Tanzania

We didn’t have much time to spend in Tanzania unfortunately. Both Conor and I had been to the Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater before so we decided some beach time would be a more appropriate use of our time!

Zanzibar Island

Considering last time I went to Zanzibar a few years ago I got kidnapped and contracted malaria, I thought it would be prudent to give it another go… And thank goodness I did. The island is stunning. Stone town, its capital is a winding labyrinth of cobbled streets, the most beautiful door frames you’re likely to see, spice farms, fish markets and of course, some of the nicest beaches along the Indian Ocean coastline.

Nightly fish market in Stone Town. Delicious!

We originally intended to stay for three days but this got waylaid slightly when we met some great people including Sophie and Sarah (hello!) and ended up staying ten..

We started in a place called Kendwa, a small beach area in the north of the island where we spent days (literally) playing beach bat, boules (thanks Pat!) and snorkelling the beautiful coastline.

It's a tough life...

We then moved to the south east to a placed called Paje to completely wind down along the stupendous coastline it offered. More boules and beach bat than you could shake a stick at and lots of swimming. Perfect.

This chap was one of my favourite beach sellers. Luckily in Zanzibar you don’t get plagued badly by sellers (unless you’re staying at the posh resorts) as you are in other parts of the country. This guy called himself several things depending on the day. The first time we saw him he was ‘Captain Fruit’ as he had an abundance of fruit to sell that day. The next day he was ‘Captain Business’ as he tried to peddle us various services including accommodation or bus trips. Some days he threw the combo into the mix whereby, for example he was ‘Fruit Captain’ in the morning and then ‘Snorkelmaster’ in the evening. You had to stay on your toes with this entrepreneurial chap!

'Captain Everything!'

Zanzibar is quickly growing to become one of the premier kite surfing places in the world and if you look at these pictures you’ll see why.

Perfect conditions for kite surfing!

When the tides are optimal, you’re left with a giant swimming pool type lagoon with shallow water. Perfect if you’re spending more time in the water than on it, like the average beginner.. However, learning to kite surf comes with its own set of unique perils as I found out when I decided to try out this fast growing sport. Firstly, I had to develop a tolerance to sea water face planting. You’d get a nice passage of wind, have full control of your kite; everything seemed right. Next thing you know your kite has ditched, you’re flying through the air with a distinct lack of control or grace and you’re taking on more water than an elephant at a watering hole. Secondly, despite learning in a shallow(ish) picturesque lagoon, my choice not to wear shoes didn’t pay off quite as I’d hoped. After face planting for probably the twentieth time, I was wading through the water to regain control of the kite when suddenly I felt a heck of a lot of pain from one of my toes. Turns out as I put my foot down after falling over a cheeky little beggar of a crab decided to clamp on to two of my toes like his life depended on it. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down!

Despite the face planting and the odd crab incident, I managed to ride (a bit) by day three and got hooked on the sport. You may not see me down at Southend on Sea every weekend but I’ll definitely get stuck into the sport.

After Zanzibar we pretty much had to hot foot to Zambia so didn’t get much of a chance to see anything else but the little time we did spend in the country we enjoyed big time!