Kizingo news

End of Season News [April 24th 2008]

Another season passes us by, and it has not been without its ups and downs. We had a very busy season until the beginning of January, when violence and tension broke out in parts of Kenya leading to a travel ban and large media coverage of the post election disputes. This sadly meant the closure of many hotels around the country and the laying off of thousands of employees in the tourist industry. Kizingo became extremely quiet, although thanks to the support of many of our regulars and intrepid new comers we managed to keep going, keep all our staff at work and only had one night without a soul in camp. Things are now looking up and a sense of normality has returned to Kenya, with the new found friendship between the opposition and ruling party we hope to see peace and stability in the new season ahead.

The dolphin trips have been very successful, the season passed without any casualties which is a first. The only unwanted revelation on Louis' part, was the discovery that his favourite dolphin who he named Lyra after the Phillip Pullman books, is actually a boy. Unfortunately we have not been so successful with our turtle nest and have had only two nests so far. However with our turtle release project where by we pay local fisherman for any live turtles they catch in their nets, and then release them back into the sea, we have had better luck. Salem the crab man made a very successful career out of it, he ditched the crab fishing and became very good at farming turtles. He is now sipping martinis in the Bahamas retired and grateful to all those who supported the turtle trust.

Safi is still at large, still very lazy and disobedient. We have a new member of the family who is doing well to rejuvenate her though. Mwitu (wild in Swahili) is our new pup his breed is a mystery but he is full of character and very much in love with Safi.

We are delighted that Dion will be joining us full time next season helping out his parents who just every so often need a little 'R & R'. The bar and dinning room is being dismantled as I write and a new building will be erected with a similar style and a better view.

The Kipungani school trust continues to prosper with approximately 5000 primary school children receiving an education in schools they can be proud of. Only through the support of every one who has contributed and worked promoting the trust would this be possible. So from all the teachers and children from all the eleven schools we say a big thank you. There is a link on the site which gives more detailed information on the Kipungani schools trust and some of the new projects and solutions we are undertaking.

Mary Jo and Louis will be staying in Africa this off season and will be spending time in their newly built home at Kizingo, and in south Africa with Louis' parents. Dion has set off around the world racking up more debt on his credit cards, in the hope that they will join Northern Rock and go bust. He will be spending time with friends in Australia and the U.S.A. Emilie is about to take her finals at trinity and is then planning to work and travel the world.

And as for me I wouldn’t say I have found my way yet but I am doing a TEFL course in Barcelona next month so that’s a start. Maybe teaching people to speak English will be my calling in life.

So from all of us at Kizingo a big 'thank you' to all those that came and stayed with us this season, and we look forward to seeing you back here whenever next it may be. If you have not yet made it to Kizingo, I hope you to will come and visit us and enjoy a unique experience that I am sure will prove unforgettable.

Richard and all at Kizingo

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Travel Update [January 20th 2008]

Hello again

We have just received the good news that the Foreign Office has lifted the travel ban on Kenya and has instead offered much more sensible advise on specific areas of the country. This should allow those of you who are planning to come soon to get the necessary travel insurance. A big thanks to those of you that have passionately held on to your bookings with us, we owe you a drink or two when you get here!

The good news is we are having some brilliant weather, the sea is an unbelievable blue and the dolphins have been out in force. I am just so thrilled that we should now have a few of you here to enjoy it with us!

Best wishes from a much more upbeat Kizingo!

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Latest News at Kizingo [January 13th 2008]

Happy new year! I hope you all had a good one and that 2008 has got off well.

Sadly we in Kenya have had a shaky beginning to the year. As you all no doubt know the election results were disputed which lead to a great deal of unrest and suffering in much of the country. Luckily for us here in Lamu things remained as always, calm and peaceful. It almost seemed like we lived in another world as we listened to the news for the rest of Kenya. We have been so lucky and the only problems we have experienced have been practical ones. Fuel supplies started to run low and we did run out of gas for a time, but the Kitchen managed beautifully to still cook great food on nothing more than a charcoal Grills! Thankfully supplies are coming into Lamu as normal now and we have replenished all are stocks.

