ZANAIR FLIGHT to ARUSHA- An African Air Safari

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Most safaris start with a flight, usually a Boeing from London or Amsterdam, or perhaps and Airbus. Ours started with a Czech made Let410 and ended with a similar aircraft. And instead of taking a day or a night, it took 35 minutes, a night and 90 minutes. So somethings don't change when you are going on Safari!

Living in Pemba Island makes mainland Tanzania a close destination, and yet it had been some time since we had been on a Safari. And so we climbed into a Toyota Minibus and bounced through the primeval rain forest that divides the north of Pemba, and onto the tarmac 9 miles later at Konde. Here Mohameddie (known far and wide as “Eddie”) drove us sedately past the fields and villages of Pemba to Chake Chake’s airstrip. The Zanair Let 410 was chock full, and the pilot wound up the twin turbines until they howled in protest. He released the brakes and we ran down the 5000ft runway until rotation, and a shallow climb at full power. Noise and fuel were not the issue here, maintaining flight was. Eventually we levelled out at 5000ft or so and cruised over the southern sand bars and reefs of Pemba. Steve was with us for his penultimate flight before returning to Jersey Island. As usual, he had snagged himself a window seat.

“Why should I sit in the middle, this is the best view in the world” he said to me. “it always changes and its included in the ticket”. I gazed out our starboard window and looked at the channels in the pure white sand, the azure blue water and the waves crashing on the fringing reef. Ten years on Pemba, and it was so obvious to me, that this was still a special Island.We had a twenty minute over sea crossing before descending over the flatlands of Zanzibar, the larger of our two spice Islands.

But Zanzibar, while home to many white beaches, is home to mass tourism and infrastructure. We were only here to sleep a night in the Swahili House Hotel. In spite of being in a very authentic (read dirty and noisy) local part of town, the Swahili House is an oasis of cleanliness, quiet, cool air and luxury; - A tall ancient Swahili white building, recently renovated and now controlled by a Belgian Pirate called Jan. Assisting him, is an English Chef called Mark, who produces a small menu that is, in my opinion the best continental cuisine in Stone Town. We sat for a long time on the roof terrace looking at the changing light on the houses with a chilled Tusker beer. Jan joined us, and the evening was complete.

Steve had to catch the British Airways 767 service to London. The 76 is so slow that I call it the routemaster bus. (But you can read more comments on British Airways in my article "dear willie" available on this site. )Luckily Zanair operate a dawn special that gets the casual tourist in to Dar es Salaam in time to catch the plane. Unfortunately I had offered to see Steve off. My alarm went off at 0545hrs and I stumbled to bang on his door. Steve was a cool customer and was all packed up and changed and ready to go. We stumbled down the steep (but authentic) stairs to the street. There we walked along the pedestrian passageways to where the faithful Rashid was waiting for us. Rashid took Steve off into the half light in his air conditioned Toyota Mk II and I stumbled back to bed. Five hours later I was back at Zanzibar’s international airport, and checking in for the flight to Arusha. Having been in Africa for 12 years, I had never flown to Arusha. I had always driven there in a Landrover. Now the tables had been turned, no longer an adventurer, I was a “casual tourist” as the Indians are fond of saying.

The Zanair Let 410 was not full, but being full of fuel and cargo, it used up most of Zanzibar’s runway and made a lazy turn over the Pemba Channel. We climbed over sandbanks, and in front of stone town and climbed again relentlessly until we crossed the African coast. I have always felt something special about the coast of Africa. Wherever it may be in the continent, the deserts of the north, the green hills of Morocco, the mangroves of Kenya, or the reefs of Tanzania, whenever I have been in a plane and looked down, I have a funny feeling. That there is some adventure still to be had here. Africa is the most basic of all the inhabited continents, which has a simplicity and barrenness that humbles us. The islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are Indian Ocean islands, that lie off Africa. I have never considered them African Islands. This occasion was no different. I was “back on AF”. The rains had not yet come, and the earth was brown, in contrast to the fringing reefs and blue Indian Ocean.

The pilots were obviously searching for cool air and we ended up levelling off at 13300ft. (according to my highly inaccurate wrist mounted altimeter). Like Steve yesterday I looked out of the window at the pre-rain cloud formations. They cast shadows on the brown earth. In the far distance I could see a line of green that made up the Usambara Mountains. This was East Africa. We were in the Union of Tanzania, but the Technicolor view from my window at this time was pure Africa, I could see the villages of Mombo, Handeni and Same, as we droned on to Arusha. I marvelled at my view. People came from around the world to see this, and some of them read their books! We crossed the final mountain ranges, keeping Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru firmly to our north before curling round over the fields of Arusha to land early and firmly on the short strip. The Let used full brakes and we did not overrun! (always a good sign). Upon disembarking I was rather lost and had to be shown the way to the arrivals lounge, which was a series of leather sofas on a marble floor.
“How Civilised” I thought, as I waited for my bag and gazed at Mount Meru in the distance...

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