RUPI MANGAT: Yoga by the ocean

Wall decoration and mirror in a room inside the Treehouse Watamu. PHOTO| MAYA MANGAT

What you need to know:

  • Next on the list as we paddle our kayaks silently through the narrow maze of mangrove-lined channels, is a sudden swoosh of shanks. It’s an animated world of birds out here.

  • The tides going out – and the ground appears with scribbled patterns of exposed roots of the different species of mangroves in Mida.

  • A flock of white resting on the branches of the mangroves turn out to be spoonbills. A Goliath heron lifts and lands a few metres away while grey-headed herons and pure white storks rest in the shade.

A fascinating little place in Watamu offers unique activities and sights. By Rupi Mangat

It’s quirky, it’s fun and totally captivating. Arriving at the Treehouse in Watamu by tuk-tuk (it’s so easy to move along here in tuk-tuks) along a tiny stretch of a bumpy road, I’m about to return a wave to the two smiling guys by the road – when I realise they’re just statues and not real people.

Getting off the tuk-tuk, we step into a tiny piece of clearing in a bush with two towers travelling upwards. “I didn’t want to cut any tress down,” says Paul Krystall, the owner of the Treehouse, “so I built upwards.” I crane my neck upwards to view the towers as Paul offers to show us around. And we begin climbing the stairs amidst the trees and bush that spread around the building. There’s not a single 90-degree corner in either of the towers – like in nature. Everything is put together organically. Inside, nothing is ‘ordinary’. Every room is shaped different with furniture built on site. Bricks made from recycled glass and shards of many colours add quirkiness to the rooms.

Animated world

The Treehouse is a great place to converge for yoga, and an evening class for the sunset yoga is currently happening. We join in and fill our lungs with air full of ocean breeze and tropical trees as the sun sets and we complete our asanas.

The following morning, we’re off kayaking and birding in Mida Creek. The ocean-swept breeze and the sun add to the beautiful light of the day. Animated bands of white flocks of crab plover fly over – it’s not something you see every day. Gregarious by nature, they hang out together living along the Indian Ocean coast and isles. As the name implies, the waders love their crabs and other small creatures of the ocean. Unusual amongst waders, it nests in burrows along sandy banks in huge colonies.

Next on the list as we paddle our kayaks silently through the narrow maze of mangrove-lined channels, is a sudden swoosh of shanks. It’s an animated world of birds out here.

The tides going out – and the ground appears with scribbled patterns of exposed roots of the different species of mangroves in Mida.

A flock of white resting on the branches of the mangroves turn out to be spoonbills. A Goliath heron lifts and lands a few metres away while grey-headed herons and pure white storks rest in the shade.

As the sun hits the midday hour, the breeze settles and we’re out of the maze crossing the wide berth of the creek again. Creamy-white sand bars now exposed make for a spot for a drink – and a session of yoga. It’s a surreal venue that’s amazingly energizing. Local fishermen continue fishing – some with their nets walking in the shallow waters, others rowing their dug-out canoes.

The current’s too strong to row back, washing us down the creek to the open ocean where we land at a strip a few kilometres down by the gates of Watamu Marine National Park.

Back at Treehouse, the pool between the towers has a special purpose – you simply jump in to cool down.