Sunset XVIII - Stone Town
Grand adventures like our African odyssey can at times have a down side. They occasionally become a little rushed with so much to do and so little time to do it in. This morning felt like one of those times given our location and the sheer beauty of the highlands, it would have been a perfect opportunity for a long lie, a long breakfast and a long walk around the grounds. Alas, Albert set a furious pace and had us on the move again by 8:00am bound for Arusha and our need to catch a flight by 3:00pm.
Back on the road, the rich red volcanic soils returned as did the lush greenery, and while still within sight we stopped briefly at a lookout encompassing the expanse of Lake Manyara. As one of the largest lakes in Tanzania, it is a shallow, alkaline lake and centrepiece of Lake Manyara National Park. Famous for its diverse landscapes, including groundwater forests, acacia woodlands, and grassy floodplains, from this height all could be seen together with scatterings of wildlife along its shores. As breathtaking as the crater itself, Lake Manyara was yet another gem of nature Tanzania seems to hold in every corner.
Lake Manyara, Tanzania
On lower ground it would be remise of the Wizard not to return us to the tactlessly touristy revenue funnel of Safariland, after all, we’re sure there’s a commission hidden in there for him. We politely obliged but again only used their onsite shitters. On route to Arusha we passed through many little villages filled with roadside vendors trying to make a dollar. As rustic and rural as you’d expect, Fatpap shifted restlessly in his seat wishing to stop and simply walk through one with his camera in hand for fifteen minutes. Lamentably it was not the case and after summonsing the courage to ask Albert to stop, he did…at another tactlessly touristy revenue funnel on the outskirts of Arusha called The Cultural Heritage Centre. This place was all you’ll imagine, touristy, crowded and not at all our cup of tea. So, we shouted Albert a coffee and disappointingly strolled through the shops to kill some time. At the height of hypocrisy though, it was filled with stunningly crafted African arts and crafts, and although a little expensive, we did in fact purchase a few small items as gifts.
Now full of bravado, Fatpap more clearly explained what he wanted to see and true to form, the Serengeti Wizard metamorphosized into the Arusha Wizard and found a local market closer to the brief. On foot we traversed the labyrinth of vendors selling their wares through ramshackled stalls or crouched in the middle of the road. It was chaotic and colourful. Noisy and nostalgic. A sensory overload as good as any experienced in other foreign markets and right in Fatpap’s wheelhouse. Between pestering of peddlers touting almost identical handmade artefacts to being offered bags of rice and spices for the journey home, the place was alive and in full swing. A living, breathing organism no different to NYC stock exchange except these traders were reliant on success for survival.
Fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish, fresh meats clearly refrigerated and meeting all health & safety standards, created a visual and kaleidoscopic palette that on every turn surprised with something new. It was brilliant and an ideal way to end our time in the Arusha region and more to the heart of African culture. Thank you Albert.
We boarded our beloved Toyota Landcruiser one last time for the short drive to Arusha Airport. Fully packed and ready to move on we bid our farewell to Albert, The Serengeti Wizard, Black Dumbledore who had been the most hospitable and friendliest guide we could have asked for. His demeanour was nothing but pleasant, his willingness to deliver on any request unsurpassed, and his knowledge of Tanzania immeasurable. But beyond those expected qualities, Albert was a lovely human being and someone we quickly became friends with. He shared some of his personal stories and spoke of his family, and he listened to ours and comforted us when emotions overwhelmed out on safari. His sense of humour was similar to ours and very quickly he adapted to our ways as we did to his. Albert is a guide we’d recommend to anyone and relished our time with him.
At the airport we were overcome by the throngs of travellers spilling out onto the roadside and drew a heavy breath to deal with the impending unpleasantness. No, just kidding. Arusha airport is smaller than an Ikea and services only 87,000 passengers annually. For comparison, SYD does double that on any given 2 day weekend. But we are not here to trash Arusha so we checked in our luggage, ordered a few beers and a shared sandwich from the kiosk, then kicked back for a while waiting for the departure of PW427 to Zanzibar. It would be a whole different world on the back end of this flight and an intended part of our meticulously crafted itinerary.
