Judi Schulz

You may think that Zanzibar is a long way to travel for a fantastic beach, but after two weeks on safari it was just what the doctor ordered. It was the perfect place to rest and reflect on our safari experiences and to end our unforgettable African vacation in Kenya and Tanzania.

We had an early morning departure to travel from Ngorongoro Crater through Arusha and Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar and the beach. Again the flight schedule did not quite match our itinerary, but by this time we had learned to just go with the flow in Africa – eventually you get to where you are supposed to be.

We stayed at Breezes Beach Resort which is an all inclusive resort about an hour drive from Stone Town on the southwest coast. It was quite different from our safari lodges, but the rooms were spacious and nicely appointed with large balconies and they were comfortable and clean. The food and service were good, the gardens and grounds were lovely, there is an excellent shop onsite and there was nightly entertainment in the evenings. The beach was like powdered sugar and the water was really warm and a beautiful blue-green. You must wear water shoes as there are a lot of sea urchins in the water. The tide went out a long way for a couple of hours at midday – good for walking out and spotting sea life – and it got windy mid-afternoon, so this is a good time to do some excursions. There was an activity centre onsite which offered a good variety of excursions. After two weeks of travel and safari we just wanted to relax and do the beach thing, but if you are energetic there is a lot you can do here – visit the Jozani forest and see the birds and rare red colobus monkeys, do a spice plantation tour, go scuba diving or snorkelling, take a dhow boat ride, hike or bicycle – the list goes on.

On our last day on Zanzibar we went to Stone Town for the day. We had a guided tour of the market and some of the historic places and then went for a nice lunch at a cafe overlooking the sea. It was very hot and humid in town and there is very little shade - I would recommend a sun umbrella for walking around particularly in the middle of the day

That evening we flew back to Nairobi. We stayed at the Norfolk hotel (now a Fairmont) right in town for a change of pace – an historic property with beautiful grounds, excellent service and food – as we found everywhere we stayed. We had one more day to hang out and have a final visit with our adopted baby elephants before our evening flight back home and back to reality.