Zanzibar - The Spice Island

KERIN - I tried to have no preconceived ideas or expectations from Zanzibar. I was met with varying levels of success - there were some disappointments and some unexpected highlights. In hindsight I think we could have stayed for a shorter period in Stone Town (7 nights was too long) and longer on the more remote coastline. There is lots to do on this beautiful island, what follows are some of our activities:

NAKUPENDA - Only in Africa can you take a tiny spit of sandbar & turn it into a tourist attraction! About a 30 minute dhow ride from Stone Town, this tiny patch of pristine white sand was our oasis for the day. While snorkeling and swimming, the boat captain cooked an amazing lunch, cooked African style on the beach (braais in South African, barbecues for the uninitiated). Blown away by this experience, it was worth every penny.

SPICE TOUR + COOKING CLASS - This was an Airbnb experience which I absolutely loved! Our chef was collected en route to the Spice farm & we stopped at the local food market to buy ingredients for lunch. After consultation, the amazing lady, Lutfia, decided on fresh Tuna, Veg curry, Pilau rice & accompaniments. We then proceeded to her home, where she handed us over to the Spice tour guides to prep the ingredients. The informative, highly entertaining & demonstrative guides helped to distract my mind from the rain, squelching through mud in flip-flops & being feasted on by mozzies. We drank fresh coconut water (delicious), ate raw peppercorns (his humour verged on masochism) & watched the capable palm tree climber who I expect has origins in theatre & knew how to entertain. After purchasing some local spices we met with Lutfia to prepare lunch. The veg curry was my highlight as I wanted to try to emulate some of the great Veg curries I've eaten in Tanzania. Key to this was making fresh coconut milk, so easy & you will never use store bought again, the flavour is delicious. We both had a try on the 'coconut chair' to shred the coconuts. We were involved in the cooking process & I now have a few new Zanzibarian recipes in my repertoire. 

DIVING - We did 4 dives over 2 days off Mnemba Island, northern east coast. Nerdy information for my fellow dive-mates: they dive very differently here from SA. Each 'group' has their own DM so we had our own DM for all the dives for just the 2 of us. Other groups on the boat dived with their own DM. As a result the entire dive is conducted without a buoy line. This is only deployed on ascent. The diving was average, visibility averaged around 15M. I am quite spoilt by many dives on Aliwal Shoal and personally rate that a better dive site.