Waltzing through Watamu

The view of Hemingways Hotel in Watamu.

Watamu has international reputation for its pristine white-sand beaches and reef-protected lagoons, but as ALLAN OLINGO found out, the ideal way to spend a holiday in Watamu is to take a sundowner dhow sail into Mida Creek, snorkel or join in deep-sea fishing

Whenever one talks to me about fishing, I always picture pitch darkness, dead alone in the sea at the mercy of sea animals, but when Hemmingway’s invited me for a build-up to the international fishing competition scheduled for late November, I wasn’t sure.

You see, am not a fan of water; the large mass of water. It makes me sick, but when I saw that my friends Biko, Laura, Ferdinand and the rest of the crew were going to be on the expedition, I decided to join in.

Having arrived at Watamu with the last flight of the day. We decided to end our first day with an Arabian sundowner dhow ride to explore the Mida Creek. Well, this would make a perfect romantic get away. The sweet nothings told on this dhow sail will mean a lot. True!

The Mida Creek is home to a fantastic range of bird life, and there are countless winding channels and estuaries to explore.

This creek, a large mangrove-lined creek is part of the Mida Creek Marine Reserve managed by Kenya Wildlife Service. I later learnt from Jeff Mukolwe, the rooms division manager at Hemingways Watamu, that the trees in this creek have spectacular looking root systems that thrive on the tidal variations.

The mangrove forest consists of a few species of salt-tolerant evergreens that provide a home for birds, worms and hundreds of species of fish feeding during high tide.

As the dhow sailed up the creek in the sundowner, we were served seafood delicacies to the excitement of the other guests. The sail lets you have your own moment and for a few couples on honeymoon, they were having a moment of their life at the upper deck as we drank ourselves away. Dawa, is definitely a must try drink! You will let the ocean winds echo your sorrows away.

As we motored back as the sunsets over the mangroves cast a shadow on us, I then understood why Watamu was voted as one of the hottest places to visit by the Travellers Choice Awards.

The night before

That evening as we had our dinner, we were given pills that we were to take the next morning before leaving for the fishing expedition. The story, howver, changed for me the next morning. Having had flu, I decided to take sleeping pills. That did me in.

I woke up the next morning at 9am, only to be told Biko and the rest had left for deep sea fishing three hours ago and were expected back at 2pm. How could they? Anyway, having cursed them, I opted to join the other guests in the swimming pool.

In mid afternoon, I spotted the party powering their way through the water. I wanted to hear their experience. What fish did the catch? Did they see sharks? Whales? Who whimpered?

“They hauled us in the deep sea and we caught a long furious fish called Wahoo. It was fun,” quipped Biko as jealousy filled me up.

To kill it and stop it from cutting someone in half with its sharp fin and teeth, Biko explained, the skipper in the boat had to bludgeon its head with a piece of wood, sending shudder down my spin.

Simon, the head skipper informed me that Wahoo, being one of the fastest fish in the sea, are renowned for their searing first run and when there are a lot of them around, chaos reigns as lines are cut all over the place by fish striking at terminal tackle moving through the water. That sounded scary! For a moment I was glad I did not head into this fishing expedition.

Deep down, though, I promised myself that I would come back for the fishing competition. It sounded interesting. En route to snorkelling, later that evening, the skipper told me that sport fishing is catching up within this area, as most tourists now prefer spending time in the ocean rather than the beach.

Scary sharks tales

From a conversation with Simon, I learnt that there is almost guaranteed sightings of whale sharks on outer reef dives along the Kenyan coast between February and March every year. That was interesting.

The whale shark, being the largest fish in the world, measuring up to 18 metres and weighing up to 20 tonnes would make me scream my guts out, were it to show up.

“Hio yaitwa papa shilingi,” Simon the skipper said as we anchored with excited guests jumping into the ocean to snorkel.

Simon says that legend has it that God was so pleased when he created this beautiful fish that He gave his angels handfuls of gold and silver coins to throw down from heaven onto its back. So it goes that whale sharks have their magical markings and swim near the surface catching the sun on their backs as a way of saying thank you to their maker.

On our way back, we passed by the ‘island’ within the ocean and had fun sand bathing. Then out of nowhere, Simon spotted a baby shark and we all scampered for safety back to the boat! It was time to head for dry land.

That evening, I had a chat with Steve Trott, the chairman of the Watamu Marine Association. Trott is both knowledgeable and passionate. He says that unknown to many Kenyans, big game fishing is available within Watamu and the main game fish include sailfish, marlin, kingfish, wahoo, horse mackerel and others. They, however, do not kill the fish but practise the tag and release programme, which ensures eco-friendly fishing.

Sea’s big five

“We all know about the big five and sandy beaches, but not many know of the big five of the sea, which can all be viewed within Watamu,” Trott said as I enquired about the marine conservation.

According to Trott, whale watching, encounters with dolphins, deep sea fishing, and swimming with nearly a thousand species of aquatic creatures known as snorkelling in the coral forest are on offer within Watamu but unknown to many, they prefer the comfort of the sandy white beaches.

“Whales come to our deep seas every year starting after June and although there is no scientific proof, researchers have indicated that they come here to mate. The effects are being felt across other facilities that rely on high tourism numbers to run their operations,” said Trott as he showed me the pictures of the previous fishing competitions.

It’s interesting to learn that game fishing is fun and not just for seasoned anglers. With a bit of practice, anyone can catch fish and enjoy this magnificent sport. It was indeed an eye opener, and I booked a place on one of the Hemmingway’s teams that will be competing in the international fishing competition, a good and genuine excuse to take time off and head to the Coast.