Ruaha and Zanzibar - September / October 2014

[FlyTraveler]

What a great shot of the Ground Hornbill in flight at post # 393. Haven't managed that one myself yet. Thanks for sharing this great report.

 

Well, they rarely fly, don't they? Thanks for the attention!

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Msembe airstrip.

At the airstrip unlike many other landing strips at various parks and reserves in Africa, there are a few some sort of solid structures. One of them is the office where visitors pay their park fees after landing. The tariffs are clearly displayed and only credit card payments are accepted in order to avoid corruption:

 

 

 

There were a couple of almost new (built in 2013) Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft at the airstrip. I got the impression that they were permanently stationed there. Looked at the registration, but it only showed that they were property of an US aircraft leasing company, didn't show the operator. We have flown on the Cessna 208 multiple times in Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana and were actually about to board just a slightly older model (without the glass cockpit - CRT displays):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. FlyTraveler at the airstrip with a breeding herd of elephants in the background. This isn't the usual airport setting, is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waiting area - two gazebos provide everything needed - a shade from the sun and shelter when raining:

 

 

 

Our great guide and a good friend Alphonce Kihwele tightening the bolts of the wheels before his trip back to Iringa:

 

 

 

The combination of the airstrip, the planes and the scenery looked absolutely stunning to me. Pretty much everything that I loved at the same place.

 

 

 

Our plane (Safari Air Link Cessna 208) moments after touchdown at Msembe airstrip:

Edited August 4, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Flight from Msembe airstrip to Jongomero airstrip..

I believe that I mentioned in my previous post (did I?) that we were about to fly from Ruaha National Park to Zanzibar with Safari Air Link - a small airline owned by Foxes Camps and providing air transportation between Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and various safari parks and reserves in Tanzania. The usual route from Ruaha NP to Zanzibar would include one or two "stops" in Selous Game Reserve and change of planes in Dar es Salaam. Seeing and photographing Selous GR from the air was also part of the appeal of this flight, otherwise we could have driven for free with our guide to Iringa and catch much cheaper flight to Dar from there with Auric Air.

We were quite disappointed to hear from the pilot that we were not going to Selous at all and landing at Mikumi National Park instead - a park that I had no interest in. The small compensation was that we were going to land at Rus Kutani - a resort at the shore of the Indian Ocean and were not changing planes all the way to our destination - Zanzibar. The big compensation was that we were going to have a 15 minutes flight over Ruaha NP and land at the second airstrip there - Jongomero Safari Camp to pick up passengers.

The plane was a single engine Cessna 208 (the older version with analog instruments) with one young pilot who seemed to be of East Indian origin.

For the first leg of the trip (Msembe to Jongomero airstrips) we were just three passengers (my wife, I and an elderly French guy who didn't speak a word English) in a twelve seater plane, so we could choose among many seats, I even switched seats from the left to the right side of the plane a few times, depending on the scenery.

 

Mrs. FlyTraveler onboard the Cessna 208 at Msembe airstrip:

 

 

The better-to-do folks fly in and out of Ruaha National Park on private flights onboard the twice faster Pilatus PC-12 aircraft (I remember at least three Safaritalkers who have flown to and out of Ruaha NP on that plane). One of those landed after our Cessna, boarded just three pax - a mother with two small kids and took off immediately. Useless to mention that these are point-to-point flights.

 

Pilatus PC-12 taxing for take off from Msembe airstrip:

 

 

 

We followed the Pilatus in a few minutes:

 

 

I was so excited about the take off from Ruaha, that I forgot to change my photo camera setting (I was shooting interior photos of the plane at quite a slow shutter speed) and some of the first aerial photos came out a bit blurred.

Needless to mention that the view of Ruaha NP from the air was nothing short of stunning. We flew towards Jongomero airstrip at a low altitude following Ruaha River.

At the height of the dry season Ruaha is a true semi-desert environment and colors range from various nuances of yellow to kind of red-ish. Greens could be seen only along the riverbed.

