Shimba Hills National Reserve
Overview
Kenya Parks
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many guidebooks to African destinations, including the DK Eyewitness Guide to Kenya.
Shimba Hills National Reserve is the closest safari destination to Mombasa and the beach resorts that line Kenya’s south coast. It protects one of East Africa’s largest coastal rainforests as well as patches of rolling grassland. Wildlife includes Kenya’s only remaining population of the handsome sable antelope, along with elephant, buffalo and a variety of antelope, monkeys and forest birds. A popular activity is the short guided hike to Sheldrick Falls.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
Shimba Hills doesn’t support the huge variety of plains wildlife associated with Kenya’s larger parks, but you should see buffalo, sable antelope, bushbuck, yellow baboon, warthog and with a bit of luck elephant. The park is a refuge for many forest species, notably Harvey’s red duiker, Angola colobus, blue monkey and red-tailed monkey. Delightful smaller inhabitants include red-bellied coast squirrel and greater galago, both of which have become habituated at Shimba Hills Lodge.
Scenery
Shimba Hills boasts one of the most diverse ecosystems along the Kenyan coast, with more than 1,000 plant species recorded. Much of the reserve is covered in lush coastal rainforest, a habitat that is poorly represented elsewhere in Kenya. There are also areas of grassland, woodland and coastal bush. Several viewpoints back to the Indian Ocean stand on the eastern ridge of the hills, which is also the site of the pretty Sheldrick Falls.
Activities
Guided and self-guided game drives are the main activity. Marere Circuit is a good place to look for elephant and sable antelope. Free guided walks to Sheldrick Falls leave at 10 AM and 2 PM and take up to 2 hours; you can stand below the waterfall for a chilly massage. Stop for lunch or a drink at Shimba Hills Lodge, where red-bellied coast squirrels clamber around the woodwork and elephants sometimes drink at the forest-fringed waterhole.
Weather & Climate
An ever-present breeze tends to take the sting out of Shimba Hills’ heat and humidity, though it never really gets that cool. Even at night it stays warm. You can’t fully escape the rain here, but it’s more widespread in October and November, and can really rain hard in April and May. Sunny days are typical in the intervening dry periods.
Best Time To Visit
The drier seasons (December to March and June to September) see the animals gather around local water sources, making them easy to find. You can still track them in the wetter months, but it takes greater effort as they’re more dispersed. You won’t really be bothered by other visitors here at any time of year, as the park doesn’t tend to attract crowds (though on busy days the guided walk to Sheldrick Falls might attract a couple of dozen participants).
