After completing our safari in South Africa we had decided to check out some diving on Zanzibar, Tanzania. All of our flights for this excursion through Kenya and Tanzania were with Kenya Airlines. At the end of this portion of our journey I am left with conflicted feelings toward them. I think you will understand as we continue this trip.
Our trip was from Johannesburg to Nairobi (2hour 40 minute layover), then on to Zanzibar. Sadly our flight was delayed out of Johannesburg and we arrived in Nairobi with just enough time to sprint through the terminal, clear security, again, and get to our gate 15 minutes before departure. Unfortunately, Kenya Airlines refused us boarding and let us stand there for 15 minutes watching our plane sit there before taxiing off and leaving us. There were over 20 very angry passengers bombarding their customer service for the next hour or so.
Having said that, the customer service lady did get us on a flight with Precision Air an hour later which got us into Zanzibar with our luggage. Happy, but still angry. Like I said, conflicted.
Then the fun really started. If you ever fly into Tanzania, especially late at night, make sure you have your visa in advance. Do Not rely on the visa on arrival program there. Fortunately the driver sent to pick us up stuck around the 90 minutes it took us to get our visa on arrival. This all followed by an hour long death defying drive up the island with a driver that was falling asleep and most vehicles not using headlights. We survived.
Now the nice part of our visit. Karen had us booked into a small boutique hotel called Gaia Villas which was a short 5 minute walk to the dive shop and the beaches. It was fantastic. The security guards were awake, aware, and polite. As well the rest of the staff were exceptional.
Unfortunately I do not have any actual diving photos of this trip because my new underwater housing for my Canon GX7 camera started leaking (camera is fine). Being a well prepared person I was able to substitute my old GoPro camera while we were diving. It however was stolen, along with the SD card, from my luggage while we were flying Kenya Airlines back to South Africa after our diving. Like I said, conflicted with Kenya Airlines.
We did eight dives there and they were all excellent. Most the time there was an ever so slight current which allowed us to hang just above the bottom at a depth of around 17 metres and float along relaxed, taking in the incredible scenery. Even when there was no coral you just had to get closer to the bottom and look for the endless number of tiny creatures living in the sand. This was the first time I truly appreciated what is called “muck” diving. It is fantastic.
As we walked through the village to go to dinner in the evening we never had any feelings of being threatened. The only irritating hawkers were the young Maasai men trying to reel in business. But a firm “No thank you” and ignoring them as you walk away seemed to work, though some would follow for 20-30 metres continuing to try. Just ignore and walk on.
The food there was excellent everywhere we ate. And despite being a heavily Muslim area there was no problem getting beer or cocktails on the beach.
After our week on Zanzibar it was time to head out and head for the next safari in Kenya.
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