Watamu, Kenya dive report
While on my honeymoon in Kenya, I had the opportunity to dive in the Watamu Marine Reserve with Scuba Diving Watamu Ltd., located next to the Blue Bay Village Hotel. The facility has six boats, over 100 tanks, and ample rental equipment for the number of divers that would imply.
On the day I was diving, there were only enough bookings to fill one boat, so that was all that went out. We checked our gear, loaded it into the large woven baskets they provided, and carried it out to one of the boats, which was moored in waist-deep water. We left from turtle bay, weaving through the exposed coral heads, and made our way through the shallows to a gap in the small barrier reef that protects the bay, and from there it was only about a ten minute ride out to the reef.
We were using 10 liter steel tanks filled to 200 bar, and the weights were in 5kg blocks, so the conversion took a little getting used to, but I was able to get by, and was dialed in for the second dive.
My overall impression was that the reef was fairly healthy, with abundant marine life different from most of what I've seen in the caribbean. It was obvious that there had been some damage though, and the occasional sugar sacks full of sand were a clear reminder that a tsunami had swept through fairly recently.
Still, there had been a whale shark sighting the day before, dolphins played in our bubbles throughout the dive, and I even saw a manta ray leap out of the water as we geared up for dive two. Other highlights included several octopus, scorpion and lionfish, numerous moorish idols, clownfish, and macro creatures, as well as moray eels so numerous that I counted eleven of them living in a single tidal pool while beachcombing the day before.
During the surface interval, we returned to the beachfront shop for tea and cookies, and headed back out with fresh tanks an hour later.
All in all, I was disappointed not to have had any close encounters with large marine animals, but still enjoyed diving in the warm, clear water.
If you ever find yourself in Kenya, I recommend a trip to the coast. Also, having stayed at several places there, the White Sands Hotel in Mombasa has a resident Blackbeards Dive Shop that offered some wreck and even cave diving. If I'd had more time there, I'd have followed up on that, but a safari beckoned.
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Originally Posted by MSilvia
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