Above: Seafood appertizer served at Mvureni Beach Bar and Restaurant Diani Beach. Image Rupi Mangat
Published: Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 20 April 2024
White-tipped tails hang from the branches above, when suddenly they become animated, leaping from branch to branch of the ancient baobab. They belong to the troop of black and white monkeys searching for a shadier spot to rest and munch on the nutrious leaves of the baobab that on reading The African Baobab by Rupert Watson, I’m excited to realize that the baobab is Africa’s oldest living monument, some going back to the time of the pharaohs some 5,000 years ago although the quintessential tree is not found in Egypt.
I wish the monkeys would pose for me to shoot but when l get the camera out, they are off again as if to tease me. For these tree-hugging monkeys aren’t any ordinary primates but the rare Angolan colobus monkeys whose last retreat in Kenya is in what remains of the ancient Congolese rain forest that once ran across the midriff of Africa.
The colobus monkeys are so specialized that they rarely come down to earth (a word for that is arboreal) and live on a diet of forest leaves.
I’m chilling at Maridadi Tulivu, meaning ‘quiet elegance’ in Kiswahili. The house is on the grounds of Tamani compound, a few feet from the white-powdered sands of one of the world’s beast beaches, Diani. From the patio, my view of the world is the old forest trees in the garden and the monkeys, the strip of white beach and then the shades of blue of the Indian Ocean The wind is picking up and it’s the season for the kite-surfers in the early months of the year.
But the heat is intense by mid-morning to wander off on to the beach, so we spend time at the beach-front restaurants, exploring Diani.
And we come across La Palette, sister to the one on James Gichuru road in Lavington, Nairobi. It’s a cool place – hammocks swinging from the coconut trees, an open shed that doubles as the restaurant and a deck for the bar next to the kite-centre. The menu when handed out, gives the first inkling of a special place.
It ‘teaches’ some sign language!
And that’s because most of the staff has speech and hearing impairments. But you wouldn’t know because they serve you with a smile and efficiently. It’s uplifting to be with them.
Over ice-cold lattes and smoothies, watching the kite surfers catch the ocean wind to surf the waters, l ‘chat’ with a few. Many have trained at Kwale Centre for the Deaf or at the Karen Technical Centre in Nairobi, specializing in food and beverage, bar tendering or as chefs. It’s just a happy place to be at by the beach.
The next watering hole while ‘beach crawling’ is the Mvureni Beach Bar and Restaurant, belonging to the fishermen from Biga and Mureni villages. It’s also a very minimal beachfront structure with tables and chairs under a thatched roof and a kite centre. The local fishers bring in the fresh catch every day – so you are assured of fresh seafood to buy and cook at home. We order our prawns while sipping cocktails watching the surfers ride the wind.
“It’s improved our life,” says Beka the waiter, serving the cocktails. He is Digo, from the Mijikenda tribe made up of nine smaller tribes that fled from the enemy from the Horn of Africa around the 9th century and found refuge in the thick coastal forests along today’s Kenya.
Revered by the people, the forests acted as fortified forts, each with a talisman from the homeland of Singwaya buried in the ‘fighi’. The kayas were a place to worship and live. Today, relics of these forests remain with ancient plants that are only found in them. Kaya Kinondo, a little distance away is open to the public.
“Our kaya is Kaya Madago,” tells Beka. “We don’t worship there now. Most Digo people are now Muslim.”
Nevertheless it’s heartening to hear Beka say that the kaya is looked after as a community land and no one person can sell his or her parcel of land in the kaya without community approval.
Stepping off the beach and into Diani’s cosmo-shopping centre strung along the road with smart caffes, eateries, boutiques and supermarkets, a latte at Kokkos Caffe Bistro is a well-spent mid-morning ‘people watching’ – the tourists and the locals.
Delve into Diani Beach
Maridadi Tulivu https://www.maridaditulivu.com/ is part of a gated community, spacious with three bedrooms, kitchen, living room and outside patio.
You can’t get bored in Diani.
Look up as you drive along the road and you will notice the ‘monkey bridges’ hung across for the many species of monkeys, especially the Angolan colobus for they rarely come to ground – to cross safely. Read more on Colobus Conservation https://www.colobusconservation.org/
Diani’s old forests are still home to this wildlife – but only as long as ‘developers’ respect the natural world.
Drive further to Wasini for a day on the dhow to visit the Kisite-Mpunguti marine reserve, fascinating with its coral life and marine mammals like dolphins and turtles.
Rupi the African Trotter 