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SHANZU |
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At the northern end of the piece of coast between Mombasa Harbour
and Mtwapa Creek, Shanzu is dominated by exclusive holiday clubs, and is
really too far from Mombasa to be a worthwhile day-trip for the beach,
although it does have a couple of other attractions that may appeal to
some.
The most unusual of these, 1km east of the Mombasa-Malindi road and
copiously signposted, are the Ngomongo Villages (daily 9am-5pm; Ksh500,
children Ksh250; tel 011/486480; ). Like Bamburi Nature Park, this is a
reclaimed quarry, but one with a twist: as well as trees, it's been
planted with a collection of eleven mock rural homesteads, complete with
permanent inhabitants in matching dress, representing the "most
colourful tribes of Kenya". Don't expect authenticity, but do expect a
fun half-day out in Kenya's only theme park. There are Akamba wood
carvers, musicians, herbalists, and the unavoidable crocodile pit, with
less common attractions of hands-on activities like archery, Luo-style
hook fishing, Turkana-style harpoon fishing, grain pounding, and tree
planting. There's also the Kienyeji Bar & Restaurant , whose lunchtime
African buffet costs Ksh550.
Also worth a visit is the Shanzu Transitional Workshop for Disabled
Young Women, 350m east of Ngomongo, run by the Mombasa Girl Guides (Mon-Fri
8am-12.30pm & 2-4.30pm; c/o Mrs D.P. Shah, PO Box 80890 Mombasa tel
011/223078). Here, fourteen young women between 18 and 20 years old are
currently being trained or employed in practical handicraft skills,
turning out a small selection of well-made clothes (great Bermuda
shorts), jewellery and leatherwork which is for sale. The idea is to
graduate them with enough vocational training to enable them to become
self-sufficient in the community. They don't get many visitors, so go
and support the project if you can.
You'll find a large cluster of shops at Shanzu, by Sonia Apartments ,
with everything including the good Kelele Record Shop which sells
African music CDs, and email, internet and telephone services in the
same enclosure. At Shanzu Bazaar, nearby, there's a clinic (Dr A.S.
Buran tel 011/485238), and an aromatherapy centre (Body-Line Institute
tel 011/486350).
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