When booking a trip to Kenya I really didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t booking with any major tour operator like Kuoni who are renowned for their luxurious Safari trips. I wanted something a little more raw but had been warned to play it safe out there. 

Going to a resort with armed guards patrolling the perimeter puts me on edge and spoils my desire to understand the culture. On this trip however, that desire was well and truly fulfilled! 

Upon arriving in Kenya and stepping outside to see our prebooked group transfer (something I always hate to do and rarely participate in) our jaws dropped as we saw the somewhat run down mini-coaches that were to be our chariots. Clearly MOT’s are not something that Kenya part-takes in. 

We reminded ourselves that 4star here would not be what we are used to in Europe and that we had said we wanted a more realistic experience of Kenya. 

With our luggage strapped to the roof we were away on the part dirt track/part Tarmac roads to our resort – Dolphin Hotel on Shanzu Beach, Mombasa. 

It occurred to me whilst driving passed the mud huts and watching ladies carrying water on their heads that the huge billboards scattered on the roadside advertising Nike trainers and mobile phones were very much misplaced. 

The resort itself was fine on most levels. Salt water showers in the room though was never going bode well for a 10 day stretch so we resorted to showering by pouring bottles of fresh water over us. We shared our shower with a couple of lizards who I became very fond of by the end of the trip. 

The food was edible. I stuck mainly to bread rolls which were served with unsalted butter (you realise how you take such things as a bit of salt for granted), some bits of salad and chips. Very extravagant! But even with eating just that I would end up after ever meal just like the rest of the holiday makers spending much time in the toilets. 

The Shanzu Beach was lovely but we couldn’t venture out onto it very much as would be harassed by the locals to such an extent that we were swamped. The local traders would all sit on the rope that sectioned off the small area allocated for the hotel residents, staring back at you waiting to catch your eye. You daren’t look out to the sea as it would create no end of fuss and commotion from them.

We found that if we waited until the lunchtime high heats when the traders would go for a nap under the nearby palm trees that we would be able to race down to the water for a few minutes perhaps only being pounced upon by one or two traders. 

Upon going stir crazy we were overheard discussing venturing out of the armed resort for a stroll around. Two female holiday makers approached us to warn against it. 

They had apparently been coherst into venturing out by one of the male hotel staff. He had told them to go to a dance bar just down the road and that it was very safe and that he would also be there and would look out for them. 

They apparently had an awful experience of much unwanted and at times aggressive attention. They fled the venue and struggled to get back to the hotel safely. It really did seem unadvisable to mingle with the locals outside of the resort staff which was much to my dismay. 

I was however pleased to be going on our two night Safari early on it our holiday rather than later. The attachment to the toilet became worse as the trip progressed and I’m not sure we would have made it through hours on end onboard a Safari truck with no toilets in sight had we gone on Safari towards the end of our holiday. 

Safari: 

We flew out to Tsavo East at the crack of dawn on a tiny 10 seater plane whereby men stand by it with fire extinguishers as it take off. It’s one aeroplane experience I won’t forget in a hurry and very much had me thinking my time was up. I was somewhat pleased (at this point at least) that we were to be driving back. 

We stayed at the Crocodile Camp sleeping in tent huts with plastic mattresses which had you sweating so much in the night that you wake up in a pool of water wondering if you’d had an accident!  

It was a great experience though to see the crocodiles come in at night for feeding and to hear the sounds of the wildlife around you.   

Out in the trucks at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise and chase the animals across the park to get a good view was everything you expected it to be.

My highlight was the baby giraffe walking up over the hill. Wow. 

Deer and zebra became ‘two a penny’ and you soon stopped getting excited over them but to see the elephants, the lions, the eyes of the hippo etc were all great sights. 

It was a long long day venturing through the parks so what the trip home then went on to deliver was unwelcomed. We stopped for lunch on exiting the reserve and it was then around a 5 hour drive back to the hotel. 

Enroute our driver decided to stop off at his own home as he doesn’t get to see his family often and wanted to eat with them. It was only for maybe 20minutes but the 6 of us were stuck in the truck like sitting ducks for the drivers friends and family to harass us into buying their wares. 

We then drove on and stopped at a Masai Mara village, which wasn’t on the itinerary, and which appeared to be very much staged. We were all hustled out of the truck to go into the village where we were charged a fee to be walked around to see how they lived. They then performed a tribal dance and circled around us quite menacingly. We were pleased to be moving on! 

The endless dirt track journey home shook us to bits and had us all covered in red dirt, over heating (no aircon) and just feeling quite forlorn after being exposed to the harsh reality of the poverty that exists in the townships. 

As we drove through town after town locals would run up to the truck some asking for water others hopeful of money to be thrown out of the window for them. Children chasing after us just for fun to break up their day.  

Upon arriving back to what now could be appreciated as a luxurious hotel room I couldn’t help but look over at the ridiculously expensive shampoo and conditioner I had invested in for this trip to keep my hair from burning and my wardrobe full of many new clothes and flip flops and well…., just feel guilty. 

Taking this route home from safari rather than just flying back exposed the true lives of many Kenyans which is often hidden out of sight from holiday makers. 
Whilst it certainly took the shine off of the magnificent animals I had seen; it was after all what I had said I had come here to see – the true Kenya. 

It became even more confusing to see that what lies next to such poverty would occasionally be such riches with the odd scattering of a mansion style house locked behind walls and gates. 

Who are these people that live like kings amongst such poverty?

 In a sense, this is life and exists in every country and culture of course but I have never seen it at quite so opposite ends of the scale as I have here in Kenya. 

Upon leaving our resort at the end of our trip we were told that we could not leave money to the employees. They would be accused of steeling it, it would be taken from them and that they would be sacked. 

Instead we could leave ‘items’ if we listed what we were leaving and who we were leaving them to. 

It was a little like writing a will! 

I left everything I thought would be of use or something they may be able to sell. I left clothes, shoes, hats, sunglasses, toiletries, etc and went home with a case half empty. 

Would my contribution change life’s? Of course not, but I could leave knowing that in return for these people opening up their country to us to marvel at the wild animals that I could at least say a small thank you to the local people that seem to benefit little from tourism.  

I arrived back to the UK with a whole new appreciation and gratitude for the things I have in my life.