Diani Beach Touch Rugby Tournament

Heritage Hotels co-sponsored the eighth Diani Beach Touch Rugby tournament, held at 40 Thieves Beach Bar in Diani, Kwale.

This international touch rugby event aims at raising money for two local teams in Ukunda and Kwale: the South Coast Pirates Club and the Junior Rugby Association of Kwale.

28 teams took part, including one from Mogadishu for the first time. Others were from Nanyuki, Naivasha, Nairobi, Mombasa and Tanzania.

It was an exciting weekend of rugby for everyone. South Coast Pirates 2 won the tournament. The previous champs were South Coast Pirates 1.

The other finals saw Les Gaulois 1 winning the Plate, Les Gaulois 2 the Shield and COMRAS the Bowl.

The junior’s tournament was won by the team Lady Jackals from Nanyuki playing a young Likoni Community One team, with the final score 3-1.

Speaking during the award presentation ceremony, Chairman George Barbour expressed his sincere gratitude to all the fans, players, officials, sponsors and donors who made the event a success.

The raffle and auction raised Ksh 418,000. It was boosted with the 10% bar sales from Forty Thieves which raised Ksh 664,000. The money will go towards The South Coast Pirates and the Junior Rugby Association of Kwale.

The Federation of International Touch’s Kenya’s representative (FIT Kenya) is targeting to have a national team in the 2019 Touch World Cup.

Heritage Hotels is keen to put this game on the international map by supporting local clubs at grass root level in Kenya and for the youth to learn and gain from this - and other - sporting events.  

Report and pictures by Ndeithi Kariuki, Marketing Manager-Heritage Hotels Ltd

Tsavo West Sightings

The week of 11th July 2016 was interesting and seeing a lot of wildlife coming closer to the camp.This is due to the drought season. Elephants started coming earlier than expected to the river and spend the whole night feeding on reeds. 

The Impalas arrives in the camp as early as 6 pm. Our guests enjoy watching them in between the tents. Impalas decrease their chances of attack when living in herds. They leap and scatter in all directions when being attacked to confuse the predator. The impala is rarely seen on its own. Females and young animals form herds of up to 100 individuals, while males live in a bachelor group of about 60 animals. They occupy a large range and make seasonal migrations from high to lower ground according to the availability of suitable food.

The number of warthog have also increased as per our observations. Mostly, Warthogs sleep and rest in holes, which at times they line with grass, perhaps to make them warmer. Although they can excavate, warthogs normally do not dig holes but use those dug by other animals, preferably aardvarks. They also protect themselves from predators by fleeing or sliding backwards into a hole, thus being in a position to use their formidable tusks in an attack.

Report and pictures by Stephen Lekatoo.