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Write a User ReviewSables, Squirrels and Bush Babies
Shimba Hills doesn’t compare with Kenya’s finest in terms of overall game viewing, but this small reserve offers much to wildlife connoisseurs and it’s a great overnight add-on to a beach holiday, situated less than an hour’s drive from Mombasa and the resorts of Diani Beach. It is the only place in Kenya that supports the sable antelope, and I’ve successfully spotted the handsome male – with its black coat and backward-curved horns – on four of my five previous visits. I’ve also had good luck here with elephant, buffalo and other antelope, but large predators are rare and/or secretive. A highlight of my most recent visit was a guided walk to Sheldrick Falls, a free activity that leaves at 10am and 2pm daily and offers an opportunity to explore the forested slopes overlooking Diani Beach on foot. A wonderful feature of the reserve is its only lodge, which feels like a rambling, overgrown treehouse rising from above a jungle-swathed waterhole. Elephant often come to drink
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here, while regular avian visitors include trumpeter hornbill, African fish eagle and green-headed oriole. The real show-stealers, however, are the beautiful red-bellied coast squirrels that clamber around the building on the daylight shift, and the bug-eyed greater bush babies that take over from them after dark. Great fun!
A Short Excursion To See a Variety of Large Mammals Near the Coast
Shimba Hills is less than an hour’s drive from Diani Beach and is characterised by coastal rainforest and patches of rolling grasslands. It is home to a variety of large mammals and is best known for its herds of buffalo and elephant and for being the only place in Kenya to see sable antelope. Our short safari was pretty eventful: our guide pointed out spoor and we saw monkeys and birds on our walk to the impressive Sheldrick Falls, on the Lango Plains we saw graceful sable, and from the lookout at Giriama Point, entrancing views of the Indian Ocean. A day trip here is rewarding and often includes lunch at Shimba Hills Lodge, from where elephant viewing is virtually guaranteed from the wooden balconies. The hills are much cooler than the coast making it a refreshing excursion.
Bush and Beach
This very underrated reserve is less than an hour’s drive from Diani Beach, the biggest beach resort in Kenya, and is ideal for an easy morning game drive. True the wildlife variety and concentrations don’t come close to Kenya’s big name parks and reserves but for a break from the beach and a taste of the bush it couldn’t be better. Many hotels in Diani and elsewhere along the south coast organise half- or full-day packages to the reserve, which often include (a very mediocre) lunch at the Shimba Hills Lodge.
I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Shimba Hills and the quantity of wildlife has generally exceeded expectations. The park is best known for the huge, graceful sable antelope and indeed this is the only place in Kenya that they can be seen. The park is also known for its elephant as well as a good mix of antelope. Whilst I have only ever seen a couple of elephants here, I have seen sable antelope on each visit as well as plenty of buffalo, warthog, impala and a
If you come to Shimba Hills expecting wildlife on the scale of the Masai Mara then you will leave disappointed, but lower your expectations somewhat and you’ll likely find this a highly rewarding park. I would say that it’s best for those with limited time and who just want a little sample of the Kenyan bush, but most of all I would recommend this park to anyone with younger children: the short distances, good roads and low costs combined with just enough animals to keep interest levels from flagging put this park alongside Nairobi and Nakuru National Parks as the best for families.
I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Shimba Hills and the quantity of wildlife has generally exceeded expectations. The park is best known for the huge, graceful sable antelope and indeed this is the only place in Kenya that they can be seen. The park is also known for its elephant as well as a good mix of antelope. Whilst I have only ever seen a couple of elephants here, I have seen sable antelope on each visit as well as plenty of buffalo, warthog, impala and a
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few giraffe. One of the highlights of a visit for me is the short (ranger-led) walk through the forest to the impressive Sheldrick Falls. There aren’t many parks or reserves you can walk in so don’t miss this opportunity.If you come to Shimba Hills expecting wildlife on the scale of the Masai Mara then you will leave disappointed, but lower your expectations somewhat and you’ll likely find this a highly rewarding park. I would say that it’s best for those with limited time and who just want a little sample of the Kenyan bush, but most of all I would recommend this park to anyone with younger children: the short distances, good roads and low costs combined with just enough animals to keep interest levels from flagging put this park alongside Nairobi and Nakuru National Parks as the best for families.
Hilltop Retreat
This little jewel of a reserve is nestled among attractive hills just an hour’s drive inland from some of Kenya’s most popular beach resorts. It can’t offer the Big Five drama of Tsavo or the Masai Mara, but you will see plenty of wildlife – from Angola colobus monkeys in the forest clefts to Kenya’s only sable antelope in the rolling grassland. Most significant, perhaps, is a population of roughly 200 elephants that most often forage in the precious indigenous forest. Big game aside, this is a great place to get to know smaller wildlife, from monitor lizards to warthogs. To get a good feel for the landscape, I highly recommend the hike to Sheldrick Falls, which is about 2.5km in either direction and escorted by a ranger. The falls are impressive, the forest bird life rich, and it’s a rare chance to feel the bush underfoot – something that may not arise during the rest of your Kenyan safari. My one visit was a day trip, so I did not stay overnight at the Shimba Hills Lodge.