Kenya’s coastline is roughly 483 km stretching from Lamu to Mombasa in the south. Sandy white in some areas, palm-filed in others, filled with sparkling white coral in others. Majority of visitors to Kenya’s beautiful coastal region choose the more popular areas in the North coast over the more secluded South or islands such as Lamu. Most times, we overlook a spectacular treasure in between - Kikambala, Kilifi County.
Also known as Vipingo, it is located past touristy Bamburi close to locals favourite, Mtwapa. This laidback paradise is an oasis of palm trees, bird life and quiet beaches. I would describe is as the perfect balance between what upcountry Kenyans refer to as North Coast - fast paced touristy Mombasa - and the sleepy Ukunda and Diani on the South Coast.
“Are we in ushago?” my youngest sister wonders as we drive further and further away from Nyali, past the familiarity of the Bamburi Hotel Strip. We’re heading to Kikambala, to a place I chanced upon online when looking for a perfect location for a family holiday. Lorine, the home’s owner messages to ask whether we have arrived in Mombasa, and repeats some important information to ensure we will be comfortable. Everything is quiet, hot yet calm. We turn off the Mombasa-Malindi Highway, cruising down a winding road, breezing past scissored-leaf palm trees and makuti huts. An occasional breeze temporarily relieves us from the heat which long overwhelmed air conditioning. A chicken crosses the road (no pun intended), and children laze about by the road. Quaint, modest homes litter the landscape before we turn off at the next sign past a sturdy looking Church, onto a road that seems to leads to the sea. As we drive down towards what will be home for the next five days, there are almost no signs of shops or bars. At least none that our urban eyes can quickly pick out. A goat bleats and my heart beats! It isn’t because I’m spooked: there’s a sense of discovery and relaxation in the air. And I can’t wait!
The hanging house
This story is from the The Beauty Issue - April 2018 edition of COUTURE Africa.
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This story is from the The Beauty Issue - April 2018 edition of COUTURE Africa.
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I have seen many a red in my time. Some have made me cringe. If it weren’t for the exceptionally high maintenance of red colour, I would run home and shampoo it all off. Some have been stunners, blessedly. You would imagine women with darker complexion would not be able to rick blonde and red shades. Would you be surprised if I told you there is a wide range of colour you can experiment with?
Dela Maranga
Singer and songwriter Dela Maranga, 29, the girl with the blue hair and advocate of #SelfLove
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Early Sunday morning 6 ladies got up bright and early headed to Wilson Airport for a much-needed coffee and breakfast at Java at The Aero Club by 7am. The service was terribly slow at JAVA, Sue went onto google maps to find the kitchen!
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Michael Mwai was the go-to car insider for 12 years, starting out at the East African Standard, Nation Media Group, Business Daily to True Love EA magazine. His love for cars has resulted in a most extraordinary career path, leading to travels around the world where he test drove all the cars you have ever wanted and dreamt of. He run his own design company, using that eye to suss out the attention to detail and point of view to set foot into the luxury world long before it even became a thing with a name. Discovering along the way that car design, this skill requiring up to 10 years of research, meant anticipating what the market needed even before it knew it needed it. Now he runs The Luxury Network which sounds exactly the way you think it does, working behind the scenes with a lot of brands you want to own and some you have never heard of, to live life like it is golden because to him, it is.
