Marine
National Parks and Reserves
General
Background Information
Malindi Marine
National Park & Reserve
Watamu National Park
Mombasa Marine National
Park & Reserve
Kiunga Marine National
Reserve
Kisite Marine Park
& Mpunguti Reserve
Background
Information
Marine parks and reserves, the white sandy beaches, historical
monuments, contemporary culture and the warm climate give
the Kenya Coast a unique tourist product. Almost 47% of Kenya's
tourism occurs here. Nationally about 52% of the total hotel
beds are at the coast, and 95% of the visitors to Kenya use
the coast as a base for inland safaris.
The
marine and coastal environments include Indian Ocean territorial
waters and the immediate hinterland areas that border the
ocean. Another feature of the coastline is the fringing coral
reef which runs between 0.5 km and 2 km off-shore with occasional
gaps at the mouths of rivers and the isolated areas facing
the creeks. The shoreline is dominated in most areas by beaches,
cliffs or mangrove forests. The coral-reef system and mangrove
swamps serve the most important ecological role and the former
is a major tourist attraction next to the sun, sea and sand.
WATAMU MARINE NATIONAL
PARK
Watamu National Park is part of a complex of
marine and tidal habitats on Kenyas North coast stretching
from Malindi town to beyond the entrance to Mida creek. It
is enclosed by the Malindi Marine National Reserve which also
encloses Malindi Marine National Park. Habitats include intertidal
rock, sand and mud; fringing reefs and coral gardens; beds
of sea grass; coral cliffs, platforms and islets; sandy beaches
and Mida Creek mangrove forest. The park was designated as
a Biosphere reserve in 1979.
Mida
creek is a large, almost land locked expanse of saline water,
mangrove and intertidal mud. Its extensive forests are gazetted
as forest reserves and the extreme western tip of Mida Creek
is part of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve.
Roads:
Access is via tarmac road from Mombasa or Malindi.
Airstrips:
Mombasa or Malindi Airports.
Reptiles/fish:
Fish, Turtles.
Insects/arthropods:
Crabs
Vegetation:
Mida creek has important mangrove forests with a high
diversity of species including Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora
mucronata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Avicennia
marina and Sonneratia alba.
MOMBASA MARINE
NATIONAL PARK & RESERVE
The park is 10 km2 while the reserve
is 200 km2. Both the park and reserve are the most
highly utilised among marine protected areas . Their coastline
is heavily developed with tourist facilities.
There are various agents who offer for hire boats to get into
the Marine Park. There are quite a good number of companies
offering water sports facilities. These firms are spread along
the beach. The place is ideal for diving. Diving gears are
easily available from water sports desks.
Mombasa itself is a mix of traditional and modern culture.
The 17th Century Fort Jesus, which was used as
a Fort by the Portuguese against Sultan invasion after which
they (Portuguese) were eventually evicted after a two year
siege, is within the Island which is a few minutes drive from
the marine park. Mombasa Old Town is highly dominated by swahili
culture especialy architecture.
Major
Attractions: Beach, Coral gardens.
Insects/arthropods:
Crabs, Corals, Shells, Sea urchins, Sea cucumbers, Sea Stars,
Jelly fish.
Common
Vegetation: Mangroves, Sea grasses, Sea weeds.
KIUNGA MARINE NATIONAL
RESERVE
Kiunga Marine National Reserve
incorporates a chain of about 50 calcareous offshore islands
and coral reefs in the Lamu Archipelago, running for some
60km parallel to the coastline off the northern most coast
of Kenya and adjacent to Dodori and Boni National Reserves
on the mainland. Composed of old, eroded coral, the islands
mainly lie inland around 2km offshore and inshore of the fringing
reef. They vary in size from a few hundred sq m to 100ha or
more. Their walls rise sheer from the surrounding seabed and
are usually deeply undercut on the landward side. The larger
islands and the more sheltered inner islands are covered with
low, tangled thorny vegetation including grass, aloes and
creepers. The small outer islands provide nest sites for migratory
seabirds. The reserve conserves valuable coral reefs, sea
grass meadows and extensive mangrove forests, with their attendant
biodiversity and is also a refuge for sea turtles and dugongs.
Climate:
The climate is hot and humid with rainfall around 500mm per
year.
Roads:
By boat from Lamu or by road from Lamu
Airstrips:
One at Dodori N. Reserve
Major
Attractions: Coral reefs, Sand dune, Kiwayu Island
Activities:
Wind surfing, Snorkeling, Water skiing, Sunbathing, Diving
Reptiles/fish:
Sea Turtles, Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Turtles, Reef fish
Insects/arthropods:
Lobsters, Sea urchins, Sea star, Crabs, Mosquito
Common
Vegetation: The islands consist of bare sharp
edged spikes and ridges of coral on the seaward side with
a little straggling vegetation such as Saliconria
and the succulent sanseveria.
On
the landward side there is more vegetation including stunted
thorny bushes of Commiphora and Salvadora
persica. The coast itself has sandy beaches, some
with mangrove swamps and a great variation of marine flora.
Microscopic marine plants are absent from the upper part of
the intertidal zone except for areas of Bostrychia bindelia.
In the intertidal sand and mud, the finer sediments below
water, which are subject to less wave action, have become
fixed by growth of marine angiosperms and there are extensive
areas of dugong grass (green algae) and Zostera spp.
Dwarf shrub thickets of salt-tolerant plants (halophytes)
typical of the Indo-Pacific beach littoral zone are common
on the mainland, and species include Ipomoea pescaprae,
Cyperus maritimus, Suaeda, and Tephrosia.
Mangrove swamps dominated by Rhizophora mucronata
occur in the sheltered tidal waters between Mwanzi and Mkokoni.
KISITE MARINE PARK
& MPUNGUTI RESERVE
Kisite and Mpunguti Marine Parks are located
on the south coast off Shimoni and south of Wasini Island
in Kwale District on the south Kenyan coast near the Tanzanian
border. Kisite park covers 11km2 while Mpunguti reserve covers
28 Km2. The complex covers a marine area with four small islands
surrounded by coral-reef. Kisite island is a small waterless
coral island, 8 km offshore in the Marine Park. Coral platforms
around the raised central portion are exposed at low tide.
The three other coral islets in the park (Mpunguti ya Juu,
Mpunguti ya Chini and Liwe la Jahazi) lie closer to the larger
Wasini Island, are scrub covered and support no significant
wildlife or birds. The surrounding waters have well developed
coral gardens and a large variety of fish.
Roads:
40 kms from Mombasa via Diani & Kwale
Major
Attractions: Coral Gardens
Activities:
Snorkelling, Diving, Bird watching
Common
Vegetation: Kisite is flat and treeless, covered
in low grass and herbs while Mpunguti Islands have dense coastal
equatorial forest. Sea grasses Cymodocea serrulata
and Syringodium isoetifolium cover a large area
of the sub-littoral zone of the reef. Marine algae include
Padina commersonii, Dictyota bartayresiana,
Bostrychia binderi, Ulva lactuca, Dictyosphaora
sp., Udotea indica, and Halimeda opuntia.
Park entry fees |
