An Introduction
Along the entire Kenyan coast stretches a vast fringing coral reef protected from overfishing and development in many places by Marine Park laws.
Parts of this reef have been visibly damaged. The scapegoat is of course 'El Nino', however rumours of slack policing within the Marine Parks is another possible contributing factor.
THE GOOD NEWS:If diving in an affected area, usually once you get past 10metres depth there lies a wealth of colourful hard and soft corals together with a tremendously diverse marine fauna. The positive signs of regrowth are definately in place.
What should you expect: A FRINGING REEF IS NOT THE SAME AS A CORAL GARDEN so don't arrive expecting boundless landscapes of luxurious coral carpeting draped over the seabed. A fringing reef tends to stretch along a coastline, is mainly patchy areas of coral with some stunningly active coral heads teeming with life.
We found 6 spectacular dive sites along this coastline that we will readily recommend to experienced divers everywhere.
Visibility: Before arrival, we had been led to believe that 20m was average visibility for Kenya diving. Excited about this prospect, we found our first couple of dives on the fringing reefs disappointing. Despite local insistence that the visibility was normally much better, we realised that 10 - 15m with sometimes heavy suspended particles in the water, was in fact the January average due to silting outflow from some river mouths and the presence of the Kaskazi wind overstaying its welcome this year. Once we accepted this, we began to enjoy ourselves. The visibility averages 20m during November before the short rains and February/March before the long rains.
If you're looking for the big blue experience, dramatic walls, with a constant 30m visibility and large pelagics on every dive, you will be disappointed. We have spent over a month diving in Kenya and in over 30 dives we have yet to see a shark - except a tiny dead one on the end of a fishing line. Whalesharks had been spotted 3 or 4 times that season but managed to evade our eager eyes. If you can accept that these encounters are rare, and you are interested enough to content yourself with 'smaller' reef life, Kenya has much to offer. We have yet to ascend from a dive without a smile.
In Anton Koornhof's hugely successful book, Dive Sites of Kenya and Tanzania, he congratulates the Kenyan government on their 'laudable forsight to create marine reserves as far back as 1968. Unfortunately it seemed to us that any initial commitment to preserving the marine environment has been forsaken, as large fishing trawlers from Japan and Korea can be seen operating close in to the shore of the North Coast. It seems these ships are allowed to fish here because of 'aid' donated to the Kenyan government. We can only hope that these factory ships show an element of restraint in their activities, although restraint is not something often accredited to fishermen.
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Diving Seasons vary according to each area, but the best time of year to dive most places is Nov before the short rains & Feb/March before the long rains. May / June and in some areas July / August are no dive periods due to strong winds. Malindi is an exception and is badly affected by the Galana River outflow. Nov through to March the water literally turns brown and is undiveable on the usual reefs. Best diving in this area is around July / August.
How much? At the time of our visit, it was costing on average $30 per dive incl equipment. Please check price details with individual dive centres as they vary slightly.
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