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Kizingoni Beach

How awesome is this story of Laura Dekker, a young inspiring girl with an incredible spirit! Youth is not waisted when it’s given an opportunity to express itself and the trust and guidance to follow dreams. It is in our human nature to want to learn and explore. Traveling is an adventure and an education about life itself. Laura fought for her right to experience both, lessons learned that no one could have taught her had she not tried, failed, persevered and conquered. This is why I love traveling. Unfortunately not all of us have sea legs or the youth and the courage that Laura has. And not every trip needs to be an extreme life’s lesson learned, sometimes we all just need a holiday adventure. This week I would like to share with you the places that my job took me in and arround Kenya. I was mind blown by the beautiful people, the luscious nature and the luxury on untouched beaches.

First lets hop over to the Lamu Island. Kizingoni beach is at the southern tip of Lamu Island in Kenya. The 24 kilometers of wild seashores and send dunes have recently been designated part of the Lamu World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Little has changed in centuries, the turtles come out to lay their eggs on the beach, donkeys and dhows are the mode of transport and there is no package holiday tourism. Remote and peaceful, this place is perfect to unwind and disconnect.

I was excited for days after the call from Sonya, my friend and journalist, to join her on a job covering Kenya story. I had a romantic vision of visiting the Masai Mara plains and its people but I never expected to find what we did, kilometres of pristine sand beaches and palm trees. After a few plane flights and some boat rides, Sonya and I made our way to the Lamu Island. When we reached the shore, I rolled my pants up and stepped of the boat into the warm clear water to get to the unspoiled Kizingoni beach. The remote houses are surrounded by palms and the open roof tops are set up with lounging beds, hammocks and tables to have dinner under the stars. The house we stayed in is called Jahazi House. In the evening the kind people spoiled us with local fish that was grilled on the fire on the beach and the next day took us on the dhow to explore the Island.

In the words of Ewan McGregor when he brought his family to Kizingoni beach: “Oh no, time to go. I hope for a massive rainstorm so we have to stay longer! You’ve looked after us so well. Thank you so much. See you next time. “

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