Zanzibar

After the Serengeti, we had a long drive day from Arusha to Dar es Salaam which we started at 4.30 in the morning in order to get to camp before dark. Things not going to plan included a broken down truck an hour out of Arusha (still at an horrific hour of the morning), around 10 bush craps in some poor farmers corn fields (very sick truckload of passengers), having to hitch rides with other overland trucks to Dar, a white guy crashing his BMW into a taxi which resulted in a mob surrounding the accident right where we were dropped off and, in our haste to get away from the mob, getting lost (with our tour leader fortunately) while being followed by a large number of African men. Finally, to top it all off, as we stood on the outdoor ferry to our campsite, it hosed down. On the plus side, however, camp was located on the beach, with a pool, vodka slushies and a massive seafood buffet! Hardly a hard life. Morning saw us heading over to Zanzibar Island for four days of sun, swimming and time away from the big yellow truck! Zanzibar is technically part of Tanzania although you still need to pass through customs and be stamped onto the island due, in part, to the islanders seeking indepedence. Zanzibar was also the largest slave trading post in all of Africa. We stayed at Sunset Bungalows on Kendwa Beach (the north west side of the island) which was a fantastic location - right on the beach, which was tropical - at least, it was when it wasn't raining - and with three or so restaurants/bars on the sand. We had a fantastic few days in the sun, some sleep-ins and a teeny bit of partying - it felt like a real holiday. We spent last night in Stone Town, had cocktails at Africa House and ate dinner from the local markets which were just tables loaded with seafood then cooked on kerosine grills. Stone Town is just all tiny cobblestoned alleyways with a heavy muslim influence (ie. woken up at 5am by the local mosque). We are back to Dar (the pool, vodka slushies and more seafood...) tonight before heading south to pig-on-a-spit in Lake Malawi.