Ocean
Local guide and safari organiser · Watamu, Kilifi County
Languages: Italian, English, Swahili, Giriama
A morning on the water between reef and lagoon, on a route adapted to the sea, the tide and what the group can manage.
The marine park begins a few hundred metres off the beach. You go out by boat, reach a sheltered spot on the reef and get into the water with a mask and snorkel.
It is not an attraction with fixed opening hours: the tide decides the departure time, and where we stop depends on how the sea is that day. That is why I confirm the plan the day before, not a month before.
Stop 1
We meet on the beach or at the jetty, at whatever time the tide makes sensible. Before we board I explain where we are going, how long we stay in the water and what is not done: no touching the coral, nothing taken from the seabed, no chasing the animals.
Stop 2
The crossing is short. Anyone who prefers to stay dry can look at the seabed from the boat without getting in.
Stop 3
We stop at a spot that suits the conditions and the group's confidence in the water. Anyone who is not a strong swimmer stays near the boat with a life jacket: nobody is left behind and nobody is pushed to do more than they want to.
Stop 4
We come back in before the sea changes. The morning ends on the beach, with the rest of the day still ahead of you.
Where we meet depends on where you are staying: in most cases it is the beach right in front of your property. The time follows the tide, so it shifts by roughly fifty minutes every day.
If the sea is not right we postpone or I suggest an alternative. We do not go out 'anyway' because it is booked.
Underwater visibility changes a great deal through the year. In the drier months the water tends to be clearer; in the long rains visibility can drop considerably and the outing may be moved.
Turtles, parrotfish and shoals of colourful fish are common, but no sighting is guaranteed and no animal is baited with food to make it show itself.
Getting on and off the boat takes a little balance and a hand. If you need assistance, write to me beforehand: in many cases it can be arranged, but I would rather know in advance than improvise on the spot.
5/5 across 1 verified reviews
John explained the marine park rules before we got in the water — no touching, no standing on coral — and it made the whole thing better, not worse. We saw turtles twice. The boat was small and the group was six people, which is exactly what we wanted.
No. The animals are free, they move and they follow nobody's programme: sightings cannot be guaranteed, not in the savannah and not at sea. If someone promises them to you, know that they are promising something they do not control.
What I can tell you is how we look for them: keeping our distance, respecting the park rules, staying on the tracks, without chasing and without forcing an approach for the sake of a photograph. Respect for the wildlife comes before any promise.
Many of them can be, but there is no single answer: the duration, the length of the transfers and the timings all have to be weighed against age. A dawn departure with hours on the road is not the same thing for a four-year-old and for a twelve-year-old.
In the form all I need is the number of children and their age ranges. Names, dates of birth and other personal details are not required: those, if they are needed at all, come only when a property or a park asks for them.
Safety comes before the programme. If the weather worsens, if the sea is not workable or if conditions in the park change, we talk it through and decide whether to alter the programme, postpone it or replace it with an alternative.
The conditions that apply in these cases are set out in the proposal you receive, so you know in advance how things are handled when the day is not the one we expected.
A few hours by canoe in the channels of Mida Creek, with the tide deciding the time and the route. You really do paddle, and you move in silence.
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A sandbank off Watamu that surfaces only when the tide goes out, and disappears when it comes back in.
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A whole day on the boat from Mayungu, with a stop on the sandbank people call Sardegna 2: it only surfaces at certain stages of the tide, and the tide decides everything.
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Tell me how many of you there are and when: I'll tell you what's realistic and what isn't.
