The flight to Nairobi takes only four hours and the people offer the first glimpse of what you can expect in Kenya, sullen faces don’t seem to exist. From passport controllers to law-abiding taxi drivers, the smiles of positive attitudes strike.

An important consideration is that you’re required to have the exact amount available for your visa, purchased on arrival.

After a quiet night and morning at the renowned Norfolk Hotel, we continued our journey to Lamu from Nairobi Wilson Airport. This hub, from where most safaris start, services the entire region with small aircrafts suited to grass / dirt runways.

A short 1:45min flight on a 24-seater turbo-prop reaches Manda Island Airport, not much to look at but nevertheless perfectly ser viceable. The arrivals hall is a few steps from the plane and an entirely informal affair.

Luggage is transferred from one handcart to another labelled with your hotel name and, as there are no cars on the islands, all transport is handled by man, boat or donkey. With more than 4 000 of them on Lamu Island alone, donkeys are ubiquitous and you soon become accustomed to squeezing past them on medieval alleys.

After the short five minute walk from the arrivals hall to the jetty we boarded the dhow for the Peponi Hotel. The sense of romance and adventure is palpable. Hot and humid, accompanied by huge, fluffy white clouds and azure skies, the trip makes one the star in one’s own period drama.

Crossing the channel between Manda and Lamu Islands, the boat tracks the shore from Lamu Town to Shella, the smaller village where the Peponi spans the beachfront.

September/October 2011 Issue

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