Kilifi Creek and Vuma Caves

Steve and Helen Curtis from Aquaventures, Watamu organised a superb day out on board "Baobab" for those wanting to dive further down the coast at a site called Vuma Caves.

An hour and a half drive south along the coast road, brings you to Kilifi Creek, a serene river mouth and popular mooring spot for the more affluent of Kenyan's populace.

The boat, a 40 foot cabin cruiser, skippered by it's retired owner Keith Mousley, was a perfect diving platform but unfortunately for divers, mainly for personal use not liveaboard charters....maybe we could persuade him.... On the way we were regaled by stories of 30 metre visibility and a Whaleshark encounter from a couple who had dived the spot the previous year. Damn, that got us excited but definately spoilt our chance of seeing a Whaleshark that day! Never mind, the caves and blowholes sounded very inviting.

The Vuma Caves and Blowholes

There's only one cave entrance that tapers to a narrow tunnel which branches off in a few places. The main tunnel leads round a blind bend where the light is cut out both sides to a vertical sink hole in the reef. If you ascend vertically, you will come out back on the top reef at 5 metres. Judge the tide well or you could easily be spat out the top by surge pushing through the cave. The Blowholes, presumably caused by a constant pummelling from the seas over thousands of years, are dotted along the rock wall which descends to 18metres and runs parallel and quite close to the shoreline.

The Dive Plan
We were to drop in, about 20 metres out from the cliffs, onto the top reef which started at 5/6 metres, swim over the edge and descend to 18metres to find the entrance to the cave. Once found, Steve would guide 3 of us through and out while the other group swam up and down the outside wall. Then we'd swap torches and the others would go for a swim.

Outside the cave, we swam south along the wall to find the blowholes. These holes were tunnels leading diagonally upwards from 18 metres to the top of the rock. On approach, the beams of sunlight shooting through the holes was similar to the strong shafts of light that penetrate a tall dense rainforest or the stained glass window of a church. Diving on slack tide, we were able to get in close to the bottom of the holes and look up to these rays blasting through. That scene was like looking through an aquarium window but far more magical. Schools of fish were silhouetted against the light swimming in and out of view. Again the photograph's did not portray the light well enough to include on this page. You'll just have to use your imagination or pay a visit.

Takaungu Reef
The second dive of the day was a shallow dive on the outer reef. Usual coral reef formations and one hugely spectacular rocky outcrop/cave packed with glassfish and a few generations of scorpionfish, picured above. We spent ages photographing this little scene, trying to capture the Scorpion's grisly face with Charlie's just behind it, both surrounded by glass fish against the blue surface. Unfortunately, Charlie's face turned out more grisly than the fish's and she ripped up the print...hmm!

Other reefs around Kilifi, recommended by Steve at Aquaventures, are Horns Pool - "a shallow bowl like depression near main reef with plenty of sea life" and Barracuda reef - "deep patch reef outside the main reef with some nice drop offs and the chance of seeing big fish including shoals of Barracuda".

How to dive Kilifi

If you intend on staying around Kilifi for a few days, you can dive with Barracuda, based at the Mnarani hotel - best to phone in advance of arrival, or you can prearrange a trip using Aquaventures, Watamu. Day trips from Watamu include lunch with the local yachties at Swynford boat yard. Another way of getting there is through Buccaneer Diving located south of Kilifi in Bamburi Beach. They have regular trips by boat directly from Bamburi, however they are totally weather dependant as the trip around can get quite rough.