Pro tip: if you are planning to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, plan a few days of relaxation and recovery on the beaches of Zanzibar for after the hike. We decided to do just that and it was a great way to reward ourselves after the trek (and motivation during it).

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous group of islands off of the coast of Tanzania. The largest island where most visitors go (including us) is Zanzibar Island or Unguja. It was historically a point for traders going between Africa, and Arabian Peninsula and India which has given it some unique characteristics compared to the rest of Tanzania. For example Zanzibar is 99 percent Muslim while the rest of Tanzania is about one third each Christian, Muslim, and indigenous religions. Zanzibar is also known as the spice island with heavy influences of cinnamon, cardamom and other spices. This is also seen in the food with lots of seafood curries, samosas and blends of other cuisines.

After a quick 40 minute flight from Kilimanjaro (we barely got higher than we hiked to before the plane started to descend) we stepped out of the plane and felt the heat and humidity. Such a drastic difference to the weather we spent most of the last week in. After making our way through a hot airport and immigration line (thankfully since we had our Tanzanian Visas already from our arrival in Kilimanjaro we could skip that long part of the process here and just had to fill out the separate Zanzibar specific customs form) we had a one hour drive to our hotel which was on the northeast coast of the island. Driving in Zanzibar was just as much of an experience as in Moshi – there seem to be a lot of unspoken road rules, passing cars and people within inches of one another, the occasional having to stop for animals in the road, and a lot of ‘anything goes.’

We arrived at the Mvuvi Beach Resort and were greeted with delicious fruit juice and wonderful smelling local flowers. Mvuvi is Swahili for fisherman. Since we had arrived earlier in the day (it was about 9:45 at this point) we were taken to the restaurant to enjoy breakfast and had our first view of the white sands and crystal blue water. We sat for a bit and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of eggs and avocado and some of the freshest fruits we had tasted (banana, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, passion fruit, oranges).

Once able to get in our room we switched into bathing suits and headed to the lounge chairs on our hotel’s private beach. It was so nice to sit and relax in the sun, just watching the people walk by and the tides move in and out. The tides are one of the more interesting we have ever seen. In the mornings they go nearly a half mile out and by the evening they have come all the way up to the beach where we are sitting. And every day it happens the same. The tides shift so far over the course of the day. You can especially see it in the below pictures using the pier as a reference point. At the end of the pier there is a restaurant where we had lunch one day and also enjoyed some sundowners while watching the water flow by.

We saw some other interesting things sitting watching on the beach – herds of cows and goats passing us by on the beach, people riding bikes and mopeds along the beach, certainly some new and unique things.

The second day we ventured into the nearby town to stop at a mini market and pick up a few supplies for the next few days (water and most importantly – laundry detergent). We did a lot of sink washing to get our trekking clothes clean over the next three days which dried each day thanks to the strong sun and convenient drying rack on our porch (meant more for beach towels and bathing suits surely, but when you have limited resources and you are on the road you do what you have to do).

After some more lounging and swimming on the second day we decided the next day to go for a snorkeling adventure. We were met at 12:00 and picked up by a dhow boat – which is a traditional boat used by fishermen in Zanzibar (as well as tourists going snorkeling). Since the tide was pretty far out at this point we had to walk a bit on the moist sand to meet the boat. The construction of the boats are really unique and made from local wood. The part where you sit is skinny and looks to be a hollowed out tree trunk and there are pieces of wood attached on both sides by branches which help balance the boat. And the sails are also made out of long branches- however we used these only on the way back – on the way out our guides (one in the front and one in the back) took us out to see by using branches to push off the sand below us. Since it was the time the tides were out we were really mostly just in a few feet of water below. Comping back later though it was really interesting to see how they used the branches and a series of ropes attached to maneuver the sail.

We spent about 20 minutes, slowly making our way out to what looked like a sandbar to us in previous days, but when we got there we realized it was the top of a reef that was being exposed each day by the moving tides. In our water shoes borrowed from the hotel we walked along the reef for a bit and the guide pointed out a star fish to us which was quite large and heavy. We also found one that was black with bright red spikes on its back – did not look like someone to mess with down there. We also saw lots of sea urchins and different kinds of coral. Then it was time for snorkeling next to the reef where the water was a little deeper but still just up to our chests. We put our faces under and saw lots of fish in many different colors. The guide smashed up some sea urchins and threw them in the water to attract more fish and gave pieces to us to feed the fish from our hands. We swam around for a while checking out the fish, starfish, and other sea life around the reef and Fred got some great videos on the GoPro. When the current started to get stronger and we found ourselves drifting further from the boat it was time to make our way back to the shore. The tides were coming in and the reef we had stood on just a little while before was now covered by the sea. Besides… we were treating ourselves to a massage that afternoon and we had to get back for that. The massage was relaxing and true to the spice island we smelled heavily of cinnamon and spices after from the oils.

The rest of the time in Zanzibar we spent relaxing on the beach, going for long walks, swimming in the sea, enjoying the views, and eating lots and lots of delicious seafood. The water of the Indian Ocean was so warm it felt like bath water at times. Our hotel was really nice in that there were only 8 rooms so it was very personal and the food was also delicious. It was a great idea for our post-Kili destination.

Now after almost two weeks in Tanzania it is time to leave. The people we met were friendly, and we had experiences which were memorable. Everyone wants USD but using the Tanzanian Shilling for most of the trip with 10,000 TSH notes worth just over $4 (the largest bill there is) kept our math skills sharp. We enjoyed our time in Tanzania but are also looking forward to the next part of our adventure. Next we fly to Johannesburg for a quick one night stay next to the airport before heading to Namibia early the next morning for a few days.