Kizingo is now rather quite, as we have lost a great deal of our bookings. This is understandable considering the terrible violence seen in other parts of Kenya. There have been quite a few people that have still wished to visit but due to the travel ban in the UK they were unable to get travel insurance which complicates things. We are hoping that this will be reconsidered inlight of the improving situation.

We would like to say that if anyone is planning to come and visit or has a booking still with us, please consider keeping it for the time being. If at any time you are unhappy with coming out and decide to go else where, we would not make any cancellation charges to you. We really do feel that the currant calm in the country over the last few days will continue and as things stand now Kizingo is still much the same as always.

We have been out on some good dolphin trips, yesterday there was a very friendly group of about 30 that kept every one entertained for at least an hour. That a look at our new movie posted on this site (swimming with the Dolphins movie clip) to see what you are missing!

Once again wishing you all a Happy New Year from all of us at Kizingo, and hope to see you soon.

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A Very Happy 2008 to You All [January 2008]

A HAPPY AND LEISURELY 2008... this is what I said we hoped for in 2007 but
the year did not seem to go by quite as leisurely as we had anticipated,
maybe Louis and I are much more busy, because with age we are less
efficient, forget what we say or where we put things, loose the lists, so
spend many hours trying to find or retrieve the information.

I am reading my last news letter and it seems nothing much has changed in
the Van Aardt Family... Louis and I are still here with Dion helping us out,
Emily is still at Trinity, though thankfully in her last year and Richard is
still finding his way... Lets hope he gets over that soon!
The Kizingo team are also in good health and all still with us, the
excitement this year is the coming Presidential elections, especially as the
country is pretty much divided 50 50, keep the old or go for a new way... which will it be?

Our highlights this year are many.
Louis, Dion and Emilie ran the London Marathon in April, this was a magical
sunny day, London at its best. The more sedentary members of the family were
there on the side walk giving our support, but actually never managed to
spot any of them! They all did so well so very proud of them. A special
thankyou to all who sponsored them and those who were there to celebrate at
Oriels. Louis had to be dragged away as was ready for a big party. However the
next day they were less mobile, Emilie kept all the passengers waiting
boarding Ryan air back to uni as she could not bend her legs!

Now fit and healthy we flew to Northern Spain and Louis dragged his wife, his
cousin and two sons over the Pyrenees. I have to say the first few days
were very fraught with a lot of dissention in the ranks. We felt Louis was
rather a hard uncaring insensitive chap who refused to allow us to rest
every few minutes. However we soon all adapted to the nomadic life and have
to say in retrospect it was a most enjoyable experience apart from being
lowered down a wet rock face like a sack to the amusement of the family or
being cajoled into crossing steep snow gulleys. I remember one moment, I
felt particularly vulnerable, and mentioned to Louis that if I slipped I
would die, he replied 'I know, so don't Slip!' Looking at the photographs I
can not believe yet again I allowed myself to be part of another mountain
adventure.

Our prize though was 2 weeks in France at Cas and Phillip's house, what a
treat. Emilie and our favourite Aunt joined us so we had a relaxing time
doing those things you all do when you come to Kizingo.

We opened a little later this year so as to miss the wind. It was so much
better so we will continue to extend our holiday.
We are having a very busy season and so thank you all for spreading the
word.

The KST continues to grow, we are now building 3 more Schools, none of this
would be possible without the generous help we have received over the last
year. John Seagrim has had an endless task of having rather more organising
and management than I think he ever thought would be the case, so we say a
big thanks to John, and his support from Georgina and Cas.

The turtles have not been so many this year, however have really increased
on the Manda beach, so have been liasing with Peponi and seen many
hatchings.

