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Uganda |
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South Africa |
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Namibia |
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Botswana |
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Zimbabwe |
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Zambia |
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Mozambique |
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Arabia |
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The Lamu Archipelago (Lamu & Kiwayu) |
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PEPONI HOTEL - LAMU:
Peponi is a small hotel on the exotic island of Lamu, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, the very root of Swahili culture, which spread centuries ago down the East African Coast. The move of the Oman Sultan from Lamu to further off shore Zanzibar left Lamu dormant in a time warp for three hundred years. There is only one car on the island and the narrow streets of the old town are very much as they were.
Peponi is still run by the Korschen family, who opened the hotel in 1967 and which still retains much of the character and charm that it had then. Small and personal, it is the perfect rest after a safari or a hide away holiday from modern life.
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Accommodation
Peponi Hotel has a total of 24 rooms, which are divided into superior and standard rooms. All rooms at Peponi have ocean views.
The superior rooms are differentiated by their location, size, private outside area, indoor plants, artwork and Swahili furnishings. No two rooms are alike. Five of our rooms are built right on the beach, with private verandah areas overlooking the sea, while the rest have a combination of ocean and garden views. All rooms have overhead fans, mosquito nets, showers (no baths), fresh flowers, and personal safes.
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Dining:
Our bar is run by Charles, who will whip up our famous house cocktail "Old Pal" in an instant or pour a fresh juice of lime, passion, orange or even serve a fresh coconut with the top whipped off allowing access to the sweet, milky liquid inside. The bar is a favorite watering hole for guests and Shela village inhabitants alike, with "its nexus of entertainment, its fountain of gossip"
There is no hurry to dine at Peponi. Breakfast is available in the dining room or on the terrace or even in your room from 7am to 10am. The choice is yours, from our wide selection of luscious tropical fruits to fish cakes and waffles with local honey and freshly squeezed lime juice. Coffee is poured from the traditional brass pots and you can guess what our jam and marmalade is made of.
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Lunch is available from 12pm to 4pm. You may choose to dine either outside at the grill, under the colourful bougainvillea, where you can dig your feet in fresh white coral sand or on the terrace, overlooking the ocean and the movement of dhows and local fishermen.
Should you prefer a light snack and not leave the bar, fresh rock oysters are available or a range of samoosas and sandwiches all day. You may even prefer to have them sent to your room with a cold passion juice or a local beer.
Dinner is distinguished by a plethora of new ways of celebrating seafood with ginger, lime and garlic. Mangrove crabs, warm water lobster, squid, giant prawns and fish of all varieties. For something a little more local, a Swahili menu is also available, which can be eaten in the traditional way, on the floor, around a huge brass platter. |
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Activities:
Peponi also has a fresh water free form Swimming Pool, situated under two Baobab Trees overlooking the ocean. It is the perfect place to relax with a good book, and if you so wish lunch can also be served here.
The coral reefs are three quarters of an hour away by speedboat. We provide snorkeling equipment, fins, goggles, etc and for the less courageous, a boogie board to float on while gazing at the ocean depths.
Of course windsurfing is also available under near perfect wind conditions. And we have great instructors for those that need it.
During calm weather, water skiing can take place in front of Peponi, otherwise, on High Tide, mangroved fringed Takwa Creek is ideal. Our well skilled boat drivers are also very helpful to give novices any pointers, or for those wishing to advance from two skis to one.
For scuba divers there are PADI instructor courses from absolute beginner to Dive Master. These courses run from November to March.
Speed boat charters are also available for those of you who wish to travel quickly and see all the sights in the fastest possible time.
Facilities to teach children to windsurf and water ski are also available.
The truth is Peponi "happened". It was a house that grew into a hotel, an idea that, little by little, took shape from its sea-mad proprietors.
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Reservations and Enquiries |
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LAMU ISLAND - KENYA:
Lamu is a town, an island and an archipelago. The archipelago is a chain of seven islands and a multitude of islets, separated from the mainland at its narrowest part by a channel just a few metres wide. The mainland and the inland sides of the islands are fringed by dense mangrove forests, while the seaward sides are protected by reefs and lined with dunes. Throughout the archipelago there are numerous historical sites, visible and tangible evidence of ten centuries of a colourful, and often violent past. Most of these settlements are Arab in origin and started as small trading stations. As these small colonies grew they absorbed much of the local people and a distinct Afro-Arab culture emerged. This culture, which came to be known as Swahili, today dominates not only Lamu but the urban centres of Mombasa and Malindi and its language has become the principal language of East and Central Africa.
The beach on Lamu island is 12km of empty sands backing on to an ocean unprotected by a reef and therefore more lively and more powerful than you find elsewhere in Kenya. But no one comes to Lamu only for the beach. The town is now well known, a delightful anachronism carrying on its daily life as it has done for centuries so that the visitor has a science fiction experience of being transported back through time. The town is a living monument to its past. The old houses, built with walls of coral two feet thick, have a series of alcoves about ten feet wide, rather than rooms. Their width is decided by the length of the mangrove poles used for the floorings and ceilings. Many are three stories high, with precipitous staircases which end on a flat roof where much of the life of the community goes on. The town is crowded with houses and people, the streets so narrow that you can shake hands with your neighbour in the house opposite. The main street, ndia kuu, is lined on either side with shops and workshops, each no more than a room stretching from the street to the living areas behind. Here you will find carpenters and herbalists, jewellers and grocers.
In the centre of the town stands the fort. Built for Omani invaders around 1812 it later became a prison and is now a cultural centre operated through the museum. The Lamu Museum itself is on the waterfront housing a collection of Swahili artefacts, jewellery and crafts unequalled anywhere else. The two most important items in its collection are the siwa – ceremonial horns; one made of ivory, belonged to a former sultan of Pate the other is from Lamu itself. As befits a maritime community the museum houses a collection of sea going vessels and marine tackle and there is a wonderful model of the rope sewn vessel known as mtepe.
A 45 minute walk from the town (or 15 minutes by motor boat) brings you to the sleepy village of Shela. This is where the beach begins and the complexities of life end. Even the beach is simple, just a 12km swathe of shining sand lapped by a balmy sea. To sail the archipelago is to discover beautiful beaches, glorious seascapes, ancient ruins, fishing and scuba refuges.
For the traveller, Lamu is a hypnotically exotic experience, made even more enjoyable by the relaxed and welcoming attitudes of the locals. To visit Lamu is to enter another world, and the visitor finds themselves becoming a part of this world. Life slows down, and long days are spent strolling along the waterfront, exploring the town or relaxing on the beaches.
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merchants.