| KIUNGA MARINE NATIONAL RESERVE
Occupying an area of 250 square kilometers, the Kiunga Marine
National Reserve encompasses Kiwayu Bay and Kiwayu
Island and was gazetted a protected area in 1979. The
reserve's location at the confluence of two major ocean currents
creates unique ecological conditions that nurture three
inter-dependent marine habitats - mangroves, seagrass beds and
coral reefs.
Kiunga hosts seven of the nine mangrove species found in
Kenya and is home to the tallest mangrove trees and some of the
least impacted mangrove forests in the country. The seagrass
beds in Kiunga provide feeding and sheltering grounds for sea
turtles, dugongs, fish and bird life.
Five species of turtle have been recorded in Kiunga's water,
three of which nest on the reserve's beaches - the Green,
Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles. The breeding
season is usually between April and November. Copulation occurs
in the water and a few weeks later, the female turtle crawls up
a sandy beach to lay a clutch of eggs which can vary between
100-180. The incubation period ranges from 55-65 days depending
on species, sand and weather and a nesting female may return
between 3-6 times in a breeding season. Since 1997 more than 300
turtle nests have been recorded and more than 17,000 hatchlings
have successfully returned to the sea. Interested tourists can
participate in hatchling release.
Kiunga is also home to the Dugong, the most threatened
mammal in Kenya. The dugong is a member of the Order Sirenia
whose members are commonly referred to as Sea Cows, and is the
world's only herbivorous marine mammal. It is a large solid
mammal similar in proportions to a small whale measuring between
2.5 - 3 metres and weighing between 230 and 350 kgs. Its body
tapers from a large, blunt head through a streamlined body to a
horizontally flattened fluke, characteristic to that of a whale.
Flippers are used for movement and there are auxiliary teats
behind each flipper. It is commonly thought that the dugong was
what sailors referred to in ancient times as a mermaid.
Kiunga, like other marine reserves in Kenya, allows the local
Bajun people access to its resources, a factor that is
critical to the survival of these communities. Research and
monitoring programs have been established with local fishermen
to track threatened and endangered species such as the sea
turtle and dugong, and turtle nests found by local fisherfolk
are reported to the KMNR Headquarters. Once the nest has been
verified, the reporter is financially rewarded.
Villagers have established heath and cleanliness groups and
in 1996 Kenya Wildlife Services and World Wide Fund for Nature
created a working partnership to develop a long-term strategy
for the reserve that draws on the concept of integrated
conservation and development. Throughout the duration of this
partnership the local communities have been closely involved in
planning and management processes.
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KIWAYU SAFARI VILLAGE is a
barefoot luxury retreat on a deserted stretch of white beach.
Kiwayu is located on the Kenya mainland in the most remote
Dodori National Reserve some 30 miles north of Lamu Island, in a
breathtakingly beautiful bay opposite Kiwayu Island.
The captain, Ubi Saragoni, has fished the local Kenyan
Coastline for twelve years and has spent the last three years
fishing the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica before returning to
Kenya a few months ago. He speaks Italian, English, Spanish,
French and Kiswahili and is assisted with an experienced crew of
2. The crew are also experienced in Fly Fishing though Kiwayu
does not have tackle for fly fishing and the client will need to
bring their own.
