Once on the road we arrived an hour or so later at the spice plantation where we had a little tour planned.

The spice plantation was full of weird combinations of fruit and vegetables and Salum did a good job of pointing out the various trees and shrubs and giving us a smell or taste of all the different spices.

It started to rain quite heavily just as we got towards the end of the tour so we rushed the finish of the tour (to the great relief of many!) before sitting down under a roofed shelter where we got an opportunity to try various fruits such as orange, papaya, watermelon, grapefruit, custard apple, pineapple and banana. We also had a short demonstration from one of the guys who climbs coconut trees for a living showing us how he does it. We got to tuck in to the coconut water and try the flesh, amazing! Throughout all this tasting us men were given hats to wear made out of banana leaves, while the women wore crowns also made with banana leaves and hibiscus flowers. Two hours after arriving we piled back in the minibus to begin the hour-long journey to North Beach.

At the hotel and after quite an effort searching, we finally found our bungalow before returning to the restaurant area, right by the beach to enjoy a spot of lunch with the others.

We went back to the room afterwards and spent some time on the veranda chatting with George, John, Nicole and Tony waiting for the rainstorms to subside. Finally we left and ventured down to the white sand and walked along the beach. Pity the weather wasn't as great as the setting: white sandy beaches and turquoise sea is paradise!

We passed by a number of tour operators, curio shops and restaurants as we walked up and down the beach before eventually heading inland to a supermarket. This was our final stop before enjoying a fantastically warm shower back at the room. Afterwards we joined the others for a beer, a chat and to watch the sun set over the ocean.

Twelve hours of sleep followed before we left the room and went for some brunch at the restaurant. The typical slow service had to be endured leading to us both almost eating the table instead!

We then joined some of the others down on the beach. We sunbathed for the next three hours or so on the white sands, saying Jambo to the passing locals and watching the fishing woman busy with their nets. Sporadically we took dips in the turquoise water to cool down. Perfect!

Later we cooled down in the room and got ourselves ready for the sunset cruise which was beginning at 4pm. With most of the group taking part we sailed almost all the way using nothing but the power of the wind. With a cool box full of refreshments onboard, we dropped anchor off the coast of Kenwa, a local resort up the coast. We were then free to mess about in the cool waters and, for the second day running, watch the sun set over the ocean.

After sunset the outboard motor was on and we returned (much more quickly) to our starting point on the local beach. Off the boat and on dry land we had a quick shower each and a change of clothes before returning to the beach and then experienced a beach fire and barbecue in the darkness of fish, potato and rice. Perfect end to a perfect day! Thank you so much to Zoe and Mark for the wedding present towards the cruise and barbecue, we really enjoyed it!

The following day started at the very reasonable time of half-past seven as we got ourselves ready for checkout. Thank you so much to Rachel and Alex for their wedding contribution towards the Zanzibar accommodation, it was a brilliant spot!

An all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast awaited in the restaurant which we tucked into with gusto before picking up our packed bags from the room and checking out at the front desk. It was then back on the minibus for the 90 minute journey back to Stone Town.