Tuesday August 10th,

Day 14 - Day Trip to Mombasa 

About half way to Mombasa, we stopped to pick up some other people at another hotel. We were initially surprised to find that two of them were the Quilters. In retrospect it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, because it was a Kuoni trip and in fact there were others from our Safari who also signed up for this day tour. 

The Handicraft Centre

First stop in Mombasa was the handicraft centre. This is the source of many of the carved animals and other curios that are on sale all over Kenya.

There is a sprawling "shanty town" of small work shops where men, women and some children sit on the floor with very basic tools carving and painting a wide variety of objects.

There is a large shop with all items individually priced .. a pleasant change from the normal system of negotiating a price .. and surprisingly low. Each item is marked with the identity of the craftsman who made it, so there is a direct payment back.

The Buddhist Temple

We had two attempts to visit the Buddhist Temple. The first time, we were able to admire the exterior, but the building itself was closed for cleaning.

A little later we returned and were able to walk around the inside, but the main rooms of the temple were closed and the photographs we took we through bars.

The Indian Ocean Coast

The next part of the tour was a drive along the coast to the old port.

In addition to the bridge, there is a heavily utilised ferry to get across to the South of the river estuary. The Indian Ocean coast itself was almost deserted.

One interesting feature was the sponsoring of litter bins by local businesses.

The Old Port

Next stop was the narrow streets of the old port area of Mombasa. We stopped in Government Square and walked down through the old port to the quays, still used by some ships.

The quay afforded a great view of the local mosque.

The girl to the left of Sue looking over the railings was on her honeymoon (married to the guy walking around in the first picture of the handicraft centre).

Finally we ended up in the shop just to the right of the narrow alley in the bottom right photograph.

Fort Jesus

Final stop before lunch was Fort Jesus, a 17th/18th century fortification with a dominant position overlooking the waterway into the old port.

We successfully evaded the attempts of the locals to give us a guided tour and managed to stroll around at our leisure.

Tamarind Dhow

Lunch was taken at one of the top restaurants in Mombasa, the Tamarind, renowned for its seafood.

In fact, our group had lunch during a cruise on the restaurant Dhow, cruising around the river estuary.

One our table, we all chose the seafood platter, which arrived beautifully presented on a huge plate. Even the coffee pot was distinctive.

While we were eating, there was live music and we went round and round close to the strangely painted boat. Approaching the landing at the end of the cruise, one of the crew attracted attention by blowing on a conch shell.

The lower picture in fact shows the old port that we visited earlier in the day.

??? Wildlife Park

The final stop of the day was a wildlife reserve just North of Mombasa. Next to a cement works, the reserve is actually owned and sponsored by the cement company.

On the walk from the car park, there are a number of Giant Tortoises (from the Seychelles) some of which are more than 100 years old.

• Weaver birds
• Grey heron (alongside the crocodile)
• Secretary birds (near the hippo pond)
• ???

When the food is first put out, the other animals, including birds, monkeys, buffalo and antelope start to feed. As soon as the hippos come out of the water, the other animals keep very well clear. 

The young hippo lives in a separate enclosure in a weed covered pond. For most of the time it is difficult to spot, but occasionally appears above the water to breath.

The gazelle and buffalo wait patiently while the hippos feed.