Kenya Coast-Kenya Coast History

The harsher beauty of most of Kenya’s interior is tampered by the soothing south-sea-island delights of Kenya’s coral coast. The lush, tropical bush of the coast is brilliant with many birds and fragrant and/or colorful blossoms of frangipani and hibiscus. The vivid colors of bougainvillea and stands of graceful palms frame long stretches of white coral sand lapped by the gentle warm water of the Indian Ocean.

It is hot and humid, but the pace is languid. A Swahili proverb much-used at the coast says it all: “Haraka Haraka haina Baraka”-or literally, “Haste, haste has no blessing.”

Stretching 480kilometeres from the Somalia in the north to Tanzania in the south, the Kenyan coast has been known to the world since A.D. 110when a stop at the port of Mombasa was recorded by a Greek explorer named Diogenes Ptolemy, another Greek, included details of the Kenyan coast in his A.D. 150”Maps of the World.”

Since then, Arabs who had come to trade settled, intermarried, and mingled coastal tribal and Arab ways. They created anew Swahili language and culture which is still very much alive today in Old town Mombasa and on Lamu and Wasini Islands. They built beautiful cities embellished with carvings and monuments, and they valued fine arts and crafts.

Portuguese explorers and traders brought a garrison to Mombasa at the end of the 16th century and built the formidable Fort Jesus, which still stands. In the 19th century, British interest in exploration and in abolishing slave trade led to Kenya coming under British influence. There are still British colonial monuments and ruins along the coast.

Now the Kenyan coast is known for its fine beaches and resorts and generally even-tempered weather. The hot and humid weather is pleasantly cooled by the monsoon trade winds blowing off the Indian Ocean. Despite the winds, the beaches are protected with approximately 240 kilometers of coral reef. Although you can often see white breakers beyond the reef, the water on the shore side is usually quite calm-better for windsurfing than for surfing. Swimming between the reef and shore is also generally safe from strong currents and protected from nasties such as the shark. The water ranges from 27-35 degrees centigrade.

The beauty of the coral and the amazing colors and shapes of these tropical fish invite goggling or scuba diving. The national marine parks and reserves off Shimoni, Mombasa, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu protect these marine treasures. Kenyan reefs have been favorably compared with those of Australia and the Red sea.

There are many ways to explore the Kenyan reef. On certain beaches you can swim and even walk out to the reef through tidal pools. Some hotels maintain glass-bottomed boats. You can snorkel from these or from other smaller boats. Private boatmen are eager to take you to the reef and sometimes even to rent equipment. Prices are negotiable. Snorkeling is fun and easy, even for novices-a beautiful and memorable experience. Try it.

There is a big tidal variation along this coast. On some beaches high tide leaves only a narrow strip of sand and in places the water sometimes recedes back beyond the reef, leaving would be swimmers high and dry. However, almost all hotels have their own swimming pools, and it seems that the majority of guests are just happy to nab a beach lounger by the pool or in the shade of a palm tree to work on their tans and relaxation.