Sabaki point: Where river meets the Indian Ocean
Wednesday February 23 2022
Locals tourists at the Gedeng Camp at the Sabaki Bridge in Kilifi County. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT
The Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is second longest in Kenya, at 390 km and is beloved of birdwatchers at its estuary. This is the best kept secret of the Kenyan North Coast, frequented by ardent birdwatchers and hydro experts recording the natural fight between fresh river water and sea water.
It gets its three names from the regions it flows through rising from Ngong outside Nairobi to the Coast. The river drains into the Indian Ocean 10 km north of Malindi town, at Sabaki.
Where it meets the sea, it’s a constant change of colour from a reddish brown of the upcountry soil, to a slight dirty aqua blue and emerald on the ocean side. The waters seems to flow side by side never mixing and in constant fight.
The river cuts the Malindi-Lamu main road at the Marafa junction offering a stunning site ideal for bird watching.
The Sabaki River Mouth is listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. A number of rare and beautiful birds have been recorded here, attracted by the tidal mud flats that offer a rich habitat for migratory waders, gulls and terns. The coastal scrub and wetlands adjacent to the river mouth are home to shorebirds and other water birds.
The numbers change because of the proximity to other IBAs in the area such as the Arabuko-Sokoke and Mida Creek, Dakatcha Woodlands and the Tana River Delta.
But in recent years, the Sabaki area has seen an increase in population of hippopotamus and crocodiles, bringing human-wildlife conflict as farmers kill hippos invading their farms in search of pasture.
The Gedeng Camp was established ‘’to balance conservation and tourism,’’ said Dominic Kiplagat, a conservationist.
At Gedeng Camp the locals are sensitised on the importance of the exotic birds, crocodiles and hippos and the conservationists are adding flavour to the area by establishing picnic sites run by local communities as commercial ventures.
“Conservation efforts are slowly bearing fruits, after local community sensitisation, and the introduction of strict policies and regulations, that would see perpetrators prosecuted. And now the Gedeng hippo camp is becoming a center of attraction for both local and foreign tourists,” said Kiplagat previously worked as a filmmaker in the area.