This is Where INDIAN OCEAN 🌊 Meets River at Sabaki EsTuary vLog(14 minutes)

The Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is the second longest river in Kenya after the Tana River. It has a total length of 390 kilometres (240 mi), and drains an area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 sq mi).The river rises in the Gatamaiyo Forest as the Athi River and enters the Indian Ocean as the Galana River (also known as the Sabaki River).

The Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is loved by birdwatchers and this is the best kept secret of the Kenyan North Coast, frequented by ardent birdwatchers and hydro experts recording the natural fight between fresh river water and sea water.

It gets its three names from the regions it flows through rising from Ngong outside Nairobi to the Coast. The river drains into the Indian Ocean 10 km north of Malindi town, at Sabaki.

Where it meets the sea, it’s a constant change of colour from a reddish brown of the upcountry soil, to a slight dirty aqua blue and emerald on the ocean side. The waters seems to flow side by side never mixing and in constant fight.

The river cuts the Malindi-Lamu main road at the Marafa junction offering a stunning site ideal for bird watching.

The Sabaki River Mouth is listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. A number of rare and beautiful birds have been recorded here, attracted by the tidal mud flats that offer a rich habitat for migratory waders, gulls and terns. The coastal scrub and wetlands adjacent to the river mouth are home to shorebirds and other water birds.

The numbers change because of the proximity to other IBAs in the area such as the Arabuko-Sokoke and Mida Creek, Dakatcha Woodlands and the Tana River Delta.

But in recent years, the Sabaki area has seen an increase in population of hippopotamus and crocodiles, bringing human-wildlife conflict as farmers kill hippos invading their farms in search of pasture.


#oceanmeetsriver #estuary #indianocean #malikadoesit