Ocean
Local guide and safari organiser · Watamu, Kilifi County
Languages: Italian, English, Swahili, Giriama
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.
Two things need clearing up straight away. 'Safari Blue' is not a place: it is the name given here to a day on a boat with a crossing, snorkelling, a stop on a sandbank and lunch. 'Sardegna 2' is not an island: it is a tongue of sand that appears when the water pulls back and disappears when the water returns.
That means the day has no fixed timetable. It starts when the tide makes it possible, and at certain points in the month the sandbank is barely uncovered, or not uncovered at all. I would rather tell you before you book than have you step out into a metre of water.
Stop 1
I pick you up from where you are staying in Watamu, Malindi or Mambrui. The drive to Mayungu is short, but the time depends on the tide that day, so it shifts a great deal from one date to another.
Stop 2
Before we board I explain the route, where the life jackets are and what is not done in the water. The crossing runs along the reef: you are sitting down, the sun is hard and there is not shade everywhere, so hat and cream go on before we leave.
Stop 3
We stop at a spot that suits the conditions of the day and the group's confidence in the water. Anyone who is not a strong swimmer stays near the boat with a life jacket, anyone who would rather not get in waits on board: nobody is pushed to do more than they want to.
Stop 4
If the tide allows it we step out onto the exposed sand, surrounded by shallow water. It is the part that gives the day its name, and it is also the most exposed: there is no shade and the sand is hot. How long the stop lasts is decided by the rising water, not by the plan.
Stop 5
A fish lunch, on the boat or ashore depending on how the day is organised. If you have allergies, do not eat fish or follow a particular diet, tell me when you book and not on the morning itself: here the alternative is prepared in advance.
Stop 6
We come back in during the afternoon, before the wind gets up. I take you back to where you are staying: after a day like this, the evening usually ends early.
The departure time depends on the tide and shifts by roughly fifty minutes every day. That is why the date is chosen first and the time confirmed afterwards: if someone gives you a fixed time months in advance, they are guessing.
It is a shared outing: there are other guests on the boat and the pace is the group's. If you would rather have something quieter, ask me for an alternative instead of booking this one and hoping it will be half empty.
If the sea is not right we postpone or I offer another day. We do not go out anyway just because it is already booked.
The sandbank forms and uncovers according to the tidal range, which is not the same every day: on spring tides it emerges much further, at other times it stays just under the surface. Nobody can guarantee you a tide, least of all weeks in advance.
The outing is seasonal. In some months the wind and the state of the sea make the crossing uncomfortable or pointless, and in that period I simply do not offer it. Underwater visibility varies a lot too: after the rains it can drop considerably.
What you meet at sea cannot be planned. I do not promise animals, I do not attract them with food and I do not chase anything with the boat so that you can take a photograph.
You get on and off the boat in the water, with no jetty, and on the sandbank you walk on soft, uneven sand. With mobility difficulties this day is not suitable: if you are still interested in the sea, ask me for a shorter outing with easier boarding.
4/5 across 1 verified reviews
Punctual departure, boat in good order, generous lunch. The only thing I'd do differently is bring a long-sleeved top: under the midday sun on a boat you burn fast. But that's on me, not on John.
Partenza puntuale, barca in ordine, pranzo abbondante. L'unica cosa che rifarei diversamente è portarmi una maglia a maniche lunghe: sotto il sole di mezzogiorno, in barca, si brucia in fretta. Ma quello è colpa mia, non di John.
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.
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.
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.
When both formats are available for your dates I set them side by side: the price changes, and so do the flexibility over timings and the number of people travelling with you.
The proposal you receive lists only the options genuinely available in that period. I don't set out arrangements that I then cannot put on.
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
A sandbank off Watamu that surfaces only when the tide goes out, and disappears when it comes back in.
See the experience
A couple of hours on a traditional sailing boat on the creek, in the slot when the light drops. You sit, you don't paddle, and you come back in the dark.
See the experience
Tell me how many of you there are and when: I'll tell you what's realistic and what isn't.
