Jambo! Jambo! Jambo!

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar
October 28th 2008

Published: November 4th 2008

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Sarah B

Appealing?

Believe it or not, it's actualy even prettier in real life.

I’m sat on a rickety wooden lounger on the beach held together by twine and rope. The heat of the day has finally relented and an enormous glowing ball of fire is making its way across the sky soon to meet the flat horizon of the warm Indian Ocean. My toes play in the powder white sand and as the wind rustles the palms and the local ladies return from their day of fishing seaweed, hauling huge bundles of it behind them, a dhow cuts through the sunset like a giant shark’s fin. Welcome to Zanzibar.

Fumba

Let’s pretend it’s January in London… “Daylight” is somewhere looming above the thick grey cloud cover, and cold rain spits back up at you from the pavement as you walk down the High Street. Fighting a losing battle against your umbrella you suddenly catch a glimpse of a photograph displayed in the window of a travel agent. The all too familiar blue-sky-meets-white-sand- and-crystal-warm-waters framed by palm trees shot that leaves you mystified. Is anywhere actually, I mean truly that beautiful in real life? I came to Zanzibar to escape for a couple of weeks and find out…

Enjoying the first of many...

Looking west from Fumba from a perch of sharp coral rock.

Would it be a cliché to say that in all the places I’ve travelled to, Zanzibar has the most exquisite beaches I’ve ever been too? If so, I’m sorry but that’s pretty much the sum of it. If you’re after that archetypal tropical paradise then Tanzania’s Indian Ocean archipelago is a good place to start! From the minute your Precision Air flight lands on the runway just outside of the Island’s major urban area known as Stonetown, you are greeted with big wide friendly faces… “Jambo! Karibu”.

It seems that wherever you’re from, whatever you are doing, the locals all over the Island want to welcome you into their village, their restaurant, their shop… You are instantly greeted and feel at ease. The first part of the Island we visited was Fumba, on the south west coast. Due to the bad roads getting down the peninsula and the fact it’s relatively isolated from other villages and stretches of coast means the majority of travelers tend to leave it off their itineraries. I’m so glad we didn’t as it was a little spot of absolute luxury all tucked in away from everything else. From the moment we

Ahhhh shade!

Seriously enjoying being in the shade on another roasting afternoon in Matemwe.

were greeted with refrigerated flannels and fresh coconut milk as we stepped into the lush gardens we were welcomed as friends and enjoyed being wine and dined on our own private beach at night, slipping in and out of the infinity pool looking over the seas towards mainland Tanzania and reading the bedtime stories of elephants, mongoose and bats left on our pillows with a fresh hibiscus flower every evening.

Fumba for me was a haven for just settling into travel mode and letting my thoughts of work and the pressures of everyday city life slip away (which if I’m honest is harder to do than I thought!) We were fortunate to see stunning sunsets, go out snorkeling on the outer reefs and lap up the first of many seriously tasty Swahili dishes.

Jambiani

From Fumba we made our way over to the South East coast to a village called Jambiani where the sea recedes more than a kilometer at low tide revealing an expansive and carefully mapped out seaweed farm where the local ladies spend the day sat in waist high water farming the plants fully clad in their Swahili dress and

Double Sunset

I like the way this pool perfectly mirrors the colourful sky.

scarves. From the beach all you can hear is the muffled background hum of all the women gossiping and singing. (How they manage it is still a mystery to me as out there wearing next to nothing I felt on the verge of a severe melt down every second feeling as though I was standing in an oven…. Zanzibar is roasting hot!)

We were lucky to get a sea view bungalow right on the beach overlooking the magical blue hues of the sea during the day and were also fortunate enough to watch a full moon rise up out of the ocean… all through the mozzie net of the bed… what a view. As they say in Swahili, “Hakuna Matata”.

One thing that didn’t occur to me before I left, and something that’s so glaringly obvious once you’re here… the entire island is poor, badly developed and at times very dirty… until your toes hit sand. Then, as if by magic, it’s groomed, swept… flowers, palms and strategically placed swings and outlooks take charge and you are transported from just another third world scruffy mess, into Eden. Weird.

Matemwe

Massai traders

These Massai guys wander up and down the east coast beaches hoping to sell their colourful bracelets and other Massai wear.

