Blogs from Zanzibar City, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 2

Tanzania day 11 Sunset in Zanzibar and the happiest drummer in the world Nothing is ever simple for us. When I booked the flights from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro and then from Arusha to Zanazibar I hadn’t known that the Gombe safari company had booked us flights to cover the first leg. I couldn’t get to even cancel just one of our booked flights let alone get any money back so we just thought we’d take the one back down. After we got here I remembered once having a flight cancelled because I hadn’t taken the first part so I contacted the airline. They messaged me saying our second flight had been suspended as we hadn’t taken the first one even though I had told them we wouldn’t be taking it and it wasn’t actually ... read more

After Europe we’ve planned 6 weeks or so in East Africa, starting with a few days in what we hope will be a reasonably relaxing spot – Zanzibar. Zanzibar is perhaps best known historically for being the hub of the slave trade, and though the slave market was closed in 1876 (after pressure from the British) you can still see the old slave chambers where there is an excellent and very informative museum about the slave trade. One other interesting sight in Stone Town is Freddie Mercury’s old home where his family lived until moving to the UK in 1964. It turns out to be only metres from where we are staying, but the Mercury bar which plays non-stop Queen songs is overlooking the harbour 10 minutes walk away. I like the feel of Stone Town ... read more

African Adventures!! Intro I only booked this trip a few weeks before actually flying out. I had always planned to go travelling for a few months during my 'F3' (year out of training) year, but didn't get around to actually organising it until early March! My main reason for wanting to come to Africa was to see the Victoria Falls. I had learnt about them in Geography GCSE and had wanted to visit them ever since. Also, from previous travelling experiences, I had heard good things about Mozambique (great diving and beaches) and Malawi (gorgeous people and beautiful lake!) so I thought, feck it, I'll go to all of them. Originally, I was going to fly to Lusaka, Zambia and head down to the falls on my own from there. But I got cold feet about ... read more

I left my apartment by cab at around 1030pm for the reasonably short trip to the airport checking in on arrival before heading to the Mahaba lounge where my Mastercard card entitles me to free access. I settled in for several hours enjoying a snack and quite a few free drinks before purchasing some Tanzanian schillings and heading to my gate shortly before the 2am departure time. I have an aisle seat in the second row which I thought would be fine but the trip ended up being long and exhausting due to the total lack of leg space and my aching ankle which I couldn’t stretch out. Entertainment was also pay for view so I tried to sleep instead but perhaps I will think twice before travelling such a long distance on a budget airline ... read more

Arriving in Malawi the border crossing was a little less crazy than before. There were guys desperately trying to sell us drinks whilst we tried to figure out what the entry form was asking us. Some countries ask the bizarrest of questions, I remember the visa form for Kenya asked what your father’s occupation was. Malawi’s was just confusing English. We headed onto Kande Beach on Lake Malawi, here on this beautiful spot you could see why the lake is called the calendar lake. It extends 365km up and down by 52km wide. David Livingstone nicknamed it the lake of stars because fisherman used to use lanterns when they went fishing at night. We went for a village tour of Kande seeing how they prepare their staple meal of Kasava, which gives off a very strong ... read more