Zanzibar; Tropical Island, white beaches, coral reef diving with unlimited visibility, what more could you want?
Well an aeroplane that will get you there to start with would be nice. My 4-week holiday started a bit slow with a 16-hour delay due to engine problems on our Air Tanzania flight to Dar es Salaam. But the next morning we had an early start and by 3 pm I did my first dive at Nungwi on Unguja Island.
Zanzibar consists of 2 main islands, Unguja (often referred to as Zanzibar Island) and Pemba Island. Unguja Island is the more populated and tourist orientated of the 2 and has the capital Zanzibar Town and the historical Stone Town. I spent most of my time in a small village at the northern most point of Unguja Island call Nungwi. Here I stayed with Sensation Divers in their guesthouse called Bagamoyo. The guys at Sensation divers are very relaxed and they really embrace the island life style, diving also only start after 9 in the mornings.
Sunsets are usually observed from Tjollos bar, in fact some sunrises are also observed from Tjollos bar. The bar is on the beach and built from float some and flotsam. Two types of local Tanzanian beer are available, Safari and Kilimanjaro. At $1.50 to $2.00 per pint it is quite drinkable. Anything else can get rather expensive.
For a place also known as the “Spice Islands” the food is rather bland. It seems the locals do not know what to do with all the spice that grows all over the island. I also found the seafood over cooked and dry, especially the fish.
I was a bit disappointed in the diving around Nungwi. Visibility was rarely more than 10m. I was told that from January the visibility improves to 30m. The reefs were actually quite good despite the vis, I was probably just a bit spoilt by my expectations, beacause coral and marine life is actually quite good. Diving is from a wooden dhow equipped with a 40 hp outboard motor.
I also went to Stone Town for a few days. The town has a really ancient feel to it with narrow winding streets and beautiful carved wooden doors. Unfortunately the people cannot always afford to maintain the buildings and some are very dilapidated. After 2 days I was so tired of people trying to sell me paintings I just had to get out of there and went back to Nungwi for some more diving.
The highlight of my trip was the 10 days I spent on Pemba Island. I stayed and dived with Swahili divers in Chake Chake. Accommodation is very nice with dorm or double rooms and 3 meals per day. The diving here is very good. Visability was 25m and more, the coral is in a really good condition with lots of reef critters and tropical fish around. With Swahili diver you generally do 2 dives a day from a wooden dhow.The first dive is in the moring and then after lunch on a deserted island beach you do you second dive before going back to base. Altough I did not see many game fish I did see some Napoleon wrass, turtles, plenty of nudibranchs and shrimps.
I can't wait to go back!!!
Wilhelm :wave
Well an aeroplane that will get you there to start with would be nice. My 4-week holiday started a bit slow with a 16-hour delay due to engine problems on our Air Tanzania flight to Dar es Salaam. But the next morning we had an early start and by 3 pm I did my first dive at Nungwi on Unguja Island.
Zanzibar consists of 2 main islands, Unguja (often referred to as Zanzibar Island) and Pemba Island. Unguja Island is the more populated and tourist orientated of the 2 and has the capital Zanzibar Town and the historical Stone Town. I spent most of my time in a small village at the northern most point of Unguja Island call Nungwi. Here I stayed with Sensation Divers in their guesthouse called Bagamoyo. The guys at Sensation divers are very relaxed and they really embrace the island life style, diving also only start after 9 in the mornings.
Sunsets are usually observed from Tjollos bar, in fact some sunrises are also observed from Tjollos bar. The bar is on the beach and built from float some and flotsam. Two types of local Tanzanian beer are available, Safari and Kilimanjaro. At $1.50 to $2.00 per pint it is quite drinkable. Anything else can get rather expensive.
For a place also known as the “Spice Islands” the food is rather bland. It seems the locals do not know what to do with all the spice that grows all over the island. I also found the seafood over cooked and dry, especially the fish.
I was a bit disappointed in the diving around Nungwi. Visibility was rarely more than 10m. I was told that from January the visibility improves to 30m. The reefs were actually quite good despite the vis, I was probably just a bit spoilt by my expectations, beacause coral and marine life is actually quite good. Diving is from a wooden dhow equipped with a 40 hp outboard motor.
I also went to Stone Town for a few days. The town has a really ancient feel to it with narrow winding streets and beautiful carved wooden doors. Unfortunately the people cannot always afford to maintain the buildings and some are very dilapidated. After 2 days I was so tired of people trying to sell me paintings I just had to get out of there and went back to Nungwi for some more diving.
The highlight of my trip was the 10 days I spent on Pemba Island. I stayed and dived with Swahili divers in Chake Chake. Accommodation is very nice with dorm or double rooms and 3 meals per day. The diving here is very good. Visability was 25m and more, the coral is in a really good condition with lots of reef critters and tropical fish around. With Swahili diver you generally do 2 dives a day from a wooden dhow.The first dive is in the moring and then after lunch on a deserted island beach you do you second dive before going back to base. Altough I did not see many game fish I did see some Napoleon wrass, turtles, plenty of nudibranchs and shrimps.
I can't wait to go back!!!
Wilhelm :wave
