Trip to Kenya

Everyone had said that the smells of Africa were unforgettable and waking up our first morning in Kenya I knew what they meant. I am staying in a friend's house that overlooks Malindi beach and waking early we could see the fishermen bringing in their catch. The chaotic transfer at Mombasa airport last night meant we arrived in the dark and were met by Mohammed, who is driver, cook and general boss- man around the place.

This is my first sight of the place that my friend Milo had been telling me about for years. It is amazing. The house was built for his grandparents when they lived in colonial Africa - and it hasn't changed much apparently. At this time of the day the sand on the beach looks like silver.

We all turn up for breakfast cooked by Mohammed and his wife Mara. They look after the place 24/7 and seem pleased to have the family back for a while. An hour later we are in the sea - warm, tropical temperature. We take our snorkelling gear but the sea is quite rough and anyway the coral is in the next bay which makes up part of a marine national park. We plan to go there early one evening to see the fish which are extraordinary in every way, shape, size and colour.

I can't believe that we are out of bed every day by 7.30 but that's the way to beat the heat. We sleep in the afternoons and even better than at night there are no mozzies to fight off. Mohammed cooks us an incredible dinner every night of fish and some local beans. One of the fish arrived on a dish with spines and what looked like teeth - it tasted good but I wouldn't want to meet the monster face on.

The night life served up some pretty sad bars for us and clubs that were a hit with the oldies. Malindi is over-run by wrinkly old sunbaked Italians - and they've taken over a lot of the houses as well. On the plus side the gelati is outstanding. We go to visit of one of the 'been there since the beginning of time ' English families because they have a boy our age. He's a weird kid though and we decide to give him a wide berth.

The local shops are great - lots of bargaining and cheap cotton clothes. We buy armfuls of the loose pants in African prints to wear day and night. Before I leave I donate a lot of my gear to a boy on the beach who isn't allowed to go to school because he doesn't have proper clothes. I suppose they'll be happy if he turns up in a Man-U shirt.

We are now preparing to go on safari for three days. Nothing fancy just a simple camp site with friends. The animal life is fairly threatening to a city lad - we found Mohammed in the garden beating to death a black mamba one morning and every night I insist on a search for creatures under the bed. The worst hazard is the lavatory - Milo has endless stories of what can pop out of there.

Fingers crossed for safari nights under canvas. What an amazing country though. Poor, corrupt and at times a bit dangerous but people are so friendly and within a few hours of tropical beaches we should be tracking elephants and if we are as lucky as Milo's family last year, watching a lion kill.