Paradise local

I was struck by THAT FIRST SUNSET, but little did I know that we could count on EVERY SUBSEQUENT EVENING rewarding us with MORE OF THE SAME

SWAHILI SUNSET IN ZANZIBAR

ITS PRIMARY EXPORT MAY BE PHOTOGRAPHS OF CANDY-COLOURED, GOLD-RIMMED SUNSETS, BUT DAVE BUCHANAN DISCOVERS THAT THERE’S MORE TO ZANZIBAR THAN MEETS THE EYE

There wasnʼt a moment to recover. Weʼd just dropped our luggage at the unassuming but excellent Al-Minar Hotel when Amir-the-guide arrived to take us on a walking tour of Stone Town, the ancient heart of Zanzibar City. Which is a must-do. Itʼs a fascinating place, filled with beauty and squalor and history.

A guide is a good idea, not so much to avoid getting lost (which you will – itʼs a maze; but pretty safe to wander in), but because everything has a story. Like most guides we met, Amir was a fount of knowledge, with insightful answers to our questions.

Zanzibarʼs history is too complex to go into here, but the usual suspects – slavery, colonialism, religion, greed, violence – are all there, and in some ways itʼs remarkable that itʼs peaceful now. Amir and others assured us that all races and creeds get along fine; but itʼs only 50-odd years since the horrendous massacre of the Zanzibar Revolution. You have to wonder.

Today, mainland Tanzania is fairly balanced, religiously, but Zanzibar (which is known as the “African Hong Kong” thanks to its semi-autonomous existence) is 95% Muslim; tourists are greeted with the ubiquitous Swahili ʻJambo!ʼ but if you get in first, ʻSalaam aleikumʼ will go down well.

Stone Town suffers from lack of maintenance, and perhaps from corruption, too; itʼs crumbling slowly, and every year unscrupulous locals sell a few more of the famous carved wooden doors to unscrupulous foreigners.

But thereʼs still plenty to delight (the many doors that remain) and horrify (the fish market), in equal measure. Another delight was Amirʼs passionate a cappella rendition of “We Are The Champions”, as we passed the childhood home of Stone Townʼs most famous son, Freddie Mercury.

All of which meant that we needed a beer and a sunset before tackling the Forodhani Gardens night food market.

We were gratefully glugging cold Kilis on the deck of Stone Townʼs Livingstone Beach Restaurant – our reward for the 23 hours weʼd spent getting there. I was struck by that first sunset, but little did I know that we could count on every subsequent evening rewarding us with more of the same.

It was at the market, just a few streets away, that the Spice Islandsʼ tumultuous back story came together in a sometimes surprising mix of cultures, flavours and imagination.

Be wary of the seafood sosaties; some are fresher than others (tip: join the longest queue). But exciting in a good way are urojo (a thick mango and tamarind soup), sweet potato samosas, fresh sugarcane juice with lime and ginger, and pizza and crêpes unlike any youʼll find in New York or Paris – with exotic but delectable ingredient combinations that may include mayonnaise, atjar and egg, or “dessert” varieties containing chocolate, banana or Nutella.

Entertainment came courtesy of the Makachu divers, (mostly) teenage boys who fling themselves acrobatically off the harbour wall into alarmingly shallow water. One of many contradictions here: itʼs great to watch but youngsters have been injured, paralysed, even killed trying to out-perform each other. Thereʼs now an initiative in place to make it safer.

The next morning, a half-hour boat ride to Prison Island won out over a Spice Tour, though thatʼs said to be a good day out, too. Never used as a prison, Changuu (its “other” name) has as its main attraction a collection of Aldabra giant tortoises, a gift from the British governor of the Seychelles in 1919. They are impressive creatures, and not called “giant” for nothing; adults average 250kg. Also on the island are dik diks (tiny antelope, a lot smaller than the tortoises), lizards and other wildlife. Thereʼs also a small reef close by, in case you want to snorkel; ask your boatman.

BEACH AND BEYOND

If the traditional exotic-destination beach holiday is what youʼre after, the northern end of Unguja (Zanzibarʼs main island, and typically what people mean when they say “Zanzibar”) is a good bet, though the whole place is peppered with exquisite beaches. Kendwa has miles of perfect sand but felt a bit sterile; Nungwi, close by, is very touristy but more relaxed, casual. Despite being only 60km (halfway across the island) from Zanzibar City, congestion accounts for a 90-minute drive. But a Swahili phrase heard often is ʻPole poleʼ – slow down, chill, whatʼs the hurry? (Another you might recognise is ʻHakuna matataʼ. Thanks to Disney, youʼll hear that often, too.)

Nungwi village itself is an unprepossessing place, contrasting uncomfortably with the comparative luxury of the tourist accommodation right next door. Still, not everywhere is that “luxurious”, in First World terms; what you pay for is the privilege of living on perfect white sand, literally within metres of the warm, crystal-clear ocean.

And it is a privilege. Zanzibar averages a couple of degrees north or south of 30°C, all year round. Thatʼs pretty doable; but in the wetter months, added humidity makes things less comfortable. Strolling into the sea – generally that Goldilocks temperature somewhere between “refreshing” and “bathwater” – several times a day is a pleasure. “Winter” is a good time to visit, too: temperatures in the high 20s, and dry, which sounds pretty good to chilly South Africans around July to September.

But donʼt fall into the swim-laze-eat-swim trap (unless thatʼs exactly what you need). Bad examples abound: euro-rich tourists in too-small Speedos, burned black and bored, wearing a daily path between beach towel and bar. We came across a funeral for a fisherman who had drowned, and witnessed a tourist wandering through the crowd, taking pictures of the coffin. People really do lose their minds and their manners on vacation.

The countryside is there to explore, for one thing. A good tour to take is by buggy: these are small two-person, one-gear vehicles with high ground clearance, rudimentary suspension and whimsical steering. Again, the cheerful guide who led our