35km of vast uninterrupted, uninhabited beach, remote, unexploited & wild, this is the true meaning of where bush meets the beach. I was lucky enough to visit the Tana Delta, on the northern coast of Kenya in March of this year.
The Tana Delta is a unique & diverse wetland area, the only one of its kind in East Africa with incredible birdlife, shade dappled creeks, large pods of hippos & basking crocodiles on the banks of the Tana River. I grew up in Kenya and had been to the Tana many years ago. Quite often childhood memories take a different shape over time & one’s expectations grow, this, however, did not disappoint! With 360 degree panoramic views, the castaway style rooms of the Delta Dunes Lodge are tucked away in the rolling, rippling dunes amongst the large shade of the indigenous coastal forest.
Sitting on the verandah in the early morning sipping freshly made coffee as the sun rose over the Indian Ocean, we watched a fish eagle hard at work. Eyeing its unsuspecting victim it waited for the moment it would fling itself off the doum palm and swoop down, talons first, into the water. In stark contrast to the other side of us a pod of bottle-nose dolphins frolicked in the breakers in shore. Sand dollars in abundance, lion tracks on the beach, baboons catching crabs, exciting game tracking… this is a place I could go back to time and time again. We had bird watching trips up the tributaries, game viewing river excursions, cultural tours, fishing trips, sundowners, floating across the river mouth on rubber rings, early morning bush walks, sand yachting and kayaking.
You can do as much or as little as you like. Fabulous for honeymooners and families alike, a truly amazing place and fantastic experience and one I will cherish.
