Mombasa, Malindi and more…

I had the opportunity to visit the coastal town of Mombasa recently. This is a nice tropical town near the Indian Ocean, which is in the news with the recent terrorism related occurrences. We went to take a dip in the ocean in the evening in one of the public beaches, the water was really warm. 

Apart from the ocean, one of the historical land marks is its 15^th century Portuguese fort – Fort Jesus, which was later occupied by the king of Oman. It is kept in good shape to see a piece of the colonial slave trade era.

Another attraction is the Haller park in town, a cement quarry converted to a nature reserve. It is nice to see how nature can recover in a span of thirty to forty years. There are few animals (very few) you can see in the park up close if you go at the feeding time in the evening at four. 

This is one of the male Giraffs in the park. 

One of these Hippos is famous for its friendship with a Tortoise.

We get to see the feeding of crocodiles. They sure can jump high. 

This big one when he snaps his jaws, it’s a loud noise, what a power.  

MALINDI

Malindi is another coastal town north of Mombasa, popular for coral reefs, beaches and other sea related activities. It was interesting to find that many Italians run seaside resorts and hotels in these areas. We hired a boat to go for snorkling, a wonderful experience to see the colorful fish.

In the lowtide the shapes on seabed formed by the waves were visible.

When you drive from Nairobi to Mombasa, you pass through couple of Wild life sanctuaries such as Tsavo national park. This elegant tusker was near the road, when we passed by. And you see hundreds of Boabob trees on both sides.