Just inside the many inlets of Mombasa Island, on the Kwale County side, the Tsunza Peninsula is one of the most accessible and least known natural paradises on the Kenyan coast.
It is a spectacle of lagoons, islands and dense mangroves. It is a favourite spot for bird watchers, but also for fishermen, who with their typical boats enter a thousand labyrinths of canals and waterways that mix the saltiness of the ocean with the sweetness of the rivers that pour in here.
From Mkupe beach in Miritini, not far from the port of Mombasa, boats take tourists on an excursion which, in just twenty minutes, offers visions of unspoilt scenery, peeking through the tangles of mangroves. The eye is drawn to the wildlife, mostly birds that prefer the cool heathland by the canals, while predators fly close to the water to catch fish.
From the eastern slopes of the peninsula, the contrast of Mombasa harbour with its gigantic cargo-lifting cranes and the ship traffic in the harbour turning basin.
In Tsunza, the local community is developing sustainable tourism, using canoes and boats to provide authentic experiences for tourists, combining them with a day at the beach or traditional lunches on the islets along the creek. Areas have been set aside for visitors, with handicrafts and traditional Kayamba and Zandale dances of the Duruma tribe, one of the nine that make up the lesser-known Mijikenda ethnic group. For those who want to immerse themselves in the ancient culture of this tribe, visiting the sacred caves known as 'kayas', there is also the possibility of being hosted by the village communities through a local association.