Safari Trip - Zanzibar

After rising very early for our balloon safari over the Serengeti, it didn’t take any of us long to fall asleep that evening and we were able to sleep in, relatively, leaving the Serengeti Soroi Lodge at around 9 a.m. The plan was to continue with a short morning safari and head to the air strip, where we would be flown to Arusha for our connecting flight to Zanzibar.

I don’t recall seeing a whole lot of animals that morning, and it may have been that we were all a bit tired of being in a jeep on a very bumpy road and were ready for a beach environment. Prior to reaching the landing strip, we stopped at what appeared to be a Serengeti Welcome Center. Mbaga, pictured here with Benjamin and Melissa, dropped us off and went in search of some fuel.

We wandered the center while he was gone, and checked out the unusual animals and surroundings.

I had NO idea what to expect when I read the itinerary regarding our transfers to Zanzibar. THIS is the landing strip.

Basically, it’s just another big dirt spot in the Serengeti where planes land and take off, and there were plenty of them doing so.

 Mysteriously, I had no anxiety about the primitiveness of the “airport.” Check out the “terminal.”

The plane was small - seats for 14, including the pilot.

I’ll say this about the experience, there was no waiting in long security lines, and no long-winded safety presentation that I’ve heard dozens and dozens of times before! The pilot introduced himself and informed us that we would be in Arusha in just over an hour. The view from the plane gave us all an even greater appreciation for the vastness of the Serengeti. As we got closer to Arusha, the landscape changed, getting greener and more mountainous.

This is the only view we had of the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, its snowcapped peak rising out of the clouds.

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano and is the highest mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet. We have a friend who scaled the mountain a few years ago, and another couple who are planning to do so in about six weeks. Personally, I’d prefer to look at it from the inside of a plane at 25,000 feet!

See those two circles in the following picture? Those are the Maasai villages!

After the brief flight, we arrived in Arusha, which is where we started our safari just three days prior, having been dropped off at the hotel at 5:00 a.m.!

Shortly thereafter, we boarded our next plane, which was pretty similar to the one we just deplaned. This time, however, I got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat!

Here’s the pilot giving the brief (very brief) safety message.

I thoroughly enjoyed the view from the front, but to be honest, had a hard time seeing over the front of the plane! I think if I had to really fly the plane, I’d need a booster seat! The flight from Arusha to Zanzibar was about 90 minutes, and it seemed like we would go for miles and miles without seeing anything below! Finally, there it was - the coast of Eastern Africa.

The Indian Ocean is absolutely beautiful. Reminds me very much of the Caribbean waters. In this picture we are coming up on the island of Zanzibar.

When researching our trip, I first believed that Zanzibar was a separate African country, but discovered that not to be true. In fact, Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. It is located about 25 miles off of the coast of Tanzania and is composed of the Zanzibar archipelago. As such, Zanzibar has its own government. More than 99% of the population is Muslim.

Just as with all of our other stops, we were greeted outside of the airport by our driver, although I can’t, for the life of me, remember his name. He was, of course, Muslim, and was very pleasant. His driving was a bit scary, but that seemed to have been the theme of the trip. Our resort was about an hour drive north of the airport, so off we went. Our driver told us a bit about the island and the heritage. He explained that they were right in the middle of Ramadan, which Dave and I are familiar with having been living in Ghana for the past year.

Ramadan is a time when Muslims worldwide observe a month of fasting. In Ghana, the Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. They aren’t allowed to drink liquids, eat food, smoke, or have sexual relations. Our driver, however, mentioned that he was just fasting until noon, so I’m not sure if he and his family just chose that practice or what. He told us that he had a seven or eight year old child who was participating in her first Ramadan and was finding it very difficult to refrain from food or drink for that long. Can you imagine?

Driving through Zanzibar felt similar to driving through Ghana, to be honest. After an hour long drive, we arrived at the Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort, which was about a ½ mile off the highway, down a dusty dirt road. We were warmly greeted by the front desk staff and each given a coconut filled with its refreshing milk.

We also met the General Manager, although her name escapes me. When she found out Dave and I were living in Ghana, she was so surprised. She is Canadian, but recently worked in Accra at the La Badi Beach Hotel, which is just down the road from us. Talk about a small world!

Here’s our first view of the ocean from our resort.

After visiting our room, we took a tour of the grounds.

At sunset, we found ourselves poolside. It’s been a while since Dave and I were at a resort whereby we could watch the sun set. It was absolutely spectacular…every single evening. I couldn’t get enough of it. The sailboats looked like dorsal fins gliding over the water, making for a picturesque skyline.

