DIANI BEACH
Diani Beach is a major beach resort
on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya (in eastern Africa). It is 30 kilometres south of Mombasa, in the Coast Province.
The beach is about 10 kilometres long, from the Kongo river to the north and Galu beach to the south (the
southern point of reference is an old Baobab tree).
It is adjacent to the town
of Ukunda, the population of which nears 100,000 inhabitants. A small airstrip
is located between the beach area and the Mombasa-Lunga Lunga road. The water
remains shallow near shore, with some underwater sandbars near the surface
which allow wading with a clear view of the sandy bottom. Inland from the
beach, there is extensive vegetation, including numerous
palm trees which cover the coastal areas, unlike the dry acacia trees of the
mountainous Kenyan Highlands.
The general area is known for its
coral reefs, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and for the closely located
Shimba Hills National Reserve, a wildlife reserve which looks out over the
Indian Ocean. Diani Beach has high-class restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and
several shopping centres.
Diani Beach is also a popular
kitesurfing location.
WATAMU
Watamu is a small town
located approximately 150 km north of Mombasa and about 15 km south
of Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small headland, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main
economic activities are tourism and fishing.
The town has a population of around 1,900 and it is
part of the Malindi District.
The
shoreline in the area features white sand beaches and offshore coral formations
arranged in three bays:
Watamu Bay, Blue Lagoon and Turtle Bay. They are protected as part of the Watamu Marine National Park. The Marine Park
is considered one of the best snorkelling and diving areas on
the coast of East Africa. In order to assist the managing
authorities namely Kenyan Wildlife Service, in protecting the Park, local
community groups, the tourist sector and environmental groups have formed a
unique organization, Watamu Marine Association
Members of this group are Turtle Bay, Hemingways, Arocha Kenya, Mida community
conservation group, watamu Boat Operator and Mwamko Mapya women group.
The name "Watamu" means "sweet people" in Swahili.
The name came from the fact that Arab slave traders used to distribute sweets
to entice the local population before taking them as slaves.
Watamu is home to the Bajuni people;
who trace their descend to the intermarriages between the local Giriama People
and the Arab traders. As at now, various tribes from inland Kenya such as the
Luo, Kisii, Kikuyu, Kamba, kalenjin, Luhyas have all emigrated to the area to
work in the Hotel industry. this movement has led to an increase in the
population of the Watamu as earlier stated.
A newly discovered species of the
largest spitting cobra in the world (Naja ashei)
was recently (2007) discovered in Watamu
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