Africa's Island Gem

2010 started off with snow, french accents, min english speaking individuals (Not a South African in sight), new years kisses and in true french style champagne. Fast forward 12 months, 2011 begins with the softest white sand between my toes, bellowing stars, humidity, foreigners (As in min english speaking people once again- 6 max), imported champagne, beach fires, drumming and fireworks.

Zanzibar Airport

Zanzibar stole my heart the minute I landed on this wonderful island. Well honestly it 1st physically took my breath away, stepping off an air conditioned aeroplane after a 3.5 hour flight to be welcomed by extreme humidity and heat never experienced before, literally stopped me dead in my tracks. You realise once you walk into the mini me airport that you are definitely not in Paris or London or SA but in Africa. The lack of order at Passport control and the non existent luggage carousel once again reminded me that this holiday was about learning and pure adventure.

Lack of luggage carousel (Nearly got arrested for taking this picture)

The roadtrip to our hotel, yes it was quite the road trip as it was about an hour from the airport on a bumpy, twirly and rather colourful road. Cows, people riding bicycles, vendors, taxi's, kids playing, sharing of fruit, lots of honking filled our journey with much laughter and to be honest a sense of hesitation. Arriving at Casa del Mar hotel in Jambiani on the South East coast of Zanzibar was such a refreshing experience as the big red gates to our hotel opened. As I gazed out of the taxi window, palm trees, a white sandy beach, twinkling blue sea and big smiled staff caught my eye as I relaxed realising that I had arrived in paradise.

The days spent in a colourful world of paradise were full of relaxation, adventure, laughs, learning and appreciation.

My 1st official snorkeling experience (Yes not in my swimming pool or at a Cape Town beach) was one to be remembered. 8 hours of pure bliss admiring the tropical sea life and realising that Finding Nemo fish really do exist in the sea. Once I fixed my snorkeling mask and got over the stinging plankton (Vinegar is the key to getting rid of the sting I learnt- yes there are people who carry around bottles to vinegar in case they get stung by plankton), I was in absolute awe of the marine life. Spending the day being transported on a Dhow, watching dolphins play, floating in highly salted water which left your throat and sinuses burning, eating fresh crayfish (lobster), tuna, calamari, drinking tamarind juice, seeing a 500 year old baobab tree and realising that there are times when its acceptable not to use the island loo but make an alternative plan was all part of the adventure.

Our transport for the day, a Dhow

My 1st tour of the Tanzanian jungle discovering the uniqueness of spices and fruit with the locals was an educational yet fun way to venture through the unknown. Seeing how tumeric and nutmeg are grown, using lipstick fruit to beautify ourselves, tasting jackfruit, bread fruit, star fruit and learning about how the community lives and shares their necessities was insightful. The Cinnamom tree is known as the King of Zanzibar and the Clove tree is known as the Queen of Zanzibar. The locals are very creative and made us baskets from banana tree leaves which we used to carry around our discoveries for the day.

Michael, our tourguide made us banana leaf gifts all morning, so creative

Stone Town, the main town in Zanzibar was always bustling with foreigners, you were bound to bump into South African's here as you would very often here Dit lyk mooi or hoeveel kos dit as the currency used by most places is the Tanzanian Shilling or Dollars (for your hotel or activity expenses). The history of Stone Town and the slavery is rather overwhelming but one can get so consumed as you make your way through the maze of old and narrow streets which stretch for kilometers.



Stone Town- Slave Island behind the dhow

 Jozani forest is filled with eager yet the very rare Red Colobus monkeys, there are only 2500 left in the world. You get taken on a tour through one of the last indigenous forests on the island. Its a rather surreal experience as the monkeys are so inquisitive thus they come up to you to touch and smell the new addition to the forest. However very soon they get bored and find something new to do as they show off their gymnastics skills high up in the trees. The tour also includes a walk  to see the mangroves. At first I thought our tour guide, Mohammed said we are going to see the mangoes which confuzzed the brain as I could not quite understand why he was showing us mangoes if they were so abundant on the island. Soon enough we reached the mangroves (a tidal salt-marsh forest in the tropics dominated by trees or shrubs which have roots that are exposed at low tide and which are inundated with salt water at high tide) and I was amazed at the strength of the roots.

The super energetic red Colobus Monkey

We welcomed 2011 at a party at the hotel on the beach which featured DJ Feda, one of the local DJ's who played local and international hits including a little Waka Waka which was the one song which got every soul on the dance floor whether you were from SA, Zanzibar, France, Germany, Portugual or Croatia. I was in awe at how the song had the ability to bring together people from such vast backgrounds and we felt the beat as it made its way from the tips of our toes to the follicles on our heads. Once again showing us that one song has the overwhelming ability to create a circle of warmth which draws you in no matter your age, religion. background or status. The beat of drums on the beach were heard faintly as I drifted off to sleep after welcoming the new year with people from across the globe, definitely my most inter-continental new years to date.

Our last few days in Zanzibar consisted of an early morning snorkel on the Jambiani coast with Captain Rusta Baby and Lewis (The local captains). This trip ended with the captains trusting me to captain the dhow, not a good thing as I landed us in a large coral reef which resulted in us needing a little rescuing. However you would think the real captains would have lost all faith in me, think again before you know it I had managed to get us to shore. I received my official captain badge and can now officially take tourists out on the dhow for a dose of adventure, maybe in my dreams.

Lewis, our Captain

We spent our last morning in Stone Town as of course I needed to go shopping, as I had not yet fulfilled that duty. I spent a few hours negotiating with the locals at the slave market as I got caught up in beautiful beaded leather summer sandals, jewellery and other crafts. We visited Mercury's, a restaurant which attracted an array of foreigners as it served pizza, not many restaurants served pizza, let alone cheese in Zanzibar. Plus the restaurant was named after Freddy Mercury as he was born in Zanzibar.

Saying goodbye to Casa del Mar and its staff, friends we had made and the lifestyle that I had adopted left me a tad on the emotional front however knowing that I would definitely return provided an ounce of comfort. This holiday was the perfect dose of adventure, relaxation, laughter, culture and education which warmed my heart in a new way, I am officially smittened.

Flying back to the Mother City

Asante Sana Zanzibar.