So, having been completely convinced by our day of snorkelling, we decided that diving was going to be well worth the money spent, and thus we booked a days worth of diving at the in-hotel dive school
Scuba Fish, and then spent Friday evening sipping our cocktails and perusing their fish library to see if there was anything exciting that we could expect to see the next day. A little word of warning to all you dive enthusiasts out there - Zanzibar diving is AMAZING, so expect to be disappointed wherever else you go after diving there....just kidding, but seriously, it's really that good...
The whole experience was completely different to anything we had ever done before. For starters, we did two dives in one trip, with a boat break in between, where we were served fresh island fruits and snacks on board. The crew at Scuba Fish are so professional and can even boast that they have a real Masai DM! Pretty cool... Also, due to the fact that we were in Zanzibar during low season meant that there were very few people diving. Hence, Dale and I had our own DM for the dives - a private Zanzibar undersea tour! Spectacular! I wish I could put up some video footage of all the little things we saw, but I'm afraid that I might bore you to death, as we have about 100GB of underwater footage! Here's a little snippit though, just to whet your appetite a little....
The amount of marine life is incredible, but the marine flora (corals etc) were what was really impressive! If you've dived in RSA you'll know that in a lot of places the reef has been damaged and there is often dead coral and seaweed littering the seabed. This is not the case where we dived. Sure, there is a bit in some places, but the majority of the reef is teaming with fish and corals - so beautiful!
Our DM was so great, pointing out all the rare treasures such as octopus, devil firefish, and even four leaf fish on one rock! I could go on all day about the diving, but I will spare you dear reader, and just say that if you were thinking about doing your dive course and wondering where to do it, I can STRONGLY recommend Zanzibar! You will not regret the expense as I'm sure that you will find it a once-in-a-lifetime experience such as we did.
JFDI - you know you want to!
After an epic 4 hours on the water, we headed for dry land and wound our way back to the hotel via the back roads of northern Zanzibar on a rickety little bus, whilst chatting away to Frankie (the Masai DM) about his culture. Once again, the Scubafish staff were so chilled and easy to talk to, and really didn't mind answering all the typical tourist questions about their lives and culture. Once back at the hotel, we enjoyed a couples massage (yes please!) and then headed to the deck to sip on some MORE cocktails and plan the next day's activities - a trip into Stone Town and some souvenir shopping!
The next day we headed off to the Capital of Zanzibar in our own little private shuttle, where we met up with friends of ours who live there (I know... shame), Hugh and Megs. After a quick bite to eat, we took to the streets of Stone Town to explore the archways and narrow back alleys in search of coffee, Bao and other interesting exotic souvenirs. Fortunately for us we had a trump card - Megan speaks fluent Swahili, so bartering was a cinch! Watching her work was inspiring, whittling down prices and grabbing bargains left, right and centre! It was great! All this heavy bargaining quickly required a refreshments break, so we headed off to a hotel penthouse for some drinks (and beautiful aerial views of Stone Town) before making a trip to the Slave Church, and then the market, where we gathered up some fresh produce to take back to our hosts' place for some light dinner on the beach!
Sitting on the Dobree-Bell's back "lawn" watching the sunset, eating traditional Zanzibari snacks and drinking the local brew, we spent our last evening in Zanzibar contemplating our retirement to a remote tropical island one day... wouldn't that just be great?
I mean - who could complain about this view from your front lawn?!?!?!
Finally, after a full, fun day with the locals, we dragged our happily exhausted selves back to the hotel, and reluctantly prepared for an early morning departure. Our time in Zanzibar had come to an end...
What a magical place.
Dale and I were away for 7 nights - it might as well have been a whole month the way we actually felt when we got home. So relaxed and happy.
On our way to Pretoria from the airport the next day (Gautrain tourists, nerds), we met two young guys commuting home from work who summed up the experience beautifully. They took one look at us and said "you're THOSE people, aren't you?". We asked what they meant and they replied "you know, the guys that just do things, go places..." And our reply?
Why ever not??? What else are you working for?
