Zanzibar Island Off The Beaten Path

A small area of indigenous forest remains today, at Jozani. This forest was declared a reserve in 1960 and visitors may see the red colobus monkey, smaller than the black-and-white colobus, and endemic to the island.
When I visited there were plenty of them and easy to see, being all in 2 trees together.

This village is located approximately 15 minutes walk from the Mapenzi Beach Club. We were escorted there by one of the hotel staff, and taken to visit the school. The children and staff were very welcoming - we even had an audience with the Headmaster. Unfortunately we were not very well prepared as we had just walked to the village along the beach; the school was hoping for donations (which is totally understandable) and we had nothing with us. If you decide to visit this village take money, pens, pencils etc.

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Grownups and juveniles of the Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises are kept in the Tortorise Nursery on Prison Island with the hope of preserving the species for future generations. Visitors are allowed in the nursery and they can even approach the adult animals and have their pictures taken with them.

Zanzibar offers miles and miles of exquisite white sand beaches. It was hard deciding which areas we wanted to explore in just one weekend.

After our one night in Stone Town, it was time to explore the other coastal areas, so we chose the area of Bwejuu.

Bwejuu lies on the Eastern Coast of Zanzibar and is home to many well-known resorts. Our group was fortunate in the location we picked, as there were practically no other tourists in the area.

The powder-white sand beach area with the crystal clear lagoon set in the backdrop was exactly what we were craving.......a weekend of R & R at last!

Nungwi and surrounding area has a lot of expensive resorts but the village itself is very poor. We went for a walk round the village to see for ourselves, while most of the buildings are made of prefab blocks, some are still made of wood and although poor the area is certainly not backward. My brother recommended bringing pens and pencils which i was initally quite puzzled about but I understtod as soon as the flock of kikds came running at me once i produced them. Also a better idea than bringing sweets!

Would love to say that this is what I meant to do but franklywe just got lost! Most people when they come to Stone Town will aim for the tourist market, but there are plenty of other local market in the town. We wandered along narrow streets and although the atmosphere is vibrant its definitely not threatening. It was quite an eye opener o walk past stalls with chickens stored in up-turned baskets. This photo doesnt do it justice.

Did my very first ever scuba dive here on my birthday and loved it so much now in December i've finally completed my diving course. Mnemba island is surrounded by reefs with an abundance of animal and other sea life. Too many fascinating things where seen including; turtles, coral, fish, dolphins etc.

Visibility was 20 metres or more and the water was gorgeous for diving in.

Boated there from Nungwi with East Afica Diving & Watersport Centre

On the way to Nungwi we went into a small village not far from it. Some of the houses built from corals stones they take out of the sea. The people were very friendly and ready to be photo. I like this photo very much.