Zanzibar, Tanzania 2024
click on the map for interactive view
Zanzibar is an island off the east coast of Africa, about half way down the coast. It has been occupied by the Portugal, Oman, Germany and most recently England. Today it is part of Tanzania. With a population of about 760,000 it is primarily Muslim.
Our introduction to Tanzania comes from our friend and neighbor Tanya Pergola who has a long history in the country and runs an NGO there. We spent a week in Zanzibar before moving on the the mainland where we spent several more weeks.
Arriving well into the evening we were met at the airport with a driver to take us to the charming beachfront Hodi Hodi lodge on the east coast of the island. Julia, our hostess and East African native, built this seven room hotel about twenty years ago using native materials and labor. As there were few guests during our stay, we had lots of time for Julia to orient us to the island.
The east coast has a lovely sandy beach; however, when the tide goes out the depth is only a foot our so out to the reef about a mile off shore. During this low tide period hundreds of locals engage in fishing and seaweed harvesting.
In order to enjoy some snorkeling we were joined by Belin, a fellow guest at the hotel, and taxied up to the boats to Mnemba Island. The island itself is owned by Bill Gates and is off limits, but there is snorkeling on the surrounding reefs. The scene was rather chaotic with many boats and few facilities. At the extreme north end of the island is Nungwi Beach where most of the tourist hotel are located. Major new hotels are being built by Chinese companies on many parts of the island.
One highlight of our stay was the Shambaland amusement facilities with its miniature golf. We managed to play in four or five countries during the summer. The owner, Luigi, was a delightful character. While many of the resorts where exclusive, we did talk our way into Ocean Paradise for lunch. Here we paid the bill and starting walking down the beach to our hotel, hotel security came chasing after Dan insisting he return to the hotel to pay the bill at a different location….Dan kept walking.
On the 23 July, we headed to the airport and off to our first safari.
Leaving Hodi Hodi, we had our driver takes us thru the middle of the island, out to Upendo Beach on the lower east side for lunch and then into Stonetown at our hotel. This gave us a chance to see the agriculture on the island, primarily rice paddies and banana plantations. While Zanzibar was once a ‘spice’ island, that is now primarily a tourist attraction.
While Stonetown is a World Heritage site, little of its colonial heritage remains. We stayed at the Serena hotel on the beach on the west side of the island. Each night at dusk we could see hundred of open wooden fishing dories, each with a crew of about a dozen men, go out to sea. At night it looked like there was a city several miles offshore, a scene created by the lights on the fishing boats. In the early morning the boat were return and head for the fish market. Dan visited the fish market and found that most of the catch were a mackerel type fish used mostly to create a fish sauce for export.
Chumbe Island off the south west of Zanzibar is a private marine reserve with a lodge and a dozen room. We got a tour and later had dinner with the director back at our hotel. A charming spot with good snorkeling.
click on the photo to see the album