A taste of safari life at secluded Shimba

 

Hidden in the lush national reserve in Kwale County is Shimba Hills Lodge, 48 kilometres from Mombasa, and just four kilometres from Kwale Town.

Also close by the Shimba Hills National Reserve is Mwaluganje Community Elephant Sanctuary, established to check human-wildlife conflict and generate income for  local communities. Mwaluganje serves as a corridor for elephants from the national reserve to Mwaluganje Forest.

It is worth taking the time to stop over at the conservancy and enjoy the lowland coastal forest with its rich diversity of species. 

Besides this is a unique project where elephant dung is used to make envelopes, cards and other products.

At the lodge,  the only one in the park, the welcoming party includes monkeys dangling from the trees lining the stone walkway. At the end of the path, lodge supervisor Austine Kioko has drinks ready, and the perfect place to drink them is overlooking a waterhole teeming with monitor lizards and fish.

The lodge, which was established in 1987, is a good base from which to tour the surrounding park. One of the treats is a chance to see one of the rare Sable antelopes.

Other animals in the park are elephants, colobus monkeys, giraffes, buffaloes. If you are lucky, you may get to see the outline of the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania.

Shimba Hills Lodge is an award-winning, wooden lodge overlooking a waterhole in the middle of a tropical rainforest. The climate is cool and refreshing, different from the heat and humidity that is the norm in most of the south coast.

Nathan Gatundu, the head tourist warden with the Kenya Wildlife Service, says the idea of establishing the park came from John Arkle, a farmer and warden who, while flying over the area, regularly sighted animals, especially elephants, at the waterhole.

“He saw it as a strategic place to put up a structure where visitors and tourists could come and relax as they enjoyed viewing the game,” says Kioko.

At the verandah restaurant, red squirrels scurry over the wooden barriers and down to the waterhole, near which kangas are foraging for food.

And the food is just as enjoyable as the scenery. We tried the leek soup, roast capon, parmentier potatoes, seasonal vegetables, coleslaw and bread and butter pudding, and everything was delicious. The menu includes German, English and local cuisine.

The lodge has 30 rooms, all of which have balconies overlooking the waterhole. Though small, the rooms are well-designed and cheerful, with big windows and a ceiling fan. A standby generator ensures uninterrupted power.

Guests share clean, bright, communal bathrooms overlooking the floodlit waterhole.

“We also host small weddings and provide honeymoon packages,” Kioko says.

While at the lodge, one can get a chance to visit the breathtaking 82-foot Sheldrick Falls that have a natural plunge pool.

A shower in the cool, clean waters of the fall or a dip in the pool is quite refreshing after the walk in the park.

On the walk, you might spot rare butterflies, including Acraea aubyni, an orange and black butterfly that flies slowly but high above the ground.

Nathan tells us it is possible to see Mt Kilimanjaro and Mombasa Island when the sky is clear.

While at the lodge, you can also go for sundowner excursions and game drives.

If you are planning a holiday to the coast, take the opportunity to spend some time at Shimba; it will give you a taste of safari life, a view of wildlife and a window to the diversity of Kenya’s ecosystem.

 


 

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Shimba Hills Lodge