This tour combines Kenya's twin attractions- the safari and beach experience. You begin your safari experience at Tsavo West, home to elephants, crocodiles, vervet monkeys, antelope, baboons, giraffes, hippos and lions. The park is a marvel in terms of geo-physical character and plant diversity. You end up at Mombasa enjoying activities at the beach and the leisurely pace of life at the Kenyan coast. The city is a cosmopolitan metropolis reflecting the influence of Africans, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Indians, Portuguese and the British
You will enjoy and experience nature, wildlife, habit and habitat of the fauna and flora in the natural areas, also peoples and culture. Availability 90%
Minimum Rate Per Adult: US$
Departing From: Malindi - Watamu
Duration: 4 Days / 5 Nights
Departure Time: 0830 Hrs (possible to leave earlier than)
Departures: Daily
Minimum Persons Required: 2
Best Time: All the year round
Watamu Safari, Malindi
Watamu
Location
Watamu National Marine Park is situated 30 min drive south of Malindi,
more exactly 128 kilometers north of Mombasa and 28 kilometers south of
Malindi. To Kenya's largest National Park, Tsavo East National Park,
it´s only three hours drive.
Place to stay
Ocean Sports Hotel
Ocean Sports is a small, family owned beach hotel located in the Watamu
National Marine Park. Very casual, laid back and relaxed. The hotel has
an excellent restaurant serving fresh seafood and a large bar with a
boat that is the bar's centerpiece. The Ocean Sports bar is world famous
and well worth the extra effort to get there!
The hotel has 15 double bedrooms, each with ensuite bathroom a private
verandah and ceiling fans. There are also a number of family cottages
which may be taken on a half board basis or may be rented as a self
catering house where a cook and cleaner are provided, but you arrange
your own food and drink.
Hemingways Resort
Hemingways Resort is a Five-Star standards and recognition as one of the
Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Hemingways has been voted as Best
Beach Resort in Kenya for a number of years. Inspired cuisine, great
service and friendly staff makes a memorable visit in Watamu.
Activities:
Ocean Sports and Hemingways Resort offers swimming pools, tennis court,
squash court and gym. Main attractions are diving, snorkling, deep sea
fishing, bird watching in the Arabuko Forest or relax on the 7 km long
white sandy beach. We can also arrange safari to Tsavo East and West
National Park. Please ask us for more information.
Cultural Safari
Along the Kenyan Coast one of the most visible cultures is that of the
Swahili peoples. Unlike Kenya's inland tribes, whose histories are built
on oral folklore and cultural traditions, the Swahili people have a long
written record of their history.
This is a history of trade. Not just trade of goods with distant shores,
but also trade of cultures. The trade winds of the Indian Ocean brought
influence from South West Arabia. Dhows were drawn south by the
monsoonal winds (the Kaskazi) from November to April, and then returned
North by the winds known as the Kusi from June to September. This route
became a major source of ivory, slaves, spice and shells, and by the 9th
and 10th centuries, Arab trading outposts began to appear along the
coast.
With settlement came immigration, and a local population of Arab, Omani
and Shirazi people (from Persia- modern day Iran) began to swell.
Intermarriage with the indigenous coastal tribes became common. After
several generations, a unique culture began to form. Strongly Arab
influenced and Islamic, the culture began to develop its own
particularly African language and customs. This was a culture born of
the sea, and the sailing dhow and trade became an integral part of its
existence, as did farming of tropical crops including mango and coconut.
Soon this culture had a name, derived from the plural of the Arab word
Sahel- Swahili.
The Swahili language, or KiSwahili, is a fusion of Arabic and Bantu
languages.
Swahili civilization spread along the coast, from Lamu southwards.
One of the largest Swahili towns, known as Gedi, lay further North near
modern day Watamu. Gedi is one of Kenya's great unknown treasures, a
wonderful lost city lying in the depths of the great Arabuko Sokoke
forest.
It is also a place of great mystery, an archaeological puzzle that
continues to engender debate among historians. To this day, despite
extensive research and exploration, nobody is really sure what happened
to the town of Gedi and its peoples. This once great civilization was a
powerful and complex Swahili settlement with a population of over 2500,
built during the 13th century.The ruins of Gedi include many houses,
mansions, mosques and elaborate tombs and cemeteries.
Despite the size and complexity of this large (at least 45 acre)
settlement, it is never mentioned in any historic writings or local
recorded history. The nearby Portuguese settlement at Malindi seems to
have had no contact with, or even known of the existence of Gedi.
The town has all the appearances of a trading outpost, yet its position,
deep in a forest and away from the sea makes it an unlikely trading
centre. What was Gedi trading, and with whom?
But the greatest of all of Gedi's mysteries was its sudden and
inexplicable desertion in the 17th century. The entire town was suddenly
abandoned by all of its residents, leaving it to ruination in the
forest. There are no signs of battle, plague, disturbance or any cause
for this sudden desertion.
One current theory is that the town was threatened by the approach of
the Galla, an inland tribe known to be outwardly hostile at that time,
and that the townspeople fled ahead of their arrival. Yet once again,
local recorded history fails to mention any such large scale evacuation
at this time. No written account of either the rise or sudden fall of
Gedi was ever made.
The ghostly ruins of Gedi lay within the forest that has overgrown and
consumed the town. They had become a part of local folklore, regarded as
a sinister lair of malevolent spirits, until archaeologists began to
uncover the site in the 20th century. It was gazetted in 1948.
Today there is an excellent museum and well trained guides on hand to
take visitors through the ruins. Gedi remains a mysterious and
atmospheric place to visit.
The pillars and stone walls, ruined mosques and tombs now lie among
stands of trees. The stone floors are thick with leaves, and giant
shrews scuttle through the deserted houses while birds and butterflies
drift through the air. Wandering through Gedi is an ideal way to spend a
morning or afternoon, lost among the secrets of the past.
In 1498 the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama anchored offshore at
Malindi, and a memorial to his landing can be found at Vasco de Gama's
Pillar just outside Malindi. He received an initially warm welcome, and
Malindi became an important Portuguese centre. This influence would
become a pervasive one throughout the coast, reaching a volatile
conclusion with the protracted battles for control of Fort Jesus (see
Mombasa for more details). Just outside town is a small Portuguese
chapel whose graveyard, dating to the 16th century, is a fascinating
portrait of the history of this stretch of coastline.
Use these links to see full information on accommodation, dining and
shopping in Malindi and Watamu and to access our listing of safari
operators