After boarding an ATR-72 for the first time since the Maldives, the turbo-props soon roared to life and we departed eastbound to track right over the city. From our portside window, yes Fatpap researched flight paths and purposely selected the seats - nerd, we finally spotted Mt Kilimanjaro peeking through thickish clouds and can now claim to have seen the allusive mountain in real life. Not quite the experience we were hoping for but one we’ll gladly take regardless. We skulled as many glasses of putrid white wine as we could and scoffed as many packets of peanuts as Fatpap’s diverticulitis could handle during the short 80min flight to breakthrough more cloud on approach to Adeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar.
Clearing customs and presenting proof of our prepaid mandatory Zanzibar Travel Insurance - that’s a self explanatory rort we’ll leave at that- we emerged to glorious sub-tropical heat and met our driver right at the exit. For once the distance gods were in our favour as it was a mere 10 minute drive to our digs, the world famous Tembo House Hotel in Stone Town.
Found online during the planning stage, this hotel leapt from the pages almost beckoning us to book a room so thats exactly what we did. The Tembo was the first beachfront hotel in Stone Town and converted from the original Tembo House built in 1834 and one of the first stone buildings in Stone Town. It has a history of varied use over its life including the American Consulate from 1834 to 1884 then the trading offices of Cowasjee Dinshaw & Partners, the largest trading company in the Indian Ocean. The building's name, Tembo, is derived from the Swahili word for elephant and has been host to notable guests including Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Freddie Mercury while their offical website has recently been updated to include Fatpap and The Wine Wench among those illustrious figures.
We were shown to our second floor room which like the hotel itself was a unique blend of Swahili and colonial architectural styles featuring antique furniture, four-poster beds and mosquito nets together with our own balcony looking straight across the beach and over the Indian Ocean. The place was absolutely beautiful and everything the reviews promised it would be. As a synthesis of Swahili, Arab, and European influences, the structure was organised around a central Arabian-style courtyard with curved arches framing open doorways and windows with stained glass panels casting colourful, evocative light throughout its interior. We didn’t want to leave but as you’ll learn were forced to.
It was late afternoon by the time we unpacked and showered so we naturally headed beachside for some sunset action before the birthing of the famed Zanzibar nightlife. As a muslim state we knew alcohol was restricted to hotels only, however were unaware The Tembo was the only hotel not following that maxim. All good, directly next door was Livingstone Beach Restaurant which did. With the fine Zanzibar sand already stuck to our bare feet, we pulled up some prime position chairs thinking it might be a novel idea to perhaps order a drink. On menu, a bottle of local gin was cheaper than only 4 glasses so we caved in and ordered a bottle, a bucket of ice, sliced lemon and some tonic water. We’d been on deck for less than an hour and already in full island swing. The beach became a natural floor and exotic trees swayed in what little breeze was afforded. Tourists boats bobbed on the Indian Ocean and traditional dhows crossed the path of the sun only to turn around and do it again as if exclusively for us. Zanzibar beats known as taarab, a unique blend of African, Middle Eastern and Indian musical styles swelled their vibrant and soulful tones across the beach from every bar and rooftop.
Zanzibar is renowned for its beachside entertainment where every afternoon the island youth take over the beaches to perform high dives from the pier or acrobatics along the sands. We had a boisterous troop right on our doorstep encouraging each other to greater heights and loudly applauding those achieving them. It was street entertainment in its rawest form, except with no street, and the large crowd that gravitated to the scene quickly filled an upturned baseball cap with Tanzanian Shillings. This beach was an African Champs-Élysées with life passing by without a care with those that did, not bothering you about it. In fact it was so relaxing, exactly meeting our expectations, we stayed put and ordered some dinner by selecting a trio of seafood entrees that tasted amazing against a glowing orange Zanzibar sunset.
We had a full day tomorrow but nothing was planned or organised yet. Fatpap asked one of the waiters where best to hire a boat for the day and within minutes had negotiated a deal with a boat owner the waiter must of pulled out of his arse. But thats how it works in Zanzibar, word of mouth and who you know. We hung around well into the night unencumbered for the first time by guides, drivers or schedules doing our utmost to finish that ridiculously cheap bottle of gin.
Our eventual return to the room saw our mosquito nets drawn, the windows closed and air conditioner set on low to edge out the tropical heat. We were both very quickly besotted by the town and hotel and read for a while cocooned in our own little four posted teepees before finally falling asleep.
