How to make a living in paradise

The image above is the view from my Gran's house near Kilifi, on the coast of Kenya.

Historically this area has become a retirement place for white Kenyans who lease (there are probably some freeholds too) land along the beaches and cliffs.

Kilifi town was once only accessible by an unreliable car ferry, and before that a man powered rope drawn ferry, and now a bridge built by the Japanese. Urban development suddenly expanded tenfold. Speaking to my gran on the phone the other day I asked her how things had changed since I was last there. "The Italians have bought the place out," she said, "they are building multi-story shopping complexes and renting out apartments" The Mafia, she thinks.

The question for anyone - who is not a 'Mafioso', that is - wanting to live in this poverty stricken paradise, is how do you make a living? Tony Britchford, now deceased, came up with a pretty good plan. He got himself a radio and became the 'yachties' SSB connection within the western Indian Ocean.

For 18 or so years he guided passing yachts into the well protected Kilifi creek through a break in the outer reef, under the bridge (70'/21m, some yachts would drift backwards under it just in case they had to motor forward in the event it was too low) and also under the power lines spanning the creek soon after the bridge.

The anchorage was just below his and our house seen in the picture, from where he offered services and advice.

Submitted by Philip Cartland on 9 September 2006 - 8:03am.