A goodbye trip? Might sound ridiculous, but if you ask me any reason for a trip -especially with friends- is a good reason! :) So since Jack and I were leaving (for 2 whole weeks, so a very very big goodbye indeed ahum... whatever), we decided it would be fun to do a one-night get-away trip. We started looking for places close to Nairobi that we could drive to and could fit six people and found Lahai Cottages on Airbnb. It was a very last-minute booking, but it all worked out in the end! Lahai Cottages are just behind the Great Rift Valley Lodge close to Lake Naivasha and is on a hill, so you actually have an amazing view from the house over the lake. The house itself is from a British family and it feels very much like a home, with lots of books, boardgames, DVDs, photos of the family on the walls etc. There is a big modern kitchen with pretty much everything you need for cooking, a super fancy dining room, a living room with a TV and couches, two sunrooms (one with a dining table and one with seats) and another seating area upstairs (in case you need lots of privacy while on your trip, there are enough places to go haha). There is one en suite bedroom downstairs (definitely the nicest one) and two upstairs of which one is ensuite. Downstairs is a bathroom that you can use when staying in the one non-en suite room that has a really good shower. There is staff to assist you during the stay, and they were super nice and helpful (immediately fixed a lamp that was broken, drove with us to the village to get some stuff etc). The house is surrounded by an enormous garden and the plot itself is even bigger, there are other cottages but we only saw the other guests once during our stay. There is a shared (heated!) swimmingpool and a tennis court, but we only had time to test out the swimming pool. The pool was great, there were some sunbeds and a little bar like area, which make it perfect for spending the day during a longer stay. Unfortunately we only had one evening and one morning, and it wasn't sunny. Another thing that we as a group really liked were the dogs at the cottages. There were four of them and they really liked to hang around the house (sometimes in the house too, but that was because we were fine with them walking around). There was even a parrot but he was very quiet. We spend our evening making fresh-juice cocktails and barbecuing a whole lot of lamb chops, chicken and steaks. We played games and went for a late night swim in the pool (we did that last time in Naivasha too and I promise you having a heated pool makes a big difference haha). After that we decided to watch a movie, and all snuggled up on the couches in the livingroom where they even had extra fleece blankets (big plus for me). The beds were great and the next morning we made a lovely bloody Mary breakfast in the sunroom with a table viewing the garden and the lake. After breakfast we decided to go for a walk on the plot and almost thought we got lost in the bushes, that's how big it is! Also pro-tip: wear something on your feet when going for a walk down there :). After that we played with the rugby ball on the grass field and had home made lemonade, and all of a sudden it was already time to pack our bags and head back to Nairobi... It went super fast, and we all agreed that we should go here again for a full weekend sometime soon. It's the perfect distance from Nairobi, not to mention it's always beautiful to drive with a view over the Great Rift Valley, and the house itself has everything you need. There are beds for six people, but I think you could easily have a few more people sleeping on the couches etc. Lahai Cottages: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6786386
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One of the most exciting things when living abroad, is when your friends or family come visit you. On July 4th that was the case again, one of my closest uni friends Marloes came to Kenya for her first time! And I do not mind showing her how beautiful Kenya is! Since she came from Kampala, we met each other early in the morning at Nairobi airport at the gate to fly straight to the beautiful coast. We wanted to spend some time on the beach and had decided for Diani. And besides it was Marloes her first time, it was actually my first time in Diani too! I don't know how, but in the +12 months I have been in Kenya I went to a lot of places, but not Diani. Even though, some say it's the best beach in Kenya. So Diani it was. Diani's best taxi driver Sifa picked us up and brought us to the AirBnb we had booked in advance: Shambani Cottages. We were welcomed at Shambani by Francis, who brought us the amazing news that instead of the Twiga Cottage that we booked (1 bedroom) we were upgraded to the Flamboyant Cottage. This was an entire villa, with a big kitchen, seating space, dining table and one en-suite bedroom downstairs. Another en-suite bedroom, lounge space and dining table on the first floor AND a rooftop terrace surrounded by palms with two beach beds on top of the villa. It had an amazing Swahili interior and the place was huge for just the two of us. Besides, the cottages are surrounded by green and palms which gives it a very quiet and peaceful vibe. There is also a beautiful swimming pool, that we didn't try out because we were a 5 minute walk from the beach. Shambani Cottages is all the way down the Diani Beach road (opposite Jacaranda Hotel, where you can get great lunch + dinners on the beach). When you cross the road (Shambani works with some guys that will walk you to and from the beach, and can help you get sunbeds and a shed for a small prize), you arrive at where the Mwachema River flows into the ocean. This creates a sandbank, and a quiet place to swim with few waves. Since it is also kind of at 'the end' of Diani beach, it was almost empty when we were there and less beach boys etc. Also the 'Shambani guys' are there to help you out if anyone of the sellers are being annoying. Besides, the beach in Diani IS amazing! Twiga Cottage, Shamabi: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2363465 Flamboyant / Baobab Cottage, Shambani: https://www.airbnb.nl/rooms/5026652?location=Kwale%2C%20Kenia&s=Z5M3cTQR (this is not the exact same villa, but very very similar) Shimba Hills & Wasini Island/Kisite Marine Park
We decided to not only spend our days on the beach, but also explore a little more of the area. On Thursday we went to Shimba Hills, just a 1,5 hour drive from Diani for a half-day trip. This is one of the many National Reserves in Kenya. We actually booked it really last minute through Francis from Shambani, but got a good driver that picked us up early that morning so we would have more chance to spot animals. We saw giraffes, warthogs and all types of gazelles. The elephants were hiding that day. We stopped at a few amazing few points and we joined the daily hike all the way down to the Sheldrick Falls where we refreshed in the cool water and took some photos. It was quiet a slippery hike, so make sure you don't go on flip-flops or you will end up walking on bare feet like me haha. Personally, I think a half-day trip was enough to see the reserve and a whole day would be too long. On Friday we wanted to go to Wasini Island, a few hours drive south towards the Tanzanian border. We went on a boat with a few other tourist and first went on the look for... dolphins! We saw a few of them, but since they were hunting for fish we mostly saw fins. After that we went around Wasini Island towards Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park & Reserve. The sea was super rough and a few people got sea sick (including poor Marloes :( ). But the Marine Park is beautiful, it is close to an island and has the clearest blue water ever! I went snorkeling and saw beautiful coral, lots of fish (Blue Tang aka Dory, Potato Fish, Unicorn Fish, Parrot Fish etc.) and even swam for a few minutes next to a huge sea turtle! It was really awesome and because it wasn't deep, with a small dive you were next or in between all the fish. After another rough boat ride back, we went to a restaurant on Wasini Island where we had an amazing local lunch including seaweed and chapati. There was a choice of fish and chicken, and we even tried some sweet fresh crab. After lunch with a view we walked through the village for a bit. From Wasini Island its only a short trip back to the main land, where the boat guys sang songs and drummed which was really a fun. I think this is really worth to do as a day-trip when staying in Diani! |
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