Kenya day 21 - Mida Creek Tourist Trip

Three weeks in Kenya already! Time is flying...

My morning walk came close to being a morning wade - we had one of those downpours just as I got to the village school. Fortunately it cleared up and turned into a lovely day.

Sunny but the wind makes big waves at the edge of the reef

The new roof for the upstairs meeting area is nearly complete

However, the power, and hence internet access, has been off several times today for hours at a time. Just after lunch my laptop battery ran out again, so I went off to Mida Creek to do the tourist things...

Mangrove nursery - the women grow mangrove seedlings to replant areas where the trees have been cut down

I had a guide called Mohammed, and he showed me some of the waders on the mudflats, which has helped with identifying the different species.

Greater Sand Plover

Crab Plover - yep, it eats crabs!

Dimorphic Egrets - some are black, some are white...

Woolly-necked Stork - lovely iridescent wings

Hermit Crab

Then we had a trip to Green Island in a dugout canoe! It was quite windy, so the water was a bit choppy and I got rather wet. The camera and binoculars managed to stay dry - just! The local fishermen use dugout canoes all the time, but it's quite a novelty. I found it quite stable, even with "Captain Michael" standing up in the back and poling. In deeper water he would use a paddle, but at low tide he can pole it along like a gondolier. Every boatman here seems to be referred to as Captain, regardless of the size of his boat!

Aboard Captain Michael's dugout canoe

We hurried back across the mudflats because another shower was on its way, but it didn't start raining until I was ready to leave. Meanwhile, we visited the bird hide again - it's got a roof so it's a useful shelter - and then went along the boardwalk. This is part of the A Rocha Kenya ASSETS program; proceeds from the boardwalk and boat trips go to pay  for secondary school scholarships for needy students.

Yellow billed storks coming in to land

On the boardwalk...

I got back to Mwamba with a lift from some folk who were going to Gede, then a matatu to Watamu (nearly rhymes!) and a piki piki the last mile or so to the centre, so it was dark and the power was off again by the time I got back. Still, we have power again now (obviously) so I can make this post....