Wasini Island

Wasini is a small island of raised coral a short boat ride from Shimoni, with no cars, no roads and two villages of about three thousand people in all, living by fishing and by the day-trippers who come for the Kisite marine park. The island's own attraction is the coral garden, an area of fossil coral raised above sea level and now dry, crossed by a boardwalk built and run by a women's group, where the eroded coral forms pinnacles and hollows and mangroves flood the edges at high tide. Lunch on Wasini, usually crab, fish and coconut rice served in a village restaurant, is the standard second half of a Kisite dhow trip. Walking through the village gives a sense of a Swahili fishing community living without vehicles, with narrow lanes, coral-block houses and boats drawn up on the shore.

The main sights

• The coral garden boardwalk - raised fossil coral crossed by a walkway.
• The fishing village - car-free lanes and coral-block houses.
• Swahili lunch - crab and fish served after the Kisite snorkelling trip.
• Mangrove edges - tidal channels around the island.

When to go

October to March, when the sea is calm and the dhow trips run reliably; the southeast monsoon makes crossings rough from June to September. The boardwalk is best at high tide when water fills the channels.

Things to know

Most visits are part of a packaged dhow day trip and the schedule is fixed. The island has minimal facilities and limited fresh water. The coral garden is small and takes half an hour. Village walks should be done with respect for a conservative Muslim community.

Nearby

Kisite-Mpunguti marine park is offshore; Shimoni is the mainland base.

Key facts