This is Lamu

Growing up in Kenya, I had heard of the ancient Arab-African culture of the Lamu archipelago. In October 2000, I had my first chance to experience this amazing hidden tourist destination on Kenya's north coast. Michel Laplace-Toulouse, owner of African Latitude a Nairobi-based company specializing in walking safaris, and Pierre Oberson, owner of Kijani House, a first-class hotel on Lamu Island, invited me to survey the archipelago's resident bird population. I was not disappointed. For any tourist, Lamu Town and the beaches of Shela offer an extraordinary combination of natural and architectural beauty as sand dunes and minarets punctuate the shoreline. For both the professional and amateur ornithologist, the Lamu archipelago offers unmatched bird watching opportunities. I left Malindi, a small town 120 kilometres north of Mombasa, and flew to Lamu, landing at the small airstrip on Manda Island only 20 minutes later. The two small buildings of the airport were an early indication that the archipelago would not be swarming with tourists as many of Kenya's resorts are nowadays. Just beyond the plane, Kijani House's friendly guide and boat captain Hamid waited for me under an Acacia tree, shielding him from the hot tropical sun. We walked out along a wooden jetty to a boat called a dhow - Lamu only form of transportation. Most dhows, constructed from mangrove and mahogany with towering handmade sails, are powered by the strong coastal wind but we used the inboard diesel engine for the three-kilometre trip to Shela. Along the way, Hamid told me of his great-grandfather from Oman. Passing Lamu Town, I noticed the Persian-influenced architecture in the old stone buildings with their massive carved thresholds, built close together so the streets are cool despite the midday heat, like an Arab souk. Ideally located within walking distance of both Lamu town and Shela Beach, Kijani House, comprises the best of traditional local architecture terraced around two swimming pools and gardens of dripping orange and pink bougainvillea. Each of the ten rooms has a veranda roofed in makuti, the traditional method of mounting plaited coconut fronds on a wooden frame. Inside the rooms, white mosquito nets veil carved mahogany four-poster beds. Just beyond the hotel gardens, a deserted beach of seven miles stretches southward. Along this beach and in the sand dunes and scrub just inland, I began my search for Lamu wildlife. Madagascar Bee-Eaters, normally a migrant to Kenya from Madagascar, began to appear. I also found White-Fronted Plovers, Carmine Bee-Eaters, migrant from Ethiopia and Somalia, Blue-Naped Mousebird, and African Fish Eagle all around Shela. Most of my time, however, was spent surveying Manda Island, which is roughly the same size as Lamu, but largely uninhabited. Manda is also an important sanctuary for many birds, mammals, reptiles, butterflies, and other animals. Elephant can be found, but they are very few and tend to be shy and secretive. My four full days spent wandering around Manda revealed 96 different bird species. This is striking because of the small size of the island, but the number reflects the diversity of the varied habitats, which includes wetlands, mangroves, grasslands, and Acacia scrub. Dry-country birds to be seen include various Golden-Palm Weavers, Amethyst Sunbirds, Bare-Eyed Thrushes Sulphur-Breasted Bush-Shrikes, Ethiopian Swallows, and Speckled Mouse birds. Wetland species to be seen include various Terns, Egrets, Herons, Ibises, and migrant Sandpipers and Plovers. Undoubtedly my survey is not inclusive, so it's likely that there are 50 more bird species waiting to be recorded. And if you accomplish all that, there are many sites of historical interest to visit including the Takwa ruins and the Lamu Fort