Blogs from Africa - page 3364

The circumstances for this trip were a bit unusual. I had always had these romanticised dreams about Africa in general, and safaris in particular. I had been reading the ads in the newspapers for quite some time, but it was not until I came across a special priced group tour to Kenya and the Masai Mara that I finally decided to act and booked myself a seat. Having done that my boss suddenly decided that I should go on a month long biz trip across the pond to Denver, Colorado in September, talk about lousy timing. Fortunately my plan was already set and booking made, so I managed to get a decent compromise. I got to spend two weeks in Denver and then fly home for the weekend, do the laundry, pack the bag and go ... read more

June/July 1999 Bonjour Madame…welcome to our island! Moheli was a sight for sore eyes after my unpleasant experience of seasickness and nearly losing my husband. We were approaching calmer waters, far better for my constitution. Having sailed from Grand Comore throughout the night, as dawn broke we decided to trawl for some fish before we got close to the island, for our dinner that night. Shortly after that we heard the familiar zing and Jacques was the lucky one to catch a Wahoo of generous proportions. Not bad for a morning’s work! We anchored at Sambadjou beach near Miremani and it felt like there was a welcoming committee waiting for us. We were soon approached by the ‘Gendarme’, wanting to see our passports and giving us instructions where we had to have them stamped – right ... read more

June/July 1999 It was the following year after our trip to Madagascar. What we needed was another family holiday. By now the travel bug was nibbling away steadily at all of us. Where would we go? We just didn't seem to have the energy to do a usual trip through a foreign country, using bus, car or train, traipsing around sightseeing. At a destination with a beach of course! Does there seems to be a pattern here? Where to go? Paul was keen to do the exact same trip to Madagascar and contacted Willem & Elize to quote us for another trip on Bossi, sailing around some of Madagascar again. But friends of ours had gone to Comoros earlier in the year and thoroughly enjoyed themselves,. They had spent a week at the Le Galawa hotel ... read more

In the last "Stonetown" entry I almost didn't mention anything about the town itself. Stone town is regarded as Zanzibar's capital. The town was named after the coral stone buildings, largely built during the 19th century. The town is known for it's narrow alleyways, large carved wooden doors and covered balconies. The doors are part of the Swahili culture and were largely influenced by Arab and especially Indian motifs. The large brass studs on the doors became decoration after having served as spike covers to protect the inhabitants from elephant raids during the Indian wars. The town currently house over 16,000 people and is home to 51 mosques, 6 Hindu temples and 2 Christian churches. The people are extremely diverse and fascinating. What is annoying in Stonetown, are the touts... they see you from a far, ... read more

Its time to hit some beaches... The fishing village of Nungwi straddles the Northern tip of Zanzibar and its shade is a welcome relief after the barren stretch of road that leads there. There are a number of local guest houses in the village and on the West side of the cape there is a number of guesthouses and a couple of loud bars. There are fine sandy beaches around the cape and excellent diving and game fishing off the coast. I would say this is one of the best beaches on Zanzibar, as there is no seaweed and the tide doesn't go out for miles... We stayed at Amaan Bungalows, close to the beach and nearest bars... so we were really using the next days to relax and relax... Snorkel gear was readily available (though, ... read more