After dinner, a few drinks, and some interesting dinner time entertainment, we turned in, looking forward to a relaxing day on the beach.

The next morning began with sunshine, but around 11 a.m., the skies opened and the downpour began. It was amazing how cool it got when the rain came, but about an hour later the rain stopped and the sun came back out. Once again, it was hot. This ended up being a theme for our entire stay, which we were told was unseasonable.

Benjamin and I mostly just laid on the beach and read, while Dave, Melissa, and Daniel joined the sand volleyball game.

There were LOTS of Italians at this particular resort. Not sure if it was just our resort, or Italians, in general! That afternoon Dave and I walked down the beach to the East Africa Dive Center to check out the diving opportunities. We signed up for a morning dive, and were told we would be picked up on our beach.

Throughout the resort there were Maasai men guarding the grounds.

I didn’t really understand why at first, but after a while it was obvious they were needed to keep random people from walking on the grounds and eating/drinking for free, as this was an all-inclusive resort. In addition, the beach right in front of us was evidently public, and there were several guys down there trying to convince the tourists to buy their excursions. If it wouldn’t have been for the Maasai, I suspect they would have been sitting next to us!

Just as promised, the next morning Dave and I were picked up on our beach and taken to the dive center where we met up with a group of people who would be diving with us. Yep...this is the boat that picked us up!

The Dive Masters were quite young and were from South Africa. If I remember correctly, they had been in Zanzibar for a couple of months, and they seemed to be enjoying their time on the island.

After a brief reminder of diving protocols and signs, we set off on a dive just off the western coast of Zanzibar. The water was quite a bit cooler here than it was when we learned in the Seychelles. And, unlike our previous dives, Dave was able to stay down quite a bit longer; 48 minutes on our first dive, and 61 minutes on our second dive. When we came to the surface after the second drive, the air had cooled off and a storm was brewing. As we headed back to shore, it started drizzling and I was having a difficult time getting warm. I pretty much shivered the entire way!

The dives were both really nice, but I’d have to say that I enjoyed the Seychelles more. First, the water was so much warmer, and second, we saw more sea life in the Seychelles. Regardless, it was still a really cool experience, and reminded me of why I enjoy diving!

The next day was, we were told, an Italian holiday, and so the resort went with it and held the Italian Olympics.  Two teams were formed and they competed in a variety of competitions, including volleyball, tug of war, and a “survivor” type of challenge whereby they had to run into the ocean, fill up a small bucket of water, run it back to their teammates, who then poured it into another bucket. It was pretty fun to watch, but I found it strange that no one in our party was invited to participate. Guess you had to be Italian??

That evening an Italian feast was being held out on the beach. When we arrived there was a 4’ shark hanging out….literally, he was hanging next to the table. They were cutting out filets and grilling them. Strangely enough, the only truly Italian food I saw in the buffet line was lasagna….and we had to wait for it because they only had one pan of it at a time.

One day Benjamin and Daniel were picked up and taken down the shoreline where they spent a short time jet skiing. The rest of the time, we just sort of lounged around. We read our books and magazines, and just basically tried to de-stress (not that I have much in the way of stress in my life anymore). There were only two selections of beers - Serengeti and Kilimanjaro.

There were three pools on the resort, and do you know that we rarely saw anyone in any of the pools. One of the pools had a swim up bar, but there usually wasn’t even a bartender in attendance, as there was no one in the pool. Very strange, and very unlike the Caribbean and/or Mexican resorts at which we have stayed.

In much the same manner as we arrived on our trip, we left. Our flight left the Zanzibar airport at 4:30 a.m., which meant we were to be picked up at our resort at 1:30 a.m. So, we slept for a couple of hours, met our van driver, and headed to the airport. As we were driving through some of the more populated areas, I was just staring out the window sort of zoning out. I saw two very unusual things….especially considering it the middle of the night. First, I saw a guy getting his hair cut….he was actually sitting in a barber’s chair getting his hair cut. Really? At 2 a.m.? Second, I saw two larger groups of men who were evidently praying to Allah (or to whomever it is Muslims pray).

Our flight from Zanzibar to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was (thankfully) uneventful. After a brief layover, we headed out for Accra, arriving at around 11 a.m. I was very glad to be home, but Daniel, Benjamin, and Melissa still had a full day of travel ahead of them, as they were flying back to the U.S. that evening. What to do in Accra for the next 6-7 hours? Well, naturally….we watched The Lion King, from an entirely different perspective!!!