Kiwayu

Occupying an area of 250 square kilometers, the Kiunga Marine National Reserve encompasses Kiwayu Bay and Kiwayu Island and was gazetted a protected area in 1979. The reserve's location at the confluence of two major ocean currents creates unique ecological conditions that nurture three inter-dependent marine habitats - mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Kiunga hosts seven of the nine mangrove species found in Kenya and is home to the tallest mangrove trees and some of the least impacted mangrove forests in the country. The seagrass beds in Kiunga provide feeding and sheltering grounds for sea turtles, dugongs, fish and bird life. Five species of turtle have been recorded in Kiunga's water, three of which nest on the reserve's beaches - the Green, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles. 

The breeding season is usually between April and November. Copulation occurs in the water and a few weeks later, the female turtle crawls up a sandy beach to lay a clutch of eggs which can vary between 100-180. The incubation period ranges from 55-65 days depending on species, sand and weather and a nesting female may return between 3-6 times in a breeding season. Since 1997 more than 300 turtle nests have been recorded and more than 17,000 hatchlings have successfully returned to the sea. Interested tourists can participate in hatchling release. 

Kiunga is also home to the Dugong, the most threatened mammal in Kenya. The dugong is a member of the Order Sirenia whose members are commonly referred to as Sea Cows, and is the world's only herbivorous marine mammal. It is a large solid mammal similar in proportions to a small whale measuring between 2.5 - 3 metres and weighing between 230 and 350 kgs. Its body tapers from a large, blunt head through a streamlined body to a horizontally flattened fluke, characteristic to that of a whale. The lodge is closed just after Easter until 31 July each year. 

• Full board 
• Transfers from the airstrip 
• Wind surfing, snorkelling, mangrove trips, dhow sailing, water skiing and laser sailing 
• Catering levy and V.A.T