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Magazine
TIME OUT
Island mystique
GUSTASP AND JEROO IRANI
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Off the coast of Kenya, Chale island, once the site of tribal rituals, offers the perfect balance between native charm and modern luxuries.
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Photo: Gustasp and Jeroo Irani
At one with nature: Cottages at the island.
Seasoned travellers know that a place too easily arrived at is scarcely worth travelling to; the more inaccessible a destination, the better.
And when our search for a romantic little island resort, The Sands at Chale Island, turned out to be a little convoluted, we thought that we were on the right track. We drove through Mombasa, followed by a short ferry ride and then another long drive along the Diani beach area, studded with swanky resorts shaded by palms, casuarinas and fat-trunked baobab trees. Our sense of adventure and anticipation were wearing thin by the time we arrived at a jetty and were told that the tractor-like contraption that would have taken us to The Sands across the waterway connecting it to the mainland, had bitten the dust. (The island is about 600 metres from the mainland and 10 km south of Diani on the Kenya coast.)
Worth the hassle
After a 15-minute wait, a coach arrived, we clambered in with other guests and were driven across the virtually dry bed of the Chale channel, to the island. Thirsty and a little tired, a co-passenger sighed that he could virtually taste the salt on the edge of a chilled glass of Bloody Mary while another had visions of guzzling ice-cold beer. Indeed, our arrival at The Sands, however belated, was like being led out of the wilderness into a Garden of Eden. A beauteous ochre-coloured resort rose on the edge of a white sand beach almost like a mirage yet it was very real and an integral part of the dreamy landscape of a cerulean sky arching over an azure ocean.
We could understand why till little over a decade ago, the indigenous Digo tribe that took care of this exotic island did not allow anyone to trespass on their sacred ground. Indeed there was an unspoken taboo and no one from the mainland could cross over to the island. The Digo elders would come across in the cover of darkness to perform their ceremonies in sacred groves called kayas, especially when divine guidance was needed to steer the tribe along, even in modern times.
Today that mystique of being a wild uninhabited island still clings to Chale and that aura is jealously preserved — The Sands is the only eco-friendly yet luxurious resort on the island. Brassy discotheques, brand shopping outlets and other tourist trappings have been banned. The only people who live on this small, lush, coral outcrop are the 100-strong resort staff and guests. And of course, the richly plumed birds and a few animals like bush babies, monkeys, baboons and small antelope that cross the channel in search of food and water at low tide.
A large part of the island is still a nature reserve and in a bid to preserve its natural and cultural heritage, the 15-acre, two-year-old resort too has a slightly wild rather than a manicured look. Slowly we got used to the idea of surrender; set aside our watches and forgot the compulsions of time and space. As we walked to our Banda (cottage) along powder-white sandy paths, we decided that the best way to enjoy our short sojourn was not to have an agenda. We could dine alone or in a group, early or late; on our own terrace invaded by multi-hued blossoms where a huge four-poster bed with a mosquito net stood invitingly. From the four-poster, one had a captivating view of the ocean and a large mushroom-like rock where birds roosted and stealth-bombed for their supper.
The works
Our thatched-roof Banda, like the others, was buried in purple and scarlet bougainvillea and other flowering shrubs and even cacti, each a centre of its own world. Ours came with a private garden, terrace, a large bedroom cum seating area, dressing enclave and a luxurious en suite bathroom… all of it was done in the Swahili coast style with dark wood carved furniture and African objets d’art sourced from Zaire and Zimbabwe. The resort has two swimming pools, two restaurants, including one charming seafood eatery in the middle of a mangrove type forest and a romantic bar, spa and gym… all this amounted to serious luxury in the middle of nowhere.
That first evening, we lolled in our private terrace Jacuzzi cantilevered over the glistening white beach and ocean, listening to the Edenic crash of waves on a largely deserted beach and watched a flamboyant sunset when clouds turned from pink to mauve-grey like a piece of coral lifted from the sea. The sun dropped quickly and the sea flared from soft blue to aquamarine to cobalt. We briefly forgot the rest of the world before heading to the romantic poolside, lit by paraffin lamps for dinner.
Later we fell asleep dreaming of Diga elders conferring in a secret leafy shrine in a distant part of the island, and of Chale, the old warrior buried on the island, after whom this rocky outpost is named. And in our dreams we saw him stalking on the beach like a lithe cat. The next morning, some guests went para-sailing, floating like sky gods above the water, others went snorkelling, diving, deep sea fishing and some headed for the mangrove swamps. One of the biggest attractions of the island, however, is the sulphur-rich mud with which visitors smother themselves and even roll in it as it has healing properties. We strolled on the pristine beach and surprised groups of colobus monkeys and baboons trudging like small armies on the move, from and to the island via the waterway at low tide.
Everything is low key at Chale because of the fragile nature of the reserve, and there is no power between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. This is when one can snooze on the capacious four-poster with flowing mosquito nets, on one’s flowering terrace, and enjoy the soft caress of ocean breezes.
We left Chale after a two-day sojourn, a one-resort island that has struck a happy balance between native charm and 21st century luxuries. We remembered our serene mornings there, the brilliant noontime, the nights compounded of mystery and invisible tribal rituals… but most of all, we remembered the silence of the sacred forests.
Fact file
Kenya Airways flies to Mombasa which is the nearest airport.
Chale island is about a two-hour journey (including a ferry ride) from Mombasa.
For more information contact Kenya Airways which represents Kenya Tourism in India. Email: seigfred.mendoza@kenya-airways.co.in
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