31st Oct - 3rd Nov 2020
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| Beachfront at Nungwi |
It was a 1hr 20min taxi ride from Stone Town to Nungwi beach on the north tip of the island. The roads were surprisingly good and the taxi (a small minibus) was comfortable and well driven. I had armed myself with the Swahili phrase "pole pole" which means "slowly slowly" but it was never needed. Nungwi is a popular tourist resort although a bit depleted in these strange Covid obsessed (in the West) times.
I had, on spec, booked myself in to an inexpensive small hotel called Babalao which is a short walk from the beach. It is owned and run by a charming Turkish gentleman called Ahmed and he, and his staff (Pendo and Veronica amongst others) were incredibly welcoming and helpful. After checking in the first thing that I was treated to was a conducted tour, by Pendo, of all the beachside eateries and facilities. Very thoughtful and useful. Ahmed told me that he had been involved in some busines in Turkey, came here on holiday about a year ago and liked the place so much he decided to move here and invest in this hotel, which he is expanding. Hard work, he told me, but very rewarding (despite relative lack of tourists this year). It was a great place to stay.
Left: The beach features several bars and restaurants. There is no shortage of decent food and drink on offer, plus many sea-going entertainments ie. boat trips, snorkelling, diving etc. ( I don't do diving).
The sea is most inviting; warm, crystal clear and the colour of light turquoise. Being 'solo' I have always have a problem when I want to go swimming. Where to leave your money, camera and other possessions safely as you take your dip? I remember when on a beach in Phuket, Thailand, I decided to put all my kit in a plastic bag, bury it in a hole in the sand, cover it with a towel and make sure I carefully marked where it was. I had a fear that someone would move the towel, or my markers might not be correct, and I would spend the rest of the day digging up the beach in fruitless search. So far so good.
Right: A lady selling beachside refreshments. I was advised by Ahmed to avoid these as they sometimes had a rather unwelcome effect on one's stomach.
When the tide is out you can walk everywhere along the beach. When in, you have to take a parallel back road (or wade/swim). The tide changes every six hours or so....and I have been reminded that "enny fule noes that", but these are big tides.
There is market area with various shops and small supermarket. Only for the interest of my home town readers (if any) there is a shop there called 'M&P' which is, in our town, a much respected hardware store. The owner wasn't aware she had a branch here!
Right: Several of these dhows cruised up and down with loud music playing and people dancing on the roof. I eagerly awaited, in vain, for someone to fall overboard.
Left: A local Massai with earphones and trendy dark glasses.
Right: An amusing notice in front of one of the restaurants. If you 'click on' you should be able to enlarge and read.
Left: I was wondering what this horse was doing in the water........
......later with a rider on board. They went off out into the sea up to the saddle! Seahorses?
.....until I discovered there was a riding stable behind the beach offering horse rides.
I had a good wander around the stables which accommodated about 10 horses, mostly of this 'spotty' variety, with names such as 'Last Eagle' and 'Geronimo". The stables and tack were impressively clean and tidy with well turned out stable hands (and horses).
Left: A beachside evening barbeque and music around the campfire. There is a band in the background. Both locals and tourists joined in for a jolly (nota bene Bernie) party.
Right: A very decent bar/restaurant I frequented, 'The Istanbul'. Excellent seafood. It was recommended to me by Ahmed and was owned by, what a coincidence, a Turkish friend of his who had arrived, and stayed, here in similar circumstances.
Left: The resident cat in the Babalao hotel.
I remarked on the fact that cats, for some unknown reason, are popular and prolific, in Turkey and Zanzibar. Not sure why.
While here I was introduced to a drink called Konyagi (right). It is a Tanzanian concoction made from sugarcane and therefore, I presume, similar to a white rum. I tasted it and it is rather good! 35% proof, slightly sweet and with quite a kick but very palatable. Good with soda.
I spent three happy nights here and had a very relaxing and pleasant time doing nothing very exciting; just some arduous lounging around and on the beach. There were quite a few tourists about the place, mostly Russian and Eastern European from what I saw, although the guests in the Babalao ( a couple of whom I got to chat to) were French and Swiss (I think). Can't think why more Brits hadn't sussed this place out as an escape from the draconian 'lockdown' regime in UK; but that is not my problem.
I attach below some more photos of the beach.
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