Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: African Contrasts 2015
Mangroves, Monkeys and Total Tranquility
Following
a repeat of breakfast in the hotel's top-floor restaurant, we once
again met up with Anjam, our guide from Zanzibar Different.
There were a couple of differences this time: to begin with, it was
effectively a private tour, as Bruce and I were the only two
participants; and secondly, Anjam had the keys of a Toyota minibus,
as this was certainly not a walking tour. Our joint destinations for the
day were the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park and the Michamvi
Peninsula, both located on the other
side of the island.
The journey out of town was interesting, and not for the first time I marvelled at the skill involved in driving in parts of the world such as this. Driving anywhere tends to be all about trying to anticipate hazards, and at home this could be the possibility that traffic might grind to a halt rather suddenly. Here, the greatest danger came from wayward pedestrians of both the two- and four-legged variety. At the same time, there was a need to be constantly scanning the road surface for potholes or other obstructions, and to find the path of least resistance through the maze. I was glad that I could just sit back and enjoy the views as we left behind first Stone Town and then Zanzibar City as a whole, in favour of the lush and fertile farmland of Zanzibar's interior.
We reached Jozani Forest after an hour or so of
driving, and got out to do a little bit of exploring in the island's
last indigenous forest. Anjam handed us over to a local ranger and
the first task was to track down some local wildlife in the form of
exceptionally cute-looking Red Colobus monkeys. We traipsed through
the undergrowth for a bit, our bare legs all too aware of the
presence of local
insect life, before finding out from another ranger that our quarry
were to be found adjacent to the main road. And suddenly there they
were, completely untroubled by human presence as they went about
what appeared to be the full-time task of feeding on the leaves of
the bushes. I could scarcely believe how close we were able to get -
and what about those hairstyles!
| (Mostly) Monkey Business | |||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Next came a short stroll on a boardwalk through a mangrove forest. I had seen similar places in Florida before, but it's always interesting to observe the complex, intertwining, above-ground root structures.
 |
 |
 |
A further drive then brought us to Kae, a remote and peaceful location near the tip of the Michamvi Peninsula. There was time to take a stroll along the stunningly white, sandy beach while lunch was prepared.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| RIGHT: Delicious seafood barbecue at the beach |
 |
 |
 |
In due course, a simple yet beautiful meal of barbecued fresh seafood was presented on a table directly adjacent to the beach in this idyllic location. It was wonderful!
But another highlight was yet to come: after lunch we went about the somewhat precarious task of boarding a traditional ngalawa, or outrigger canoe, for a cruise along the shoreline. The experience included the opportunity to wade ashore to an otherwise deserted and pristine beach. Unfortunately I have no photos of this part of the day, as the risk of getting my camera wet was too high. Safely returned to our starting point, there was an opportunity for Bruce and Anjam to take a swim. (As a non-swimmer, I had already used up my daily tolerance level for venturing beyond my comfort zone.)
 |
| Anjam shops for dinner on the way back |
All too soon, it was time to leave this unspoiled gem of a location and head back to the city. A memorable moment occurred as we worked our way down the coast and Anjam made a planned stop to acquire some local seafood for the family's evening meal. He was besieged by local women and almost pinned to the front of the van as they all competed to close the sale!
We soon found ourselves back on familiar territory in the heart of Stone Town. After relaxing for a while and reflecting on another highly successful tour, we decided to head out for cocktails in the fairly upmarket surroundings of the nearby Serena Inn. And indeed, we would have been happy to stay there for dinner as well, had it not been for one thing: the live music was simply appalling! Whoever engaged this act made a grave error, which at the very least resulted in the loss of any further business from us.
We
were therefore happy to enact Plan B, which involved making a short
walk to The Silk Route, a well regarded Indian restaurant
that we had spotted the previous day. We had an enjoyable meal at
this busy venue, without having to endure any further assault on our
musical sensibilities.
Once again, it had been a truly amazing day and Zanzibar had further reinforced its claim to be a wonderful destination.