KISITE –MPUNGUTI MARINE NATIONAL PARK & RESERVE

The park is located in Kwale district, cost province; 550 km from Nairobi and 120km from Mombasa. It was gazetted in 1978, covering an area of 39sq km, 6 km off the Kenyan coast at Shimoni and 8 km north of the Tanzanian boarder.

The marine park experiences a humid climate with mean annual temperatures ranging from 22-34 degrees Celsius and rainfall of about 500mm pa. The dominant vegetation types are sea grasses and marine algae.

Accommodation
There is no accommodation in the park or reserve; however; there are various accommodation options in nearby Shimoni for instance the Lodges, Guest houses and Self-catering Bandas.

Attractions
- Marine life which consists of over 250 recorded species such as Dolphins, sea turtles, whales, corals, zebra fish, rubber fish, parrot fish, angelfish, scorpion fish, octopus, sea-urchin, crab, sharks, snappers, sweetlips, wrasses and many more!
-Petrified coral gardens.
-The scenic Islands like; Kisite, wasini, funzi, Mpunguti ya juu.
-Birds such as crab-prover, roseate tern and thousands of seabirds.
-Slave caves at shimoni
-The ocean
- Sea grasses and marine algae.

Activities
-Scuba diving
-Snorkeling
-Dolphin and Whale spotting
-Boat safaris
-Marine viewing such as turtle viewing.
-swimming
-Picnicking

Open: daily, 8:30am-6:00pm, including public holidays.
Entry
Entry is by cash paid at park entrance in Kshs or US$.
No smartcard required at present.

What to take with you
• Footwear, to protect your feet from reefs.
• T-shirt, sunscreen, sunhat, sunglasses
• Plenty of dinking water as the coastal region is characterized by hot conditions for most of the year.
• Guide books
• Insect repellent.
How to get there
Only by water transport: From Shimoni, the park can only bee reached by boat; a selection of dhows and boats depart from shimoni pier daily, usually between 9am and 11am, and leaves the park at around 2:30pm, depending on the weather conditions.
It is a 30 minutes cruise from Shimoni the marine park.