Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 58

It's our final day in Africa before flying out to Mumbai, India this afternoon. I'm glad to say that we have survived it with all of our belongings and body parts intact! From everything you read and hear about both safari and the crime rate in cities, it must be somewhat of a miracle! We spent the last few days on safari again, at the Masai Mara (yes, for the second time!). As well as all the usual false alarms (crocologs, hippopotracks etc...) we saw all of the big five again apart from the elusive rhino. Some of the highlights were a family of ostriches with about 30 tiny babies, a family of a mother leopard with 5 cute cubs, a pride of lions including males and cubs, and the all time highlight, another near-kill, this ... read more

"At least 18 supporters of the main opposition party in Tanzania's semi autonomous island of Zanzibar were wounded on Sunday after police opened fire on a crowd. "I heard the gunshots" said Salma Mohamed, a Zanzibar based reporter covering the political campaign there ahead of 30th October elections" IRIN url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49441&SelectRegion=East_Africa,%20East_Africa,%20Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=TANZANIA irinnews "Welcome to paradise", said the hotel porter of the Africa House Hotel, Stone Town, Zanzibar. The Africa House, in an earlier incarnation was the colonial British Club. Mohamed the porter said this to me on Tuesday 11th of October. On the previous Sunday the police had opened fire on an unarmed crowd. So, I thought, but didn't say; paradise, yeah, if you're a rich tourist. The political unrest is not... read more

We hired a Jeep just to get away and do our own thing, it was great. After mastering the streets of Stone Town we headed east to the home of the Red Colobus monkeys. At the monkey sanctuary we were given our own guide and shown the forest, the monkeys and the mangrove swamps, it was all very interesting but we couldn’t wait till we could get out of the horrendous heat and back on the road. Further east we found the area we would be spending the next few nights and after Darren drove us up and down the beach having fun in 4 wheel drive we found the Visitors Inn Beach Resort. A bit rough around the edges, the Visitors Inn was a reasonably pleasant place to stay in this little bit of paradise. ... read more

Spent the morning in Dar Es Salaam waiting for the ferry & then sat at the back for a suprisingly smooth crossing with the occasional dolphin skipping over our trail. Grabbed dinner of lobster skewers & local chapatis at the fantastic night market in Stone Town & then watched the sunset into the sea from bar on the beach. Dessert was banana & chocolate Zanzibar pizza from the night market - highly recommended. ... read more

WHAT? Hot water? Fresh pineapple juice? Lounging on the private white sand beach? Sailing on the Indian ocean in a laser? Walking barefoot? A pool right outside my hotel room window? Sun salutations on the beach in the morning? Lovely pasta at every meal? Sugary cookies for breakfast? Italian espresso? Yup, that’s right, all of the above and then some! Just got back from a fantastic, luxurious and relaxing weekend in Paradise (note the capital P) arranged by the wonderful and witty Alex. Roughly translated, Gemma del Est means “Jewel of the East.” It is an “Italian Resort for Italians” (and this time, for a few Canadians and Swiss) located near Kendwa Rocks on the northeastern tip of Zanzibar. Now this was definitely a change from the last time I visited Zanzibar, which was still a ... read more