Day 25 - Tuesday 15th July

Today was insanely massive.
We rose at 330am, to get ourselves organised, pack lunches, eat breakfast and head off by 5. We travelled south towards Dar Es Salaam - a very long and tiring 9 hour drive, to the Port, for the Ferry to Zanzibar. We slept the morning away, (me all rugged up in a sleeping bag), until our first loo stop at around 9am. After then, I decided to kill time by watching a movie on my IPad (Devils Knot - good movie, true story), so that kept me fairly enthralled for a while. As we came closer to Dar Es Salaam, you could feel the humidity, so we peeled back the layers and opened the windows. The potential traffic jam of Dar, lasted around 2 hours until we made it to the port. Hear we said good bye to our driver Akeyoo, and our cool Juma. We gave Juma a card and he have us a hug and a kiss and said he will miss us. He was a tough but to crack, but he was very endearing as we grew to know eachother!

So, overflowing backpack, handbag, day pack and extra bag full of souvenirs in tow (ie Packhorses), we made the scuttle towards the ferry gate. As most of you are aware, I have little tolerance for pushing and shoving in queues, and even worse patience for the heat and my own frustration. These Tanzanians (actually most Africans in general) are ruthless. They jump lines, push you out of the way, invade personal space, give you the elbows! It took all my might to smile as we eventually pushed through the gate. Once through, we had to line up for security screening, and again they would just walk in front of all of us 'white people' thinking we would be too scared to say anything. Of course ole' trusty fireball Niesh had had enough and 'politely' told one of them off for cutting in front of her ... To which she cracked it back with some serious attitude. Bite Your Tongue Teniesha.

So eventually after that hot, sweaty and testing ordeal, we made it into the departure lounge, where we waited for around half an hour to board the ferry - the Kilimanjaro 3 - to beautiful Zanzibar.
Jade and I sat in 2 seats in the open air section at the front, hoping it would mean we would have leg room and no one around us - boy were we wrong. The seats quickly filled up, and people started sitting, and then laying on the floor, until eventually, the whole ground was a sea of brightly coloured Burquas. The ferry trip was about 2 hours (too) long, with the sun coming in on us from the left, and Jade joining the masses and covering herself with a scarf to avoid sunburn.

Finally, we dock at the port - this time just waiting patiently for everyone to get off first. We collect our bags from the luggage hold and head through to the Port Security - where they check our Yellow Fever Certificate and stamp our Passports. Zanzibar is desperately trying to claim Independence from mainland Tanzania, so they have started putting processes in place - such as immigration - with hope that there will soon be a referendum, and they will soon become their own country. Jakob believes it's highly unlikely this will happen, as they still very much require the mainland Dar Es Salaam and nearby cities for access to food supplies etc. Never the less, a stamp in the passport is always good - even though it's a little bizarre.

We walk (bags and bags in tow), through the busy port gates and toward our first hotel 'Hotel Marine', which is located only about 500m from the port, located in Stone Town. After dumping our heavy bags (and wiping away the sweat from the humidity), we are met by a friend of Jakob's called Abdula, who runs through the possible activities for tomorrow - our full free day in Stone Town. Most people opt for the Half Day Prison Island Snorkel Tour in the morning, but given we head to the beaches in a few nights time, Jade and I decide just to keep the day to ourselves to explore and shop. We head up to the stairs and into our rooms - room 109 (but the key is labelled 108), and flop onto the beds. The hotel is a fair dive, probably would receive a 'Do Not Travel' if it was a country on Smart Traveller. It's funny after you've been camping, how low your hotel standard become though - cos whilst it's pretty crappy, I'm not overly fussed. The shower is over the toilet, but doesn't work anyway, so we have a 'quick freshen up', under the cold water of the tap Fawcet.

As 7pm approaches, we head down to the lobby to meet a few of the group to head out for dinner - Holly and Mitch (Aussies), Isa and Mel (Swiss) and Ivy and Jess (Americans). Abdula had advised to not walk the streets between 630-7pm, as it is 'breakfast time' for those Islamic doing Ramadan, which makes the streets too quiet and unsafe. So around 730pm we head towards the water in search of a restaurant to eat dinner. Most of us are exhausted from a massive day, so keen to just find something easy. We walked along the water and then into the beginnings of the windy Stone Town streets where we found a cute spot called Buni. It was fairly quiet (Ramadan and it's not High season) so we manage to pull a few tables together outside on the patio, and get great service and the quick meal we were after. Most of us had a burger and fries, myself included, and Holly had the 'small' Lobster, which really wasn't small and only cost about $6! Afterwards we walked back past the waterfront for ice cream and started on this joke that it was a lovely group date. We had a nice night, and I feel just as the tour is ending, we are finally getting to know and like each other. Went to bed as soon as we got back!

Day 26 - Wednesday 16th July

Jade slept like a log, but it was a fairly broken sleep for me - very humid, and noisy from outside street noise - yelling and praying in Arabic! The call to prayer even more prominent and loud here! Breakfast is included at the hotel so we head up to the dining room where we meet Di and Bob and are served Tea, Fruit and Fried Egg on Toast. The meals was pretty lackluster but good to get some breaky in (especially for free)! Because last night in Stone Town was a extra night (change in itinerary), this morning we all meet in the foyer to transfer to another hotel - Safari Lodge - not too far around a few corners. Thankfully Jakob organises 2 carts to carry our stuff to the new hotel, as my bags are quickly multiplying. We all leave our bags in storage at the new hotel, and most people head off on their tour.

