And it was a bit of a surprise... the marine realm here is certainly interesting although a bit limited by natural forces! The coast of Kenya is heavily tidal with fringing reefs that run right along the country's shoreline. These are just below the surface and are exposed at low tide. That, along with the surf, means that the reefs are not as easily accessible as you might wish and diving is moslty limited to mornings.

Of course, once you get into the water there is plenty of life. Hard corals are the basis of the reef structure, with lots of small fish, nudibranchs and crustaceans hanging around. There are schooling pelagic fish if you dive on a day when there is a bit of current.

The reefs north of Mombasa seem to have better structure than those in the south, with Watamu being perhaps the best area for divers as the bay has been turned into a Marine Park. Up here you often see things like blue spotted rays hovering under outcrops and plenty of moary eels.

If you're really, really lucky - and you stay near Watamu - you might even see a whaleshark as it wends it's way up and down the coast. The operators promote this heavily but chances are you're more likely to see a turtle and masses of nudibranchs.