A healthy hearty 2008 to you all

Mary Jo

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Brand New Season Begins [July 2007]

We re-opened the lodge on the 12th July, after having had a fantastic
European Holiday. The highlight for Louis was dragging his family over the
Pyrenees from Spain to France. What a contrast from green rolling hills and
snow capped Mountains to Palm Trees and Sand Dunes.

We have had a busy time and Thank You all for coming to Kizingo.
The great excitement was waking up one morning to discover the spoor of 2
buffalo, who had wondered through the lodge in search of water.
They had swum more than a few kilometres from the mainland, however much to our relief after a few days they had returned to the mainland.
Sadly a dead whale was found on our beach, it had lost its tail and caused
great excitement. At first it was interesting to watch nature start to de
compose some 6 tons of lard, however interest quickly turned to panic as the
tides started dragging the festering mass towards the Lodge.
We are now forced to employ some very brave Kipunagni Village residents
with strong constitutions, and no sense of smell to butcher the carcass into
manageable sizes, thus preventing a mass exodus. It has been a turbulent 2
days but the task is now about done.

Lamu is the same as ever, and as we have only just opened we don't really
have any other news, but do feel Dolphins and whales all in one month is
quite big news!

best wishes from us all at Kizingo

Mary Jo

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London Marathon [April 2007]

Dion, Louis and Emilie

As the big London marathon day drew near, tensions mounted. By Sunday morning 5am, 3 bodies arose from hell, all blaming any one else, for everything including responsibility for there miserable nights sleep.

The breakfast of oats and blueberries, lovingly prepared, once forced fed and combined with adrenaline soon made them uncomfortable, especially increasing Dions anxiety. This was further fuelled by the late taxi, so we were all greatly relieved to see them finally disappear towards there start line. However once the Marathon began all the worry of fuelling and bowel movements faded with the atmosphere and a perfect sunny day, that many thought too hot, but suited our runners from the tropics.

The rest of the family and friends roared off in the London Underground to all be at the right spots to cheer them on, needless to say we never saw them, but still thoroughly enjoyed the excitement, the bandstands, the good cheer. London had come alive.

Oriels was a perfect meeting point thankyou to all of you who managed to come up to say hello and congratulate the runners.

First at the Pub was Emilie who ran the race in 3 hours and 56mins, and was fine, however she did say the 24th mile took forever. Dion had told her, when desperate to use her ipod, she said she tried, but was too confused to work out how to turn it on!

Next in was Dion, the champion in 3 hours 45mins like a highly strung racehorse! Though we later discovered he was totally exhausted and ended up rather dehydrated but after a high energy drink (rather than alcohol) he soon recovered.

Last was Louis lost on the underground, his time was 3 hours 54 mins and he was completely fine. Drank excessively and suffered no ill effects. However the next few days we all had to endure their painful recovery.

We would all like to thank Nikki Shale and the Macintyre trust for giving us the chance to run the London Marathon and a very special thankyou to Philly Wiggin for her tireless effort coordinating the fund raising. Without her we would never have raised in excess of £12,000.

Lastly a special Thank you to all those friends who so generously supported this very worth while charity.
The Raffle was drawn at Oriels and won by The Kirkpatrick's, who were with us for Christmas 2005, we look forward to seeing them again, when they take up their prize at Kizingo.

Mary Jo and Co. 8.5.07

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Easter News [26th March 2007]

Always good to start talking about the weather.... we are so hot here, but maybe this is sign of a good rainy season or is it global warming !

We will close this year after Easter, coming over to the UK for the London marathon. The Big Day is Sunday 22nd April, ending at Oriels Bar Sloane Square, near the tube, for a few drinks around 3.30pm to 4pm. Here we'll draw the raffle lucky ticket.

Louis, Dion and Emily are training well, however, conversations are becoming rather repetitive: which shoes to wear, the best socks, which re hydration drink, and then of course the injuries... Louis has a sore ham string, Emily a sore calf muscle and Dion a sore knee, so all in good shape really!
We have raised just over £10,000 which is a tremendous effort. Thankyou for all your generous contributions. This would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Phillipa Wiggin, who took on the task and has out shone us all. Thank you Philly.

