(Posted 20th April 2023)
Courteys of and with permission from Jayne Rose Gacheri
First published by The Standard, Nairobi, Kenya
If you are visiting the coastal region, and are near Mombasa Island, Mama Ngina Waterfront Park is an ideal place to visit – it needs no prior planning or arrangement as the Sh460 million-regenerated Park was created with the public in mind.
Unlike Nairobi, Mombasa is turning into an excellent city, where things work on set standards. The organisation of the PSVs, taxis, and private transport to pick up passengers from SGR Mombasa terminal speaks volumes about an organised system.
Alongside the rejuvenated parks and recreational facilities, new ones have flourished with key tourist attraction sites for both local and international visitors. Mama Ngina Waterfront is easily the best of them all. If you are driving, there is a large parking lot outside. No visitor vehicles are allowed within the park. Entry to the park is free.
At the Likoni channel crossing, the point of entry to the park, a jetty that has been purposely constructed for the water taxis and a living boat museum. Most of the structures are a display of coral stone, Swahili-style lime plaster, precast concrete screens, and frames, donned with hardwood, and timber complete with Mangalore roofing tiles. The regeneration of the park has transformed the formerly sleeping Mama Ngina giant park, also achieving the preservation of Swahili Coastal culture and heritage.
From its initial layout of a watching bay area carved out of a small rising cliff facing the Likoni channel, the waterfront park has now a properly built natural amphitheatre, a cultural centre, and a sun-drenched 2.1km long promenade and a space for food vendors. Along the seafront, are guardrails, creatively designed to separate and offer a protective safety guard from the cliff face, a few metres above the pounding sea waves.
The guardrails provide a safe watching ground. A few visitors disregard the warning signs to not go beyond or sit on the rails, disregarding their safety. It is an incredible experience that sometimes will catch your breath as you walk along the well paved, and palm-lined pedestrian pathways, which create the perfect environment for exercising.
This place is ideal for serene walks, runs, and group, family, or individual outings. I am lost for words to explain the extraordinary features, some of which are mounted strategically placed to explain key historical happenings of this more than 400 years Swahili hub.
