Thursday, December 10, 2009

Zanzibar

After leaving Arusha we spent 2 days driving to Dar Es Salam which was our launch point to Zanzibar. The overnight camp along the way again put us in close company with some Zebra's, probably to be expected as it was called Zebra Camp. The second days driving should have been quite short but we were warned that the traffic in 'Dar' would add an extra hour or 2 to the trip.

Saying that triffic is a little congested is an understatement. The streets are lined with stalls selling just about anything and everything you could imagine and there are people that run to your windows and try and sell water, ice-creams or anything else they might be carrying. We were sheltered from this because we were elevated in the truck. Even with traffic lights and police presence, it seemed that at times the drivers just have to take a deep breath and hope to make it across the intersection safely.
The camp at Dar was just outside of town at Kipepeo Beach and was a beautiful spot. We were right on the beach and enjoyed listening to the waves all night. For the boys it was one of the first times we had a TV and there was a few hours of catching up on the Cricket at the beachside bar. We also met 2 of the new people that were joining us in Zanzibar.
Leaving the beach we drove into the 'town' and caught a ferry back to Dar. Much simpler as it only took 5min. On the drive we saw heaps of people riding bikes with amazing loads precarilously balanced. Our 10/10 prizes go to the guy with bananas and to the person with a sack of potatoes that received a gentle nudge from a car and still stayed upright.

Once in Dar we had about an hour to spare before the next ferry. We had been warned by another Acacia group at Snake Park that the crossing was extremely rough and motion sickness pills were suggested. A number of us chipped in and bought a packet from the rather bemused pharmacist.

Even though Zanzibar is part of Tanzania you get stamped in and out as if you were going to a different country. As we had only limited spare pages left in our passports we thought this was a little unnecessary. When we tried to board the ferry we were told that Steve's daypack was too big and that it had to be 'checked in'. This pretty much involved throwing it up over the front of the boat to be put in a pile with all the other big bags. We decided to sit inside and dozed for most of the 2 hour trip. The others that sat out of deck said they saw Dolphins. When we docked in Stone Town, the crew realised that half of the wharf had just been painted and all our bags had to passed down the length of the ferry via a human chain to the dry section. When we saw that Steve's tripod had opened up during the trip we were a little concerned that it was going to fall out of its strap. Thankfully it and all the bags made it to dry land safely.
We were met by a local tour operator who walked us to our hotel and then gave us a description of the day trip tour options. All of the group decided to do the Spice Tour that afternoon, mainly because it included lunch. This tour included a few of the local sights including St Monica's Cathedral which was the location of the slave market and has a small memorial to it. The cathedral itself is pretty rundown, but only a very small percentage of the population of Christian. The locals are predominantly Muslim.
Just follow me, the hotel is down the street....
We had quick photo stops at Beit El Ajaib (House of Wonders), Livingstone House and Maruhubi Palace before arriving at the actual Spice Farm. This scaled down version has Vanilla, Turmeric, Lemongrass, Nutmeg, and Pepper as well as a number of tropical fruit. The tasting session that followed was great with some of the best pineapple we have ever had. Back in Stone Town we had a 'last dinner' as 7 of the group were finishing their tour here. We also wandered through the excellent night market and tried some of the seafood kebabs. The food here was fantastic and we could have happily picked out way through the stalls for dinner finishing with the chocolate and banana pizza.
'Ali D in the bus' our guide for the spice tour, complete with cockney accent!
Using a machete to take the skin off a pineapple.
Night markets, the spicy lobster kebab is highly recommended!
One of the tour options presented to us was the 'Prison Island Tour' for $20US. We thought this was quite expensive and did some investigating of our own. In the end 8 of us hired a boat and snorkelling gear directly through a local fisherman for under $10 each. Bargain. We got up early the next day and headed over to the island where we were the first boat of the day and had the place to ourselves. One of the island's attractions were the Giant Tortoise's. The handlers gave us some food and let us loose in the enclosure. There were over 100 of them and they are huge! When they move the shells creak and make a small thud when the settled down again. Our captain then gave us a tour of the island which is now partly a ritzy private hotel. Even though it is called Prison Island it was never used as a prison but rather as a Hospital. After the tour we sailed a little futher round the island and went snorkelling. We were amazed at the vast number and different colours of fish and coral that we could see. One of our group did get a little close to a jellyfish, but a quick stop back on the island for some vinegar soothed the sting.
This starfish was on the and where the boat landed.
Feeding the always hungry giant tortoise.
Our boat and captains
The cove where we landed
A spot of snorkelling
This storm started to approach as we headed back to Stone Town
Once we returned to Stone Town we headed to Kendwa Beach in the north of the island. This was our stop for the next 2 nights. This beach is lined with hotels and their restaurants and bars. One thing with this part of the Acacia Tour is that there is no accommodation pre-booked for you. This means that you can organise your own before you go or your tour leader will book something while you are on safari. We went for the latter option and we were all disappointed with the standard of accommodation for this leg. A few people decided to upgrade their rooms at one of the neighbouring hotels. Our advice for anyone doing this trip is to ask the company what their plans are and if Kendwa Beach is the destination, it wouldn't matter which hotel you are in as they are all next to each other. We still met up for drinks, dinner and games of beach volleyball or cards over the 2 days we were there. It was nice to have the couple of days to relax after the high excitement and early starts of the 2 safaris. The only downside was Steve had a 24hr tummy bug so was confined to the room and missed another fabulous sunset.

Our return ferry on the last day was for the afternoon, so we decided to get an early transfer to Stone Town and wander through the streets. Steve ended up having the first phone interview for a job back in Brisbane, in a waterside park as it was the only place that didn't have people everywhere. The only issue was as soon as we sat down, a group of school girls came up and wanted to practice their English with Claire. Not really what Steve needed at that time. Interview over, and both our prepaid UK sim cards left with no balance, we hit the streets for souveniours. While negotiating the price of some artwork we noticed a group of police outside the shop. We nervously took our purchase and made our way back into the shopping precint. When we walked past again about 30min later, there were no paintings on display and the shop was boarded up! Oh well, at least we liked the paintings.
Before the shop was 'closed'
On the ferry for the return trip we again decided to sit below deck. The return crossing was definitely much rougher than the way over. Claire decided to stand outside for the trip and the crew were seen handing out quite a few black bags! As far as we know everyone on our truck was okay, but quite relieved to see Dar and Kipepeo again. Since we have said goodbye to 7 people in Zanzibar and had 3 join us, we have been given new work groups, although not much to do tonight as we didn't need to prepare the food. We ordered a fabulous BBQ from the campsite next door instead.
A hard working porter from the ferry.
Leaving Kipepeo the next morning we started our drive towards Malawi. We drove along the highway through Mikumi National Park. We did see some Elephant and Giraffe but were unable to stop as we hadn't paid the park fees (and it was a highway). The other noticeable thing about this area is the number of Baobab trees. Our campsite for that night was aptly named as there is a massive tree right in the middle of it.
Our next drive was really short and we arrived at lunch time. It was only a matter of minutes before the clothesline was out and the handwashing begun. We spent the afternoon, trying to find the lake that is somewhere on the property, playing cards and the tradional Bao Bao game. It was also our first wedding anniversary at this campsite!
Sunset at 'The Farmhouse' with the washing line.

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