Day One
Just twenty minutes of flying time
transfers you from the hustle and bustle of Dar Es Salaam to the idyllic island
of Zanzibar. Used as a major trade port for decades Zanzibar is rich in history,
incredible architecture and ancient culture. We landed later than expected (the
typical African motto of arriving in time
as opposed to on time rang truest
that day) and drove the one and a half hours to Matemwe village on the East. We
passed through the open fields on the islands interior and every so often we
caught glimpses of the beautiful Indian ocean and shrieked with excitement. We
were shattered when we finally arrived and so after a delicious Swahili style
dinner we fell asleep to the sound of the ocean waves lapping the coral at the
edge of our verandah.
Day Two
As we had arrived in the dark the night
before we woke to a very special site. Matemwe’s guest rooms are so close to
the edge of the reef that you almost feel as though you are floating in the sea
itself! The sun rose spectacularly across the open water, greeting the early
morning fisherman and illuminating the oceans golden hues.
We started off at Breezes hotel on the
island’s lower Eastern edge and explored The Zanzibar Collection’s three very
different beach side properties: Breezes, The Palms and Baraza. And then, sensing
a break in the weather we made a mad dash for the near by Rock Restaurant. We
had heard so much about it so we were quite excited to visit. We passed through
what seemed to be a very battered old village and started wondering what the
heck kind of mess we had gotten ourselves into. But the tiny, sandy streets
opened out onto the ocean and floating in the middle was indeed the little
restaurant on the rock – it was exactly as we had imagined it. Of course we took
about twenty minutes standing at the base of it looking up in wonder and taking
photo after photo, and then finally climbed the sandy steps to the top.
After lunch we headed North to Ras Nungwi
where we discovered what must be Zanzibar’s best beach. It was that exquisite
white colour that you only really see in movies and the ocean was turquoise,
like a scene from a movie. The hotel itself was curled comfortably on a slope
down to the beach with a warm, friendly air about the place and as an extra
bonus: diving and dive training on site!It was quite late in the day and the temptation to roll into a beach side hammock, order a cocktail and stay there forever was incredibly tempting. Talk about the icing on the cake!
Day Three
Another early morning for us as we boarded
our little boat bound for the coral reefs of the Mnemba Atoll. The boat ride
out was about thirty minutes and our driver took great care edging us around
the reef breaker and away from the big waves. We were in the water before you
could say “snorkel” and the reef revealed all kinds of little treasures –
certainly some of the best snorkeling in East Africa! To top it all off a call
came from our boat captain and we saw sets of little fins gliding through the
water. Dolphins! They swam all around us and passed below us leaving us silly
humans all a little awestruck. 
Once we were back on dry ground and down
from our dolphin induced high we had a quick lunch and then were whisked off to
Stone Town for a short tour with our new friend, Ben. Stone Town is an
architectural gem, but we must admit that being two little bush women we did
not manage too well in the big city! We wandered the markets and filled our
shopping bags before enjoying a sun-downers on the roof of Emerson Spice Hotel
and demanding we be taken back to the wide open spaces of Matemwe for the beach barbecue. It was a chaotic and beautiful afternoon that wont be forgotten
anytime soon and we recommend at least a visit to this fascinating town for all
our guests, even the country bumpkins.
Day Four
We left early in the morning to catch our flight
back to Nairobi and sat in stony silence in the taxi on the way to the airport.
Matemwe had found its way into our hearts!
A big thank you to the wonderful folks at
Matemwe for putting up with us for three nights – you were all superb!
More on Tanzania Safaris on our website www.african-experts.net
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