At the northern end of the piece of coast between Mombasa Harbour and Mtwapa Creek, Shanzu is dominated by exclusive holiday clubs, and is really too far from Mombasa to be a worthwhile day-trip for the beach, although it does have a couple of other attractions that may appeal to some.

 

The most unusual of these, 1km east of the Mombasa-Malindi road and copiously signposted, are the Ngomongo Villages (daily 9am-5pm; Ksh500, children Ksh250; tel 011/486480; ). Like Bamburi Nature Park, this is a reclaimed quarry, but one with a twist: as well as trees, it's been planted with a collection of eleven mock rural homesteads, complete with permanent inhabitants in matching dress, representing the "most colourful tribes of Kenya". Don't expect authenticity, but do expect a fun half-day out in Kenya's only theme park. There are Akamba wood carvers, musicians, herbalists, and the unavoidable crocodile pit, with less common attractions of hands-on activities like archery, Luo-style hook fishing, Turkana-style harpoon fishing, grain pounding, and tree planting. There's also the Kienyeji Bar & Restaurant , whose lunchtime African buffet costs Ksh550.

Also worth a visit is the Shanzu Transitional Workshop for Disabled Young Women, 350m east of Ngomongo, run by the Mombasa Girl Guides (Mon-Fri 8am-12.30pm & 2-4.30pm; c/o Mrs D.P. Shah, PO Box 80890 Mombasa tel 011/223078). Here, fourteen young women between 18 and 20 years old are currently being trained or employed in practical handicraft skills, turning out a small selection of well-made clothes (great Bermuda shorts), jewellery and leatherwork which is for sale. The idea is to graduate them with enough vocational training to enable them to become self-sufficient in the community. They don't get many visitors, so go and support the project if you can.

You'll find a large cluster of shops at Shanzu, by Sonia Apartments , with everything including the good Kelele Record Shop which sells African music CDs, and email, internet and telephone services in the same enclosure. At Shanzu Bazaar, nearby, there's a clinic (Dr A.S. Buran tel 011/485238), and an aromatherapy centre (Body-Line Institute tel 011/486350).