After two days of exploring the miles of untouched beach down on the south eastern coast we headed further north to Matemwe. After negotiating our way over the seriously off-road style paths between the huts and houses of the small coastal village we found ourselves on the enormous expanse of bleached white sand apparently known as the most beautiful beach in the world. I’m not sure if I agree as there was something about the southern beaches of Jambiani that I fell in love with, but no sand could possibly be whiter than that of Matemwe- it is so pale, even with sunglasses, your eyes can barely open when looking directly at it, a virtual mirror. And when I say ‘enormous beach’, think Ivory coast stretching further than your straining eyes can see and least 100m wide. The sun here is fierce and unforgiving and in the vain attempt to avoid getting sunstroke or acute sunburn, the two of us went through… wait for it, ten bottles of sun cream in 16 days… think that’s ridiculous… come here, feel the heat, and then tell me it’s ridiculous.

We stayed in a little set of bungalows called Nyota. A

Just another day in the playground

While Dad's out fishing and Mum's farming at low tide, the warm shallow water becomes an outdoor waterpark for these local kids.

small patch of authentic, very rustic rooms around a luscious garden full of papaya, banana and palm trees. Nothing fancy and very quiet but a view to die for and Bounty bars in the fridge… ummmmmm.
It’s strange, since this specific part of the island is renowned for its up market boutique hotels and spas boasting the best views in the world, you almost expect it to be relatively condensed. (In the sense that I’d imagine there to be one set of bungalows after another.) Well, it’s not like that at all. Unless you actively look for signs of tourism, i.e. the four or so pairs of wooden beds out on the beach, all you would see is a huge stretch of beach, children playing in the shallow pools of water left behind at low tide, their big brothers riding bicycles up and down the sand and their mothers further out farming the seaweed. It feels like we are the only white people here!

Nyota really is a sweet place and I’d recommend it to anyone really wanting to kick back and get away from it all. And despite the stagnant and ever so slightly hotter than desired

Giant sharks fin

Another simple yet stylish dhow cuts across yet another fiery sunset.

temperature of our dimly lit, mosquito ridden room (we kept a hand held fan I bought from Nicaragua in the bed and went for frequent head hunks under the cold water tap throughout the nights) I grew very fond of this rickety multi leveled world where James Blunt plays on repeat (ahhh slit my wrists) and the funny guy who runs the bar and restaurant in his matching pajama bottoms and Islamic Kafia hat… good times.

Mnemba Island Atoll

Snorkeling around Mnemba’s reef is some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever experienced. Unfortunately we didn’t see any whales or sharks, but the corals and multitudes of different reef fish was astounding- as is the colour of the water!... I am not joking when I tell you it’s the same color as a florescent blue highlighter pen… very striking and the visibility down below was unsurprisingly excellent. To get to Mnemba we took a tiny little boat with an outboard engine and crashed over the pounding reef waves into open water. Returning from a day’s hard fishing, we floated past masses of fishermen on their wooden dhows with sails flaring, a really wonderful sight.

Beached dhow at low tide

In this picture the tide's actually on it's way in. In some parts the sea recedes over a kilometer at low tide.

Nungwi

After the southern and eastern coats we moved up to experience the northern ‘party’ side to the island basing ourselves on the tip of Zanzibar right beside the lighthouse, or in Swahili “Mnarani”. If I’m honest I wouldn’t say it is the best part of the island for me, but Nungwi is somewhere that shouldn’t be missed for anyone coming here… for one thing, the shells you can find on the beach (not the ones for sale but the ones that have just been washed up) are remarkable and the grub at some of the local eateries is top notch.
Past the lighthouse it gets quieter so it feels like the rest of the island, but we did go exploring the western side of Nungwi down towards Kendwa which is the polar opposite… You are suddenly sucked into the hustle and bustle of everything, music blaring, English football on the big screens, tanned Italians baking in the sun, gap year travelers spinning pois on the cliff at sunset… something about it for me didn’t feel right… not after the Zanzibar I’d been experiencing so far. Over on Ko Pha Nang, fine, perfect. But here on chilled out

A room with a view

This was taken at Jambiani...

Zanzibar it felt a little out of place.

No holiday’s a holiday without a good poo story, right?!... So for the faint hearted please skip this paragraph… As I said, great food in Nungwi… only I wouldn’t recommend to any travelers out there to go without some loo roll tucked away somewhere as the only problem I had was with my insides… After half a lobster and a cocktail with tap water ice (big mistake) I felt that all too familiar sensation of guts gripping and then… clunk… you have exactly ten seconds before you crap yourself. I just made it, to a toilet hut with no ceiling, where a local guy was perched beside contemplating life (and thus to my horror could happily enjoy all my entertaining sound effects.) There was no toilet paper. Not a pinch. Ah the joys. So… the world and his wife shot out my arse like bolts of lightning (much to the amusement of my little loo companion and now all his mates… they enjoyed a good old laugh at my expense) and I was finally resorted to washing mon deriere avec mon hand and the aid of a sink lacking anything

Feeling happy enjoying the sail

On board a no-frills fishing dhow.

resembling soap… ah I’m glad that’s over. So there’s my token poo story for you.

