By Adrian Rorvik
Zanzibar City - Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania comprising an archipelago off the mainland. It is an up-and-coming tourist destination with warm waters which are safe and free of sharks.
Before setting off, we over-nighted at the elegant, five-star Peermont D’oreale Grande hotel, the flagship hotel at Emperors Palace resort, which provides a complimentary shuttle service to nearby OR Tambo airport, for the early-morning weekly Mango flight.
First impressions of Zanzibar were from the air in the Boeing that took me there as a guest of Africastay. What I saw was a tropical paradise with beautiful waters in all shades of blue, coral reefs, dhows, pristine beaches, coconut trees galore and lush foliage covering the flat island (Zanzibar’s highest point is probably lower than Durban’s ridge).
Second impression. Heat!
Exiting the plane in jeans and shoes, I was mugged by the humidity and impressions became blurred after that.
Once through customs at Zanzibar City’s airport we were greeted by singing and dancing, freshly opened coconuts to drink.
Once all our bags were packed on the bus, we were whisked off to the first of many resorts we explored.
The drives were along flat, pot-holed roads with the occasional police stop.
We passed roadside stalls, subsistence farms and rural villages.
There were many different kinds of homes that included mud huts with coconut palm roofs, breezeblock, tin-roofed houses with breezeblock or coral walls with no glazing, but often with an ornately carved wooden door.
Solid wood carved beds are for sale on the roadside and scooters and bicycles were everywhere, carrying milk urns, agricultural implements, produce and people.
Dalla-dalla is the term for ubiquitous Mitsubishi canters which have been converted into crammed, open-sided taxis. These are the transportation backbone of the country as there is no public transport system.
Poverty is evident and tourists are targets for persistent touts. However, these are not desperate folk and, whether it is because tourism is key to the economy, or for whatever reason, they are generally genuinely friendly.
Zanzibar is almost completely Islamic, so there is no drunken behaviour and it is also, apart from areas of the city, refreshingly free of litter. There is also almost no first-world consumer branding: no fast-food outlets, chain stores or shopping malls.
There are many similarities to our own country, but even the similar can be different. Mango trees were so huge I didn’t recognise them, and Buffalo grass four times bigger. There are beautiful almond trees, Hibiscus, frangipani and plenty other flora.
The resorts are another slice of life altogether. We visited several, from family-oriented to bespoke luxury. From Diamond Dreams of Zanzibar, Sandies Mapenzi Beach Club and Neptune on the north-east coast, to Ora Resort’s My Blue and the vast Gemma D’ell Est, near Nungwi on the north-east tip, all had their own particular style and charm.
For a hedonist haven, Zanzibar is hard to beat. Expect sailfish, tuna, lobster, crab, limes, coconut and fresh exotic fruit on the menus. Exotic cocktails (and excellent local beer), gorgeous beaches and views, beach-bars and seafood buffets, stunning pools, live entertainment and a multitude of activities fulfil every tropical paradise fantasy.
Historic, ancient, bustling Stone Town is a must-visit. It’s a maze of narrow lanes below crazy electrical wiring, shuttered windows and crowding buildings. There are hundreds of wonderfully carved wooden doors, endless stalls and touts. This is Freddie Mercury’s birthplace.
There are also sobering reminders of the horrific slave trade, particularly the underground hell alongside the Anglican Cathedral (with Catholic artefacts).
There’s the decayed House of Wonders, Old Fort with open air amphitheatre – and it’s a short stroll to hop on a water taxi to Prison (Chungu) Island. The prison was never used as such and the island is home to a colony of giant tortoises.
Zanzibar was known as the Spice Islands and I recommend a visit to a spice farm.
Above all though, Zanzibar is about beautiful waters, coves, and the delights of snorkelling, diving and swimming with stunning sealife among healthy coral. We had a memorable adventure with Safari Blue, hopping from island to island aboard a dhow, with a wonderful beach lunch.
Zanzibar is incredibly beautiful and culturally intriguing. It’s also amazingly affordable – with all-in, week-long packages for less than you might think.
Find your main stay
AfricaStay is a South African tour operator, providing best value holidays to exotic destinations such as Zanzibar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Kenya and more. Their dedicated reservations team are well travelled to the destinations they sell, making them experts in offering travel advice and matching all clients with their perfect holiday. Mango and AfricaStay have signed a charter agreement and provide weekly flights between Joburg and Zanzibar, with Tuesday departures in either direction. Check out: http://www.africastay.com/zanzibar-specials
For direct Zanzibar flights, visit: http://www.africastay.com/zanzibar-flights
Jet-set the orange way
Mango is South Africa’s most consistently on-time domestic airline. Launched in 2006, the airline has carried in excess of nine million guests between South Africa’s largest metropolitan areas. With a business model grounded in affordability and accessibility, Mango remains the only airline globally to accept store charge cards (Edcon Group), was the first to retail flights through Shoprite Checkers, and is the only airline to offer bookings through a mobi-site and apps for both the Apple iPhone and iPad and Blackberry 10. Mango is also the only airline in Africa to offer in-flight wi-fi through its G-Connect in-flight wi-fi service. Visit www.flymango.com - Sunday Tribune