Tanzanaaa darling - Zanzibar island

8th Jan 2011, Day 13 – Old Farmhouse, Iringa, Tanzania

• 4am start to make the crossing into Tanzania– we had to take our tents down in the dark because it we left so early

• Arrived after 11 hours in the truck at Old Farmhouse campsite which claimed to have the best showers in Africa! As soon as we had our tents out I went to try them out - they were actually surprisingly good, the water was heated by a log burner!

• Campsite also had a very cosy bar area with little log fires and they sold vodka in little sachets – jokes!

9th Jan 2011, Day 14 – Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

• Another 4am start for another long day on the truck – didn’t arrive at the campsite until 5.30 pm!!

• Great scenery on the drive though: went through Baobab Valley where the Baobab trees grow to be over 1000 years old and also drove 30km through Mikumi National Park saw zebras, impala, buffalo, elephants and warthogs – was incredible to see so many animals at the side of the main road through the country!!

• On the approach to Dar the traffic was mental – it was the first time we had really seen much traffic and it was crazy – matatus (local buses) and cars driving like nutters! Thankfully Isa our driver was much more sensible, hakuna matata!

• The mainland south of Dar is separated from the city by a channel and there is no bridge to get across so we had to take the ferry, as we were queuing for the ferry a huge tree branch by the side of the road smashed one of the truck windows, lol!

• We finally made it on to the ferry but when we reached the other side (after literally a 1 minute journey across) we couldn’t get off because the cars trying to get on the ferry from the other side had blocked the path! No organisation whatsoever, lol, T.I.A!

• I asked Moses why there wasn’t a swing bridge or something across the tiny stretch of water which would make the journey much quicker for cars, but still let the boats pass but Moses said “No, this is Africa, it wouldn’t work”!!

• Ate our final meal cooked by Mwengi for 4 days as he and Isa wouldn’t be coming with us to Zanzibar

10th Jan 2011, Day 15 – Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

• 4.45am wake up to pack up our tents, say goodbye to our truck for the next 4 days and catch the passenger ferry to Zanzibar which was surprisingly luxurious!

• Arrived in Stone Town and met Daniel who was our guide for the day – he showed us the historical sites of the town, where the slaves were held and auctioned to be shipped to the middle east – it was very interesting stuff!

• Went to a fish and meat market which was crazy – whole cow’s heads on the table with the brains taken out!!

• Went down a little back alley to shop which sold the cheapest fabric in the town. Stepped into the back room of the shop which was like an Aladdin’s cave of fabric - bought myself a very nice (and very cheap) scarf!

• We then went to Daniel’s family’s house for some lunch – we left our shows outside and sat on a rug on the floor to eat our dinner – beef rice, vegetable curry and cassava leaves – very tasty!

• Next was the spice tour which was amazing – saw all of the spices in their raw form and how they are produced, also so coffee plant and cocoa plant.

• A man climbed up a coconut tree to cut some down for us to try, all the way up and down he was singing a song to us and posing for pictures – joker!

• Tried lots of lots of local fruit and a few Zanzibarian teas (which has some interesting spices in them) & we all bought some spices at only 1000 shillings a bag (around 50p)

• The local boys made us necklaces and handbags woven from banana leaves for the girls and the boys were given hats and ties!

• Went to Africa House to watch the incredible sunset from the bar then headed to the night market by the water to have some food. There were hundreds of stalls selling different kinds of fish, meat! I ate barracuda kebabs some vegetable samosas and a nutella Zanzibar pizza for pudding – yum!!

11th Jan 2011, Day 16 – Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

• Saw last few sights in Stone Town before heading north to the beach – visited the old fort which was built by the Arab settlers and bought a bag made from a v. cool kanga from the market inside the fort & a painting of Masai warriors

• Arrived at the coast hit the beach as soon as we arrived at the hotel – the beach was incredible, exactly how imagined it to look and water was so warm!

• Took a walk along the beach and tried to blag our way into the Royal Zanzibar Hotel (the most expense hotel on the beach) but we obviously didn’t look the part because we weren’t allowed in by the Masai guard at the entrance!! Gutted!

• Power cut in the evening so we had to eat at one of the hotels as the local restaurants don’t have generators – ate sail fish which was very nice, but we were surrounded by honeymooners and looked totally out of place! Lol!

• No power overnight so had to sleep in the boiling hot with no fan!! Apparently power cuts are v common in Zanzibar because they don’t have their own power station so the electricity comes from underwater cables from the mainland. TIA!

12th Jan 2011, Day 17 – Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

• Didn’t sleep so badly considering there was no fan, will have to get used to the heat anyway for when I am in Mombasa!

• Went on a snorkelling trip to Mnemba Island – saw lots of coral and cool fish, but found the snorkelling pretty tiring! (Was supposed to be a full day snorkelling trip but we headed back to Nungwi after lunch – TIA, lol!). Back across to a deserted Zanzibar beach for lunch – a huge tuna, rice and vegetables – it was so tasty! Had a long boat trip back to Nungwi, I sat on the top of the wooden boat and topped up my tan a bit!

• Had pizza for dinner and the bar man Salvatore was giving us free drinks, sweet! We were all so tired from the boat trip that it was relatively early to bed again – lame!!

13th Jan 2011, Day 18 – Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

• Tanya’s birthday today! Our first day where we didn’t have to get on any form of transport whatsoevrer & had no activities planned – very exciting, just chilled by the beach all day!

• Discovered the best toilets in Africa!! Clean toilet, hand basin with water and soap, loo roll and a potted plant! pure luxury!!

• Moses organised a cake for tanyas birthday which had been iced with her name on, was so good!

• Out for dinner and Pete, Nick and Dave were dressed in their 'Sultan' outfits - african shirts and their banana leaf hats!

• Drank a few Happy housr cocktails and started a conga line around the restaurant when there was another powercut!

• Had a sleepover in our room and stayed up til 12!! hardcore night!! lol

14th Jan 2011, Day 19 – Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

• Drove back to Stone Town and took passenger ferry to mainland.

• Reunited with Isa and the truck and great to have a meal cooked by Mwengi again - we missed his cooking while we were away!!!