From Voi to Diani Beach felt like a long day - first of all the next sction of the Nairobi-Mombasa road was in a poor state with potholes (some quite large) everywhere along with heavy truck traffic. About 40km before Mombasa, at Samburu, we turned right (after a bit of confusion between our maps and the GPS) onto dirt roads to circumnavigate Mombasa and it's problems.
The dirt road started quite poorly - the first obstacle was to cross the construction site for the new road just behind the town, then the road surface deteriorated quite markedly, however we've noticed that the first few km of any dirt road are usually the worst, probably as they get the most traffic. The surface gradually improved, albeit with relapses in areas where it looked like the rains had taken parts of the road away. At one point we passed two men mendinding one of these washed-away sections with just picks and shovels - one of them asked (visually) for food - we didn't have much in the cab but Sue had an apple stashed somewhere which she gave - they both seemed quite satisfied with it!
We crossed a small bridge and started climbing slightly when a large lizard started to cross the road ahead - large as in about 4 feet long - green - almost certainly a water monitor. It noticed us, quickly turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. A little while later a chameleon appeared, doing it's slow-step across the road - a gentle swerve and it must have been ok......
The scenery had by this time changed from dry and arid to moist, green and fertile. A pproaching Shambini the road had obviously recently been graded - lovely, so much better than potholed tar, at the town itself we kept left and found ourselves on a stretch of road that was being graded - the surface was soft gravel/mud and in the far distance we could see the workers, this was still a pleasant drive, in fact even after we had passed the team it was fine.
The road crossed a larger bridge and started to climb into a forest - the Shimba Hills - here the road deteriorated to the point that we were crossing plain rock surfaces - very lumpy but only for a relatively short distance until we were well and truely into the park. The Shimba Hills are the only bit of coastal rainfores left in Kenya, it certainly looked old. The colours were amazing - the red, red road, clear blue sky with small white clouds and the dark green forest.
At Diani Beach we simply went to the campsite where Clive & Ann had stayed - easier than looking around. The town itself is quite amazing when you come out of rural Kenya as we had just done - hotels, shops, street lighting, cars, tuk-tuks, people - generally a feeling of wealth. The campsite was behind a big green gate with a low fence around it - not good security - until the askari arrived - armed with a bow and arrow! We had the impression that there are very few visitors around - it was obvious that the showers etc hadn't been swept out let alone cleaned for quite some time.... We had a shower and went down to the beach -as soon as we set foot outside the compound, touts appeared trying to sell us tours, boat trips, coconuts,and god knows what else - not a pleasant atmosphere as they didn't take "no" (even in Swahili) well. The beach however was stunning - perfect white sand, palm trees, a cool breeze rustling the fronds, and low white breakers roaring on the reef a little offshore. Sue was reminded of the Maldives.
We dined in the restaurant, it was a bit of a "Cheese Shop" in that we ordered, then a little while later they came back "Sorry we haven't got that", we re-ordered, then it happened again. Anyway, we ended up with huge plates of excellent food - very freshly and well prepared. The security guard at the restaurant was armed with a huge stick - one of the touts tried to get into the restaurant to try to sell his wares (or something) - the guard had to repel him at which point he locked the wrought iron gates locking us in as well as the touts out. This doesn't exactly make one feel comfortable with the local situation - particularly if you were thinking of spending a few days here....as we were!
The dirt road started quite poorly - the first obstacle was to cross the construction site for the new road just behind the town, then the road surface deteriorated quite markedly, however we've noticed that the first few km of any dirt road are usually the worst, probably as they get the most traffic. The surface gradually improved, albeit with relapses in areas where it looked like the rains had taken parts of the road away. At one point we passed two men mendinding one of these washed-away sections with just picks and shovels - one of them asked (visually) for food - we didn't have much in the cab but Sue had an apple stashed somewhere which she gave - they both seemed quite satisfied with it!
We crossed a small bridge and started climbing slightly when a large lizard started to cross the road ahead - large as in about 4 feet long - green - almost certainly a water monitor. It noticed us, quickly turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. A little while later a chameleon appeared, doing it's slow-step across the road - a gentle swerve and it must have been ok......
The scenery had by this time changed from dry and arid to moist, green and fertile. A pproaching Shambini the road had obviously recently been graded - lovely, so much better than potholed tar, at the town itself we kept left and found ourselves on a stretch of road that was being graded - the surface was soft gravel/mud and in the far distance we could see the workers, this was still a pleasant drive, in fact even after we had passed the team it was fine.
The road crossed a larger bridge and started to climb into a forest - the Shimba Hills - here the road deteriorated to the point that we were crossing plain rock surfaces - very lumpy but only for a relatively short distance until we were well and truely into the park. The Shimba Hills are the only bit of coastal rainfores left in Kenya, it certainly looked old. The colours were amazing - the red, red road, clear blue sky with small white clouds and the dark green forest.
At Diani Beach we simply went to the campsite where Clive & Ann had stayed - easier than looking around. The town itself is quite amazing when you come out of rural Kenya as we had just done - hotels, shops, street lighting, cars, tuk-tuks, people - generally a feeling of wealth. The campsite was behind a big green gate with a low fence around it - not good security - until the askari arrived - armed with a bow and arrow! We had the impression that there are very few visitors around - it was obvious that the showers etc hadn't been swept out let alone cleaned for quite some time.... We had a shower and went down to the beach -as soon as we set foot outside the compound, touts appeared trying to sell us tours, boat trips, coconuts,and god knows what else - not a pleasant atmosphere as they didn't take "no" (even in Swahili) well. The beach however was stunning - perfect white sand, palm trees, a cool breeze rustling the fronds, and low white breakers roaring on the reef a little offshore. Sue was reminded of the Maldives.
We dined in the restaurant, it was a bit of a "Cheese Shop" in that we ordered, then a little while later they came back "Sorry we haven't got that", we re-ordered, then it happened again. Anyway, we ended up with huge plates of excellent food - very freshly and well prepared. The security guard at the restaurant was armed with a huge stick - one of the touts tried to get into the restaurant to try to sell his wares (or something) - the guard had to repel him at which point he locked the wrought iron gates locking us in as well as the touts out. This doesn't exactly make one feel comfortable with the local situation - particularly if you were thinking of spending a few days here....as we were!