Swimming with the Dolphins

The last two months, our trips out to Kinyika island and the dolphins have been really wonderful, with memorable experiences for many. People who are nervous of their swimming ability, particularly in the vast blue sea, suddenly find all their fear and apprehension vanishes as soon as dolphins appear. The dolphins seem to be more accustomed to us and come to entertain us more often. We have also been given an underwater camera and have some wonderful photos which you can view at our Dolphin gallery.

The KST ( Kipungani Schools Trust ) has also had another successful season. We now have 10 schools which the Trust is involved with, this year we got all the schools together and had a inter KST schools sports day, which was great fun, and very competitive, especially the teacher's race at the end.
The KST trustees Georgina Hood and Cas Donald, also bought with them, 2 musicians Jess and Neil and Ian the Cameraman to do a combined music / film CD of all the Schools. We hope to be able to have this on offer to those interested in the future. The trip was great fun, and the singing heart warming.

Kizingo has had a very successful year, thanks to you all who came and supported us, for those we all say a big... "Thank You".

Warm Salaams
All Kizingo

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Happy New Year! [19th January 2007]

We started 2007 after a very good New Year party , as one should, full of new dreams and resolutions. I was determined to start running again, this year, alas it is already February and it all seems just too tough a job.

The weather.. I know we all talk endlessly about it, but it has to be said this has been a strange year, Kenya has had an almighty amount of rain, Mara and Lewa have had more rain out of season than they can remember.

The coast has also had record amounts of rain, sadly there have been a number of coastal people displaced this year because of flooding. Driving back to Lamu in early December, I saw UN and Red Cross rescuing the Tana River people, because the river had burst her banks. People were being forced to leave their homes and live on the road it was the only high ground available. It was a moving sight. The children in particular seemed to be making full use of the massive amounts of water (usually a rare sight in these areas) to enjoy themselves swimming in the natural pools. It makes one step back as you pass along in your car and see families who have rigged up a small shelter, the cows chickens and goats are hoping to find some morsels of food on the road and the rest of the family are seated chatting, laughing and content, happy they have rescued themselves and family.

We have had some brilliant dolphin trips this year. Louis has finally got an underwater camera and has managed to get some incredible pictures which we will put on the website for you all to see!

The Kipungani Schools trust has had another successful year, John and Georgina Seagrim came to stay this Christmas with the whole family, and it was lovely to socialise and see all the schools together. We have now built 6 schools, and 3 more are in the pipeline.

The marathon training is going well, Louis taking training seriously, Dion has developed a number of new ailments as a good excuse to take days off, Emily is running, but complaining bitterly about the cold, rainy streets of Dublin. They are all getting fitter and I am sure they will make it round the track come April.

All of us at Kizingo say hello and wish all our friends well for 2007.

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October News [21st October 2006]

The wind has changed, and the sea is clearing, so we have now started the popular dolphin and snorkelling trips.

The Turtle Conservation Project is having a most successful season, we have already had 15 nests each averaging 130 eggs. The success is partially due to rewarding local fisherman for releasing turtles caught in their nets, we have already released 37 turtles, which, without this incentive would have died. However I am appealing for any donations so as to continue this project.

Great news regarding the Kipungani School Trust! We have a new water project and have managed to raise enough money to start a borehole at Adu School, this will mean children and parents will no longer have to walk the 6 kilometres to the nearest water point.

We have been given 3 places in the London marathon so will be competing as a family apart from Mary Jo and Richard who say they have more sense! We are running for the McIntyre Trust, which is very close to the hearts of two of our supporters. They have also agreed that any money raised in excess of £3,000 will be split equally between them and the Kipungani School Trust.

As an incentive and a thankyou for your support we are offering 5 nights for 2 people, including internal flights to and from Nairobi. Anyone donating more than £25 towards the marathon, will automatically receive a raffle ticket. The winning tickets will be drawn after the marathon.

