Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park is located on Kenya’s southern coast between Shimoni and Wasini Island in Kwale District, close to the Tanzanian border. Kisite Park is 11 square kilometers, whereas Mpunguti Reserve is 28 square kilometers.
How do I get there?
In the Coast Province is where Kwale District is located. The Marine Park is located 11 kilometers off the coast of Kenya (near Shimoni) and 8 kilometers north of the Tanzanian border. The distance from Nairobi is 574 kilometers and 90 kilometers from Mombasa
Attractions
Kenya’s Barrier Reef
The most notable feature of the Kenyan coast is the clean and well-developed coral barrier reef stretch without substantial interruption from Shimoni in the south to Malindi in the north, except at river mouths. Coral reefs, often known as “sea rainforests,” are one of the most intriguing ecosystems, home to approximately one million different forms of marine life.
Underwater Kingdom Enchanted
This world-famous Marine Park promises an underwater world of incredible color and brightness with its enchanting realm of live coral gardens, carved islands, wheeling seagulls, and sparklingly clean seas. The reef feeds and shelters an entire marine community. A shifting rainbow of small fish, octopus, and clams hide in the gaps between the rainbow coral; celestial-blue parrotfish chew off lumps of coral with their hard beaks, while a kaleidoscope of soup plate-sized snappers, rubber fish, Sergeant major fish, butterflyfish, angelfish, and scorpionfish shimmer in the sunlight of the clear waters. Moray eels lurk in holes among small crabs and wrasses while hunting rays, turtles, 1-meter long reef sharks, and starfish patrol the coral in search of prey (long, spiny-finned fish). Sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and various mollusks graze on the algae in these warm coastal waters. Kisite Mpunguti Marine Protected Area is home to 252 reef fish species, around 56 genera of hard corals, two common types of seagrass, and countless sponges.
Turtle Landing
The Park is well-known for its turtle population, with Green and Hawksbill turtles frequently observed at their favorite hangout, Kijamba cha Kasa.
Spotting Dolphins and Whales
The reef is home to around 200 dolphins (spinning, humpback, and bottle-nosed), which can be seen as individuals or groups of 2-25 people breaking above the waves. If you travel between July and December, you may be able to see Humpback whales, which nurture their calves in our warm waters and migrating Whale sharks (the world’s largest fish).
Kisite Island, Seabird Kingdom
Kisite Island is a critical bird habitat (IBA). IBAs are vital habitats for the protection of bird populations around the world. Kisite is a flat, treeless rocky outcrop with large patches of grass surrounded by a lovely sandy beach exposed at low tide. This provides a perfect seabird habitat for pelagic feeders and breeding colonies of roseate and sooty terns, which arrive in July to breed and depart with their fledglings in September each year.
A paradise for Divers and Snorkelers
The Park and Reserve are ideal diving sites for both novices and experienced divers due to its warm shallow waters, superb visibility, pristine coral, and extraordinary diversity of marine life. This Park’s warm, clear waters, magnificent soft corals, and multicolored marine life make it one of the best snorkeling destinations in East Africa. Mooring buoys designate the most popular places in the significant coral garden towards the outer border of the Kisite anchorage area.
Shimoni Slave Caverns
Shimoni’s historic coral caverns are only a five-minute walk from Shimoni Pier and well worth a visit. They are enormous, with specific areas teeming with fruit-eating and insect-eating bats. Shimoni caves continue 5 kilometers inland, linking to the three sisters’ caves. For generations, these caves served as ‘Kayas,’ or hallowed places of worship and sanctuary for the local population. The caves are also thought to have acted as holding areas for hundreds of abducted slaves on their way to the infamous Arabian slave markets of Zanzibar in the 18th and 19th centuries. The caves are open from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. as part of a community effort (a small entrance fee is payable at the gate and the amounts of money collected pay local teachers in primary schools and school fees for needy children).