Myself, Jade,Mel and Isa, decide to brave the windey streets of Stone Town without a map, and head toward where we think there are shops. We spent about 3 hours getting lost between the narrow alley ways filled with the most amazing big wooden doors, markets, art galleries, gem shops, cafés and curio shops. The streets are similar to a maze, and there are people everywhere including locals on motorbikes trying scoot down the pedestrian filled laneways. We accidentally stumbled across the local Spice Market filled with bright coloured (and cheaply priced) powders and hawkers spruiking their fruits and vege to other locals. We (quickly) passed by the meat and fish markets - but still copped a woff of the revolting fish smell. The buildings in Stone Town are very Arabic/Mediterranean, with their rendered stone walls and fillagree (?) roof edges. After pretty much doing a full lap of the city in the humidity, we found a nice restaurant on the shoreline and ordered a nice lunch.

After lunch, we went separate ways from Mel and Isa who went back to check in at the hotel, as we ventured back in for more shopping. There is a great main tourist street which has a few cute boutiques, where we managed to find some different souvenirs, jewelry and homewares. Jade also bought herself a lovely ring in the shape of Africa with a little Tanzanite stone - a glass blue precious stone only found in Tanzania.

Around 4pm, we were dying of dehydration (as we can't drink or eat in public), so we found a nearby supermarket, stocked up, checked into the hotel and slammed down a few bottles of water. The new hotel was really nice, and we even got treated to a King Size bed and a single - and Jade let me have the big girl bed! We chilled out for a few hours using Wifi and headed down to the lobby to meet for our 'group date'! We had planned to visit the night food markets by the water, but once we got their decided we wanted to sit at a table and order from a menu. So we wandered back to the main tourist street and found a fantastic modern restaurant - Taperias - above the Post Office building. The restaurant was Spanish with an Africa fusion - in both decor and menu choices. We were seated in the private cellar and ordered the most delicious cocktails and chose our own few tapas dishes to eat. The food and service was amazing, and surprisingly cheap considering the standard was comparable to a similar style restaurant back home. (I think I had 2 delicious cocktails and 3 huge tapas servings, and it's cost me $18). Afterwards we wandered back by the markets where we had coffee and icecreams, before calling it a night. Such a great dinner, we wish we were heading back to Stone Town to eat there again.

Day 27 - Thursday 17th July

After a lovely sleep in a big princess bed, we woke to take advantage of the free breakfast in the rooftop terrace.
Today we depart at 9am, off on a Spice Tour of Zanzibar Island, before our last destination - Kendwa Beach, north of the island.

We load up the air conditioned mini van with our mountains of bags, and meet our local tour guide Ali G, or the Eddie Murphy of Zanzibar. Ali G was pretty hilarious - he spoke in pretty much every English speaking accent from British, to American, to Aussie, but knew every slang term and phrase perfectly. Phrases like 'I'm not pullin ya leg', 'Ya know wot I mean', 'up s*** creek without a paddle' etc, but he used them all together as he was explaining Islamic Traditions and Zanzibar Island to us. We arrived at a community project, that grows local plants, fruits and spices, where Ali G took us around to each of them and would explain their benefits, offer us a chance to taste or view the item. After that walk around the garden, we sat down and were served a few Zanzibar local Teas - lemongrass and vanilla, masala, and ginger. We then were fed with lots of local fruits such as jack fruit, custard apple, mandarins, watermelon, pink grapefruit, oranges and pineapple. Afterwards we had an opportunity to buy the spices and teas - and they were so cheap that everyone went absolutely nuts. I bought a few, telling myself I'd do lots of cooking when I get home ... We will see if that happens! But they were much much cheaper than home, at around 50-100grams for $2, so how could we refuse. From here we went to the communities local house and had lunch - Pilao, cabbage, salad and octopus. It was not the best local meal we had, but the setting was cute as we all sat in this lounge room on rattan mats on the floor. Onwards we go, leaving Ali G in Stone Town, and heading north to the idyllic beaches of Zanzibar!

The drive takes around an hour, through a tropical countryside with good quality roads. The roadsides are filled with banana plantations, coconut palm trees, red soil and of course happy, smiling kids waving at us. As the hour approaches it's end, glimpses of crystal blue waters pop through the palm trees on our left, and we know we have arrived in Kendwa. Our vehicle drives down the rocky driveway to the Kendwa Sunset Bungalows, and after collecting our bags we head to our rooms - which are just so lovely in comparison to what we have been staying in. There are 2 princess beds the the canopies, a lovely modern double bathroom and a balcony overlooking the gardens. We head down through the resort to the bar on the beach and the sand literally melts between our toes. This is easily the bluest, most clear, most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Hello Paradise!

We meet up with our buddies and head on down to meet a guy called 'Dude' that Jacob had recommended to book some touring. We decide to take Dude up on his offer for a Subset Cruise tonight, and a half day snorkel trip tomorrow morning. Total cost - US$35!! So after a quick drink and bite to eat, we retreat back to our room and doll ourselves up a little (and by that I mean, actually brush our hair, put mascara on and a dress - it's been so nice not actually having to look respectable for a month!!). At 430pm we all jump on board our little wood sail boat, and motor through the blue waters over to Nungwi Beach, where we jump off and buy some snacks and drinks. We sail for around 2 and half hours and sat on the roof and watched the most amazing sun set. The sun was so sharply round and orange, against a turquoise horizon. Afterward we had dinner back at the hotel restaurant, followed by drinking games down on the beach.