Place with a view

It is so refreshingly energising to be at the Coast at this time of the year. While coastal people shiver at the gusty winds and stay away from the beach, I am so charged that I want to be out more and more.

With this kind of zest, I always end up having such fun trying out new places. A new place, at least for me and my coastal friends, is the Sundowner Bar at Vipingo Ridge.

It has been around for a while which is why I am kicking myself for not trying it out earlier. It is cool in all senses of the word, especially cool as in lower temperatures which makes it such an ideal spot during the searing hot season.

Vipingo lies north of Mtwapa and Kikambala in the North Coast on the way to Malindi and before you reach Kilifi or even Takaungu - all of which are such great beach spots. Vipingo is an area that thrived from the early 20th century as an extensive sisal plantation.

It was actually very picturesque driving along the Mombasa- Malindi road that ran through the plantations in those days. As you headed north, the left side was on a raised ridge while the right side tapered towards the sea.

The sight, neat rows of the spiky sisal plant, broken every so often with a large line of wind-breaking trees and the sea at one end, was a stunning change from the otherwise boring hour and half drive to Malindi.

In the last 15 years or so, the land, especially the side rising away from the sea, has been depleted of the nutrients for sisal growing and has been developed for an upscale golfing resort, called Viping Ridge - a five star golf course that brings an unmatched golf experience to the region.

Set on 2,500 acres, the Baobab is a championship 18-hole golf course designed to USGA specifications by David Jones, the PGA Director and former Kenya Open Champion - the course is enviable for any golfer.

There is another 18 course and both are strategically located and present a package of its kind from spectacular panoramic views of the Indian Ocean to stunning sunsets to the west.

The natural rolling terrains combined with the sandy sub-soils provide a perfect golfing setting. Walkways and bicycle routes around the walled estate have been planned, a large lake is being put in for water sports and there are plans for a game sanctuary which will focus on breeding small indigenous game.

A luxury club is being developed on the nearby Kuruwitu beach for the exclusive use of Vipingo Ridge residents – another non-golf attraction. This development is so well-sought after that the UK Times Online has given it a special mention and one that has triggered “the new scramble for Africa.”

Right at the top, at the 18th hole, is a bar with equally stunning views called the Sundowner Bar. The drive all the way up for the first is quite a revelation of such a posh development and what possibilities are afforded behind what used to be an ordinary looking sisal field.

Having seen the property prices and read about the development prior to going for a Sundowner, I was a bit disappointed at the bar itself.

It is a very casual set-up, does not match the class of the development around it and a bit of a waste of such a fantastic location.

It is an extended thatched rondavel that is open on the sides with a bar in the centre and seating along the circumference. However, that can all be overlooked as the views of sunsets over the hills and the fading light on the ocean are one of the best in the region.

I find this bar hasn’t received as much attention as the rest of the developments on Vipingo Ridge which is such a pity as I can picture myself whiling a whole afternoon over a nice bottle or two of Shiraz.

Instead, I whiled my time taking photos of the stunning sunset, wishing I had put on a heavier shirt than just a T-shirt. That is right, for the first time in my life, I felt chilly at the coast, the bar is that high up.

In fact, with one’s back to the ocean and watching the sunset over the green rolling hills, it feels like you are somewhere in the Rift Valley!
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