Zanzibar
Time for a bit of R&R with a stay at a beach resort on Zanzibar. I always thought of Zanzibar as a single island, but it is actually made up of 50 individual islands. The main one is called Unguja and has lots of resorts and also Zanzibar town and Stone Town. The other interesting thing about Zanzibar is that it used to be a separate country, but it has virtually no crops or industry. Tanganyika would supply food and support but eventually withheld all of that until Zanzibar gave up and was annexed. Tanganyika and Zanzibar then became a single country, called Tanzania. Bizarelly when you arrive on Zanzibar you go through Immigration and have your passport stamped - even though you are technically still in Tanzania.
Anyway, a two hour ferry ride brought us to Zanzibar followed by 1 1\2 hour drive to Nungwi Beach. We had one free day here and could have gone snorkelling or on other tours but ultimately decided to simply relax, walk to the local village and then lay on the beach. Lauren and I had a swim, but with no waves to make it interesting only lasted about 15 minutes. We all enjoyed the day and topped it off watching the sunset from a rooftop bar with half price cocktails.
After two nights here we moved down to the main town, with a few stops on the way. First was a Spice farm. I said earlier there are few crops but there are many Spice farms. We were given a tour of the farm where we saw and tasted/smelt cinnamon, nutmeg,cloves, pepper, cacao, ylang ylang, turmeric, jack fruit, durian, tangerine, lemongrass, jojoba and ginger. It was good to see the various tree/plants they all came from. The pepper in particular was interesting as it comes in 5 different colours depending on when it is harvested and whether or not it is peeled before roasting (Green, red, black, white and yellow)
From here we went to a church built on the site of the slave auctions of the 1800's. We had a guide who showed us around and spoke of the slave trade and how it was eventually outlawed. There was also a set of panels that went into a bit of detail about slave trading and the British priest who was instrumental, along with Dr David Livingstone, in changing the law. It was very interesting and a little depressing. Next stop was Stone Town where we followed our guide through very narrow streets. The buildings here are made of stone and coral, hence the name. Despite the narrow streets motor bikes come roaring along at regular intervals. You need to to keep your wits about you, which can be difficult while you shop or look at the 'Zanzibar' doors - hand carved decorative wooden doors - or 'Indian' doors - which have multiple brass spikes on them.
Both Tracy and Lauren felt a bit rushed in Stone Town, so it was handy we had time to wander through it again on our own the next day before our ferry at 12:30pm. We left the two Swiss people and the Italian on Zanzibar, as they were done with our tour and were heading home.
Back to the mainland and reunited with 'Ella' we had one more night in a hotel before heading towards Malawi and 10 nights in tents.
Anyway, a two hour ferry ride brought us to Zanzibar followed by 1 1\2 hour drive to Nungwi Beach. We had one free day here and could have gone snorkelling or on other tours but ultimately decided to simply relax, walk to the local village and then lay on the beach. Lauren and I had a swim, but with no waves to make it interesting only lasted about 15 minutes. We all enjoyed the day and topped it off watching the sunset from a rooftop bar with half price cocktails.
After two nights here we moved down to the main town, with a few stops on the way. First was a Spice farm. I said earlier there are few crops but there are many Spice farms. We were given a tour of the farm where we saw and tasted/smelt cinnamon, nutmeg,cloves, pepper, cacao, ylang ylang, turmeric, jack fruit, durian, tangerine, lemongrass, jojoba and ginger. It was good to see the various tree/plants they all came from. The pepper in particular was interesting as it comes in 5 different colours depending on when it is harvested and whether or not it is peeled before roasting (Green, red, black, white and yellow)
From here we went to a church built on the site of the slave auctions of the 1800's. We had a guide who showed us around and spoke of the slave trade and how it was eventually outlawed. There was also a set of panels that went into a bit of detail about slave trading and the British priest who was instrumental, along with Dr David Livingstone, in changing the law. It was very interesting and a little depressing. Next stop was Stone Town where we followed our guide through very narrow streets. The buildings here are made of stone and coral, hence the name. Despite the narrow streets motor bikes come roaring along at regular intervals. You need to to keep your wits about you, which can be difficult while you shop or look at the 'Zanzibar' doors - hand carved decorative wooden doors - or 'Indian' doors - which have multiple brass spikes on them.
Both Tracy and Lauren felt a bit rushed in Stone Town, so it was handy we had time to wander through it again on our own the next day before our ferry at 12:30pm. We left the two Swiss people and the Italian on Zanzibar, as they were done with our tour and were heading home.
Back to the mainland and reunited with 'Ella' we had one more night in a hotel before heading towards Malawi and 10 nights in tents.
Nungwi beach
Stone Town
Zanzibar door
Indian door
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