Why do our guests love coming back to Mwamba?
This month, we’ve had the pleasure of having a series of returning guests. It’s been lovely having familiar faces around! Here’s a little more about their stories and why they’re drawn to Mwamba…
Tell us a little bit about who you are…
Gaëlle: I am Gaëlle, 39 years old. I come from France and work as a humanitarian worker for MEDAIR, a Christian Swiss NGO. I started in 2013. Before that, I was working in nature preservation.
Annette: I’m a 69 year old Danish retired nurse. I worked in intensive care units, casualty wards, etc. In the last 30-35 years, I worked in the psychiatric field, with mentally ill people and drug addicts. I spent the last 15 years as a supervisor. Besides being a nurse, I also trained as a manager and 2 different kinds of therapies. Since I retired 5 years ago, I’ve been travelling 2-3 months every winter, escaping the cold weather.
Fuller-Rowell family: Charles and I have been coming to Kenya for many years, either to visit friends or for work. Before retiring Charles worked in many African countries and I joined him in most of them when taking a break from running my Tea Rooms in England. We used to visit friends in Watamu a few plots along from Mwamba when it belonged to Barbara Simpson!
The Fuller-Rowell family
When was the first time you visited A Rocha Kenya? How did you initially hear about it?
Gaëlle: I visited A Rocha Kenya in November 2012, so almost 8 years ago already! I had already heard about A Rocha in France, and did some bird ringing once with them, near Nîmes. I think this is why I looked for other A Rocha places while I was in Africa, on the Internet.
Annette: I visited A Rocha for the first time in 2018, I read about the place in Lonely Planet.
Fuller-Rowell family: When my friend moved back to England she suggested we stay at Mwamba in the future and we have enjoyed coming ever since.
How many times have you come back?
Gaëlle: I came back once, in February 2020.
Annette: This is my third time visiting.
Annette, a regular guest from Denmark
What has made you come back?
Fuller-Rowell family: We like the inclusive family atmosphere at A Rocha and its simple and uncomplicated way of life – comfortable, relaxed and accommodating. It is nice too, to be able to participate sometimes in the conservation work, or to help in the kitchen or with maintenance tasks. We look forward to our visit each year and thank you all for everything you do!
We like the inclusive family atmosphere at A Rocha and its simple and uncomplicated way of life – comfortable, relaxed and accommodating.
Annette: I came back for several reasons: I care about the concept of conservation, I find the place friendly and peaceful, and the facilities suit me perfectly. I love meeting people from all over the world. This year, I came to recover from an operation and therefore stayed for a longer period (25 days). The prices are reasonable and the staff super friendly.
Gaëlle: Mainly the quietness and beauty of this place, and the warm welcome of the A Rocha team.
What’s your favorite memory at A Rocha?
Annette: My favorite memories are the times when we are a few people together around a meal, and when you can have a conversation that goes a little deeper than usual. The daily routines at the beach in the morning, swimming and training. It brings peace of mind. The beautiful garden and the wild life there. Seeing the big monitor lizard walking one meter away from me is also something to remember!
So far I haven’t found any other place like A Rocha, and intend to come back as long as I can manage!
Gaëlle: I had the opportunity to do some bird watching and bird ringing with A Rocha team and it was amazing, but what I probably enjoyed the most was probably when we went snorkelling from the beach, for almost 3 hours. We saw many beautiful species of fish and other sea animals. Thank you very much!
Gaelle helping out with bird-ringing