Culture and nature
Local guide and safari organiser · Watamu, Kilifi County
Languages: Italian, English, Swahili, Giriama
A morning split between the ruins of a Swahili town and the edge of the largest coastal forest left in East Africa.
Gedi (Gede) is a ruined Swahili town, lived in for centuries and then abandoned. It is now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List: what is left is walls of coral stone, a mosque, a palace, deep wells and huge trees that have grown up inside the rooms.
A few kilometres away Arabuko-Sokoke begins, the largest coastal forest remaining in East Africa and one of the most interesting places on this coast for birdwatching. The two stops sit well together because they tell you about the same piece of land from two different sides: the one people built, and the one that surrounded them.
Stage 1
I pick you up early, because that is the hour at which this trip makes sense. The drive is short: I use it to tell you what we are about to see, and why Gedi was abandoned without anyone knowing the reason for certain.
Stage 2
We walk among the walls of the old town: the mosque, the sultan's house, the dwellings, the wells. We follow the marked path, in the shade of the trees that have grown up inside the ruins. Nobody climbs on the walls and nothing gets moved: this is an archaeological site, not a playground.
Stage 3
We move on to the edge of the forest. From here we go on foot along a track, with long pauses and silence: you hear the birds before you see them. Some species of this forest have one of their last populations in the world here, which does not mean they show themselves on request.
Stage 4
We stop in an open spot to have a drink and look around without hurrying. If the group feels like walking further, we walk further; if it would rather stay put, we stay put. I decide this part on the spot, depending on how it is going.
Stage 5
We head back towards the coast and I drop you at your accommodation. You are usually back around lunchtime, with the rest of the day still ahead of you.
We meet at your accommodation in Watamu or Malindi. The distance is short, but the departure is early: that is the choice that makes the trip worth doing, because the forest in the morning is a different place from the forest at midday.
Opening hours and tickets at Gedi and Arabuko-Sokoke are handled by the bodies that run the two sites, not by me. If there are closures or restrictions on the day you have chosen, I tell you as soon as I know and we move the date or change the stop.
In the forest, how far we walk depends on the state of the tracks after the rains. It is not a fixed route: I confirm it the day before, along with the time.
The forest changes a great deal with the seasons. After the rains the undergrowth is thick, the insects are many and some tracks turn muddy; in the drier months the walking is easier and you hear further. At no time of year is the forest quite the same as itself.
The birds and the small mammals of the forest are wild animals. I don't use recorded calls to draw them in and I promise no sightings: what I can do is take you there at the right hour and stay quiet for long enough.
The ruins can be visited in the rain as well, but the ground turns slippery in several places. If the weather gets much worse, I suggest moving the trip.
At Gedi the paths are packed earth with exposed roots, uneven steps and a few narrow stretches; in the forest the surface is sandy and broken. It is not passable in a wheelchair. If you walk with difficulty or tire quickly, tell me beforehand: we can cut down the forest part and concentrate on the ruins, where the distances are shorter.
5/5 across 1 verified reviews
The ruins alone say little: it's the telling that makes them interesting. We walked slowly and in the forest we saw the sengi, which I didn't even know existed. One note: bring repellent, seriously.
Le rovine da sole dicono poco: è il racconto che le rende interessanti. Abbiamo camminato con calma e nella foresta abbiamo visto gli elefantini dal muso d'antilope, che non sapevo nemmeno esistessero. Unica nota: portate repellente, davvero.
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.
Every proposal states explicitly what it covers: transport, entry fees, guide, meals, accommodation and activities. And it states what is left out as well, because that is usually where misunderstandings begin.
Before confirming you always receive a written summary with these points, so you can read it through calmly and ask me about anything that doesn't add up.
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 morning on foot through the old town of Malindi, taking in the Portuguese pillar, the harbour and the market where people really do their shopping.
See the experience
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.
See the experience
A morning on the water between reef and lagoon, on a route adapted to the sea, the tide and what the group can manage.
See the experience
Tell me how many of you there are and when: I'll tell you what's realistic and what isn't.