Putting that behind me, no pun intended, we managed to make a deal with some local fisherman to take us out on their dhow for a sunset cruise. Unlike the more tourist friendly dhows you get at hotels, ours was a humble dhow, warts n’ all, removed of any padded seats or fancy paintwork. It was so special taking to the seas, just the Indian Ocean breeze pushing us and our ‘Captain Beckham’ friend with a missing front tooth and a Man Utd shirt over the water as the sun was setting over the horizon.

We took some great photos- in fact we’ve taken hundreds since we’ve been here- that’s the trouble with this place, everywhere you turn, whether it’s that stereotypical beach view framed by a long swaying palm, or a lady walking with an enormous pile of wood neatly bundled and perfectly balanced on her head, or a group of naked five year olds jumping around in the shallow waters at sundown, or even an ugly smoking pile of burned rubbish at the side of a dusty village

Exactly what it says on the tin...

...The Spirit of Africa

road with goats bouncing all over it and rummaging for a bite to eat… YOU WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING!

Stonetown

Probably the most fascinating place on the island and we saved it for last… on our way down to the Island’s capital we took a brief detour to visit one of the notorious spice plantations that Zanzibar is famous for. The farm we went to was a relatively small affair boasting four acres of various trees, crops, plants, fruit and spices. We were guided through the dense vegetation and taught what each and every seed, root, leaf or pod does, how it’s farmed etc by an amusing local guy with a big smile and an even bigger case of halitosis. It was fascinating and definitely worth the trip but I have to admit after an hour I was absolutely baking hot and a number of uninvited mosquitoes and flies had by that time joined our party which was a little uncomfortable to say the least. Oh and to crank up the itch factor that much more, the ‘assistant guide’ had made us palm hats, crowns, necklaces, bracelets, baskets… what plonkers we looked!

Spiced up

Setting sail

As the high tide moves in, local fisherman gear up for a night out on the water.

and raring to see Stonetown we checked in for our final night of sheer luxury at a hotel called ‘236 Hurumzi’. A restored palace where as soon as your foot breaches the threshold, you are taken back hundreds of years into the Arabian Nights era. What an incredible experience right in the heart of the wiggling narrow alley ways that make up the town, and as the second highest building in the city, it allows the best sunrise and set views imaginable.

Greeted in the spacious grand lobby by Islamic men dressed in the full klobber, we were shown up the seemingly endless flights of stairs, across outdoor walkways, over bridges, through terraced gardens, all entirely open plan and clad in the most ornate of Arab decorations, mosaics and furniture… to our very own top floor suite… heaven!…The most magnificent hotel room (if you can call it that?) In short, you walk through heavy traditional engraved wooden double doors into an open air patio styled space. Rich woods, carved screens and fabrics draped in the breeze surround beautiful furniture and an enormous stone outdoor bathtub. Though another set of double doors and you are in the bedroom…

The Indian Ocean

Bath-like warm water makes for a relaxing dip in the eveing.

an authentic harem bed lavishly set up on a set of padded steps and lit by an overhead lantern and completely encased by intricately designed mosquito nets. Seriously atmospheric.

And finally… the best bit… through a swinging screen, leading to an outdoor terrace with swing, you then go up an outdoor flight of stairs leading all the way to our very own roof top verandah with 360 degree views of the city- cushions, sofas and lanterns galore… naturally in all this splendor now was the time for us to crack open a bottle of champers we’d been lugging the whole way round the island to celebrate!

And as for Stonetown itself… it’s such a varied, crazy web of wonderfulness that I will break it down into the highlights to give a flavour:

* Throughout the day and well into the night, the loud Namaz calls for prayer echo through the town from all the competing mosques.
* Cinnamon infused coffee… absolutely delicious.
* Stonetown- an attack of the senses- smells, noises, sights and feelings get you instantly as you make your way through the maze of streets, most devoid of

Corrugated iron rooftops of Stonetown

Above the noisy maze of narrow alleys that makes up Stonetown, the skyline is a patchwork quilt of corrugated iron roofs at various stages of deterioration.

any legible names hence the getting lost factor.

* Seeing the old slave market and the two remaining slave cells where slaves used to be housed… horrifying to see and virtually impossible to truly comprehend.
* Haggling with the hundreds of store owners for various items that you always feel are imperative to take home with you.
* “Jambo! Jambo! Jambo”
* Children. Everywhere children.
* Getting lost in the central market- where fish, meat, vegetables, fruit and spices are laid out, hacked into pieces, traded and sold. A loud, intensely smelly cavern of corridors full of flavours, colours and just like everywhere else you want to get out your camera.

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