Day Four - Water Life, Land Life & Culture

A Slimy Marine- Sea Worm

Starfish

A group of urchins!

Haller Park- Albino Croc

Hippo lazying in the pool- Haller Park

Maasai Dancers - Ngomongo Village

The water is gone!

Beckoning Horizons

We have a late start and almost miss the breakfast’s deadline of 9.00 a.m. Seems fatigue from our long day yesterday is slowing everybody down. We will ease off a bit today. Having been kept off the ocean by high afternoon tide, we get clever and decide to start the day with a swim in the ocean, but alas- there is no water for as far as the eye can see! We try and walk towards the water before we get unsolicited advise against the move in our bare feet from fishermen returning from their overnight fishing expeditions.

The much maligned beach boys (I think they are an essential part of the tourism business. They are agents, brokers and guides all rolled in one) who can be found in every Kenyan town come in handy and offer to take us on an exploratory walk of the now exposed reef. Armed with sandals and a camera, we embark on what will turn out to be a full 3-kilometre trek on lunar like surface. The shoes were necessary to protect our feet from the jagged edges of the dead coral and poisonous sea urchins.

It turns out to be a marine botanical lesson well given by our guide, Uncle Nutty and his sidekick/protégé, Tony. We are shown sea urchins, sea cucumber, sun crabs, sea anemone, honeymoon hedgehog, sea worm, tiger shells, palm shells, sea urchin skeletons, frog shell, spaghetti cucumbers, spider starfish, cone shells, sea sponge, clam shells, etc. Despite my numerous visits to the coast, today was special in that I have experienced all these natural wonders so close and so cheaply. In the past I had taken the usual route of glass-bottom boats, which in my opinion and in hindsight is a rip-off. From this experience, we take home a few shells (illegal, I am told) and a load of memories in our camera.

After showers we dash across town for a lunch date with one unassuming Mombasa businessman and friend who is helping re-define and re-shape the hospitality industry in Mombasa. I have known him for many years and his commitment to exemplary service remains strong.

We then dash to Haller Park in time for the animals feeding. It’s an exiting experience for the kids. In the ill-advised spirit of trying to do so much in the shortest time, we dash to Ngomongo village, but we are time barred. They have just finished the last show and we can only relax in the expanse fields before dusk.

The village, now renamed Trekker Entertainment Complex, easily rivals the Nairobi based Bomas of Kenya. After an hour cooling our heels, we retire to the hotel.