lots of red elephants,impala and gazelles. We were lucky to see the beautiful gerenuks, kongoni, and warthogs grazing from a distant.Seeing the wilderness, the beautiful landscapes, the beasts and driving over the rocks, all give me an unusual feeling of excitement.
We arrived at the camp in time for lunch. Wow!this is the place to experience the jungle. Thick wild palms, short scattered bushes and Galana river on the far end surrounds the magical camp. The staff are so welcoming and food above your exception from the bush.
We went to the Lugard falls for a long photo session. From the Crocodile view-point we spotted a few hippos and crocos down the river. Herds of elephants, lesser kudus and impala, dick dicks, giraffes, zebras and a jackal attracted the attention of the first-time guests all along. I steered to the Vast Galana river-banks where we all enjoyed the cool sands by the wild palms through sundowner. We jumped back into the van in time before the inhabitants' of the jungle arrived, back to the camp.
It was so much fun chatting over drinks from the open lounge overlooking the river, under the wild palms planning for the following day. Hippos had to wait till later when everybody had left...The tents are just so wonderful and comfortable.
After breakfast we got ready for game-drive en-route. Scarcely had I shifted from gear one, than...stop! stop!! a lion!! The guests had spotted a lion crossing the road. I reversed the van but weren't so lucky but managed to capture some shots of the cat. We drove towards Voi-gate via Galdesa and saw many more elephants, water bucks, lesser kudus and antelopes. We checked out of the park some minutes to 11:00am and drove back towards Mombasa.
Stopped at Engwata for coffee. The guests dropped at the municipal market, Mombasa for a brief shopping of spices and clothing materials. Happy ladies shook my hands thankfully as we brought them back to their hotel. It was a great safari.
Can't wait to go back for another experience!!

Dolphin Safari

My guests and I woke up early to a quick breakfast in readiness for the Dolphin safari. The van picked us from our gate at 07:45am to arrive in Shimoni at 09:15am. We gathered with other groups at the K.W.S offices for tickets to the marine park. Then we proceeded to the jetty where many dhows wait.
Kausar was the name of our dhow and on board were four crew members and twenty passengers. The cruise takes about an hour to Mpunguti marine park but we keep stopping in search of dolphins. Lucky we! lots of families through the voyage. We arrived some minutes past 11:00am.
Dhows and people on various activities spread all over the place. Time to change into swim suits and get wet. The protected marine area is so beautiful with corals and swimming with dolphins and other fishes. We had fun walking and relaxing on the white sand buck for about one hour. We headed back for lunch on Wasini island. Lovely Swahili sea food: fish, chapati, coconut sauce, sea weed and cassava.
We were so full to walk through the village and the coral garden and so opted to getting back to Shimoni mainland. The van was waiting to drive us back to Diani by 04:10pm. Well spent-Sunday!!
Hey! Chew a piece of ginger if you fear getting sea-sick, could help.

Avoid the Rush

December is the peak of the season as most learning institutions are closed and most Europeans escaping from their cold weathers. Rates of accommodation, safari, excursions, food supply and means of transport shoot as high as three to four times more due to the demands brought about by numerous local and foreign holiday makers. Shopping malls are always very crowded. So preferably it could be okay to travel here during other months of the year.