The sun sits high as an ocean breeze crosses the shore. Fine sand drifts into my sandals, and each time I take a step, I can feel grains of sand moving up the sandals reaching my toes as if saying, “I am coming to you.” Each step that I take just makes my feet grow heavier and each time I try to shake the sand off, even more finds its way back in.
As I go further into this small town along the Kenyan Coast, mounds of golden sand ripple and reshape with each gust of wind. The landscape of this town mimics desert life; think the Sahara or the Kalahari. In fact, it has been nicknamed Dubai Ndogo (little Dubai).
Welcome to Mambrui town in Kilifi County. The breathtaking coastal sand dunes extending between Malindi and Mambrui towns, both in Kilifi County, span approximately seven hundred hectares over a 10-kilometer stretch. These dunes form from sediments that reach the Kenyan Coast through the Sabaki River which starts its journey inland from Ngong Hills. The river joins other tributaries along the way from Athi River, and then Galana as it pierces through the Tsavo to pour in the ocean as Athi-Galana-Sabaki river.