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Kizingo August News [18th August 2006]

We are mid August and the new season is going well, apart from the weather, which for the first time in many years has been cooler and wetter than Europe. However the skies are now clear.

Our good news is, we have had many more turtles coming up to the beach to lay their eggs, and have also had fisherman prepared to rescue turtles from their nets which they bring to us for release. For this we pay a small reward. At the moment we have four nests. Their estimated hatching dates are around the 25th August, the 8th, 14th and 25th of September.

Brent has started Kayak safaris around Kiwayu. Louis and Emily have just returned from their first trial run and came back absolutely enthralled by the experience and feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to see such an unspoilt part of Kenya with someone so experienced and enthusiastic. His website is www.sanddollarexpeditions.com.

So for those who would like a few days of activity in unspoilt wilderness around the Kiunga Marine reserve, followed by a few days of complete relaxation at Kizingo please contact us or Brent.

From all at Kizingo till next time...

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New Season News [8th July 2006]

Kiting opened on the 1st July, our new season has begun. Despite being a little windy at this time of year, the sun is shining, and the beach walks and sunsets have been wonderful.

Kenya has had good rains this year, so the mainland is green with healthy crops growing. As we are cooler now trips to the mainland, whether in a vehicle or bike riding have been great fun.

The Kipungani Schools Trust is also starting again with ongoing developments at 6 different schools, 2 on Lamu island 2 on the Mainland close to us and 2 in Malindi. We are also helping 8 children attend Senior school, and employing 8 extra teachers.

Kizingo staff are all back, so we all say 'Hello and welcome!'

Mary Jo and Louis van Aardt
July 2006

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End of Season News [17th March 2006]

Kizingo is about to come to the end of her 3rd season. We would like to thank all of you who have supported us so well, and have come back again to see us. We also look forward to meeting more guest this coming season.

At present the weather is beautiful, very calm seas with wonderful snorkelling and swimming with the dolphins. The weather will start to turn mid April where we hope for some good rains this year as Kenya has been very drought stricken.

Kizingo will be closing straight after Easter, with the team going on a lovely holiday. However, we will all be back refreshed and ready for opening again in July.

Christmas and New Year were a huge success, with Big Ben being duplicated by Louis, Dion and Richard, Will and Nicolas Mason, doing an extremely good copy of Big Ben swinging from the roof top, helped along by their mother Karen Mason in her award winning role in "Bar Dancing". See the other winners from the 3rd Annual Kizingo Academy Awards.

Kinyika Island has given many of us endless pleasure this year, with wonderful snorkelling, huge shoals of different species of fish, and of course the dolphins visiting us on a regular basis. Of all the fish, mammals and urchins in the area, Lyra the Bottlenose dolphin praised all former guests for their consideration and care when snorkelling at the reef and while swimming with her and the other wild dolphins!

The Kipungani schools trust has managed to build 6 schools since starting, and has now launched their own website www.thekstrust.com. They continue to raise money and support for school projects on Lamu and on the mainland. A big thank you has to go to John and Georgina Seagrim and Cas Donald, for their hard work and endless support.

All of us at Kizingo hope that if you are unable to come and see us before the end of this season, you will be with us next season, and once again thank you to everyone for making Kizingo what it is.

Mary Jo and Louis van Aardt
March 2006

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No Shoes, Some News from Kizingo Shores [22nd November 2005]

After several false starts, the north east monsoon, the Kas Kazi has finally breezed in bringing warmer weather and clear seas. Louis is again regularly in his favourite element, swimming with Lyra and the numerous other bottlenose dolphins off Kinyika. On days when they have been more elusive guests have had to contend themselves with sightings of beaked whales and hawksbill turtles swimming nearby. The snorkelling at Kinyika and Manda Toto has been excellent with huge shoals of fish round every coral.

The Lamu cultural festival was in full swing last week with the annual dhow race hotly contested among local captains. A great, carnival atmosphere heightened for many by the recent end of Ramadan. Hushed accounts amongst the staff at recent morning meetings of nocturnal revelry with dancers from Zanzibar have been met with the management continuing to extol the virtues of being tucked up with a Sudoka and the World Service.

Katie and David Barfield returned in October for a week's holiday‚ bringing promised medical supplies, donations and determination for the clinic at Kipungani village.

Georgina Seagrim and Cas Donald of the Kipungani Schools Trust spent a week visiting the 6 schools projects. Much appreciation was shown to them by the community with goat stews and the present of a cockerel.

Lastly, our new look web site is up and running and all our thanks to the efforts of Portfolio Design in the UK

Our thanks and best wishes to you all.

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Turtles Hatch at Kizingo [5th August 2005]

Newly hatched turtle

On Friday 5th August Kizingo guests were hurriedly assembled to a known nest site of a Green Bill turtle some 2km along the beach from the lodge. The nest, one of ten which had been carefully monitored by Kizingo's turtle watchmen Abdullah and Mamood this summer had been excavated by the female turtle on 9th June. It was evident that the incubation period was complete and the hatchlings were ready to emerge, nestling at the top of the nest where they would wait until the temperature dropped to signifying dusk before braking to the surface.

116 hatchlings of this endangered species emerged (with a little help from their friends) and instinctively began to head down the beach in the direction of the water. Louis was able to explain to the guests how this very important but often precarious part of their journey increases the chance of survival by helping them to use essential muscles before they start the swim out to sea, and help them clean off the smell of egg sac that could attract marine predators. The journey down the sand would also allow hatchlings to imprint enough information to be able to return to the same beach as a breeding adult many years later. On reaching the sea the young turtles would likely swim continuously for two or three days, escaping any predators in the offshore waters.

The beach at Kizingo is an important turtle nesting area for both Green Bill and Hawksbill turtles. Since the turtle project started over 40 nests have successfully hatched. As part of our drive for community participation in the conservation of turtles, we continue to collate all data on the nests as well as the release information and send it to the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM) for recording.

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Beached Whale Saved [18 March 2005]

Save the whale...

On 18 March 2005 one of the local fishermen reported a whale stranded on our sand spit. It was later identified as a Beaked Whale, about 6 metres long. Everyone was alerted and before long we had the entire camp, guests and staff, running with high speed along the beach to save our grounded whale. With 24 people in the sea we all tried to slowly move her to deeper water. It was truly amazing, she appeared to have complete trust in us and soon even helped us by lying on her side thereby reducing the drag. Not once while we were helping her did she struggle. After an hour we managed to get her to safe water. She circled us all 3 times before heading out to the deeper water. Was she saying thank you? All exhausted and tired we headed back to the bar, only to be alerted again an hour later. We all felt so sad.

She had once more beached herself but this time in an even more precarious location, further away from the main channel that she would now need to reach to get back out to sea. What was clear was that she knew this herself and was very insistent that it was that channel she needed to reach. So we manovered and rolled her over the shallows, swimming with her where we could in the deeper water (in all taking three hours this time) until we launched her into the deep blue of the channel. Louis hung onto her fin and then let her go as she picked up speed. She immediately stopped, waited until he was safely out of the way of her powerful tail before she continued out to sea. A so, so satisfying end to a once in a life time experience.

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A Wedding at Kizingo [2nd October 2004]

In September we had a wedding ceremony at Kizingo. The District commissioner arrived on the day with his witness. He asked for a witness for the Bride and a witness for the Groom.
A special license for marrying the couple in situ was required and easily obtained.

The service was short, simple and all the guests and bride and groom were impressed and happy with the ceremony. Straight after this champagne was opened and a very happy and memorable day followed.

Because the wedding was small, it seemed intimate and was a really big success. So anyone considering getting married in paradise, and wanting a small affair why not think about Kizingo, on Lamu in Kenya!

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