 

 

 

There is a Masai giraffe right in the middle of the riverbed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Ruaha River (not so great at the end of the dry season):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crossing Ruaha River just moments before landing at the airstrip of Jongomero Camp:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The TANAPA (Tanzanian National Parks Authority) building with the park taxes displaces:

 

 

 

 

A guide and a vehicle from Jongomero Safari Camp:

 

Edited August 8, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[AfricIan]

Thoroughly enjoying this @@FlyTraveler – keep it coming.

As one of those who’ve been one of the “better-to-do folks”, I’d like to correct a misconception – Coastal’s Pilatus is (well certainly was last year) a scheduled service from Dar to Arusha via Ruaha and it’s pot luck whether you are allocated to the direct Pilatus or the Caravan via Selous, return trip is always in the Caravan. I definitely wouldn’t include us in the “better-to-do” category!!

Jongomero’s “terminal buildings” have had a major upgrade since our visit back in 2009!

Terminal One at Jongomero

[Atravelynn]

Your aerials look good to me, whatever settings you used. Beautiful day for flying.

[FlyTraveler]

 

As one of those who’ve been one of the “better-to-do folks”, I’d like to correct a misconception – Coastal’s Pilatus is (well certainly was last year) a scheduled service from Dar to Arusha via Ruaha and it’s pot luck whether you are allocated to the direct Pilatus or the Caravan via Selous, return trip is always in the Caravan. I definitely wouldn’t include us in the “better-to-do” category!!

 

 

I am sorry for my misconception regarding the airplane models used for flights to/from Ruaha NP, Ian.

 

I like your Jongomero airstrip terminal photo!

 

Cheers!

[FlyTraveler]

Your aerials look good to me, whatever settings you used. Beautiful day for flying.

 

Indeed, It was a great day for flying, Lynn. I have published only the better photos, you have not seen the others

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Safari Air Link Flight from Jongomero airstrip in Ruaha NP to Mikumi NP

 

After picking up several passengers from Jongomero airstrip we took off for Mikumi National Park crossing Ruaha River for a last time. There were still several minutes flight over Ruaha NP left, so we enjoyed the scenery and I took some more aerial photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we left the park, we flew over some hills and mountains. The landscape was still extremely dry - kind of semi-desert scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These look a bit like the fairy circles at NamibRand Nature Reserve in the Namib desert:

 

 

 

 

 

Landing at the airstrip of Mikumi National Park:

 

 

 

Taking off from the airstrip in Mikumi NP:

 

 

Edited August 30, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@FlyTraveler

 

The aerial photographs are delightful!

I'm so glad that you posted them, as the landscape you saw is fascinating.

Intriguing details in each photograph, reminding how interesting and unknown much of the planet remains.

Thank you!

Tom K.

[Marks]

Your aerial photos are always a delight, and these are no exception!

[FlyTraveler]

Your aerial photos are always a delight, and these are no exception!

 

Thanks Marks, I enjoy very much the views from airplanes and helicopters and always try to take photos.

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Safari Air Link Flight from Mikumi NP to Ras Kutani.

After taking off from Mikumi National Park we flew to Ras Kutani - a beautiful mini-resort at the shore of the Indian Ocean. I wouldn't describe the scenery during this flight as breathtaking, so I will jump directly to the landing at the airstrip of Ras Kutani.

Suddenly the shore of the Indian Ocean and the airstrip of Ras Kutani appeared in front of us:

 

 

 

 

 

The pilot made a nice sharp turn over the beach and the ocean before landing, thus giving me the opportunity to take some beautiful photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moments before touch down at the Ras Kutani airstrip:

 

 

 

We stayed at Ras Kutani airstrip for just a few minutes while "unloading" several passengers, but I managed to take a few photos of the surroundings. Here is a vehicle of the Ras Kutan lodge waiting for the guests, note the concrete ramp. I am sure that there is a similar one at the lodge, but what do they do if guests need to get on and off somewhere else?

 

 

 

I was curious about the locals, so were they about the plane:

 

Edited August 30, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[AfricIan]

Ras Kutani is indeed stunning. We had a few days there at the end of our 2009 trip & it was a wonderful place to finish up. In answer to @@FlyTraveler question about the “concrete ramp” – if you arrive by air then all the Land Rover does to take you from the airstrip down to the lagoon you can see in photos 2 & 3, you are then “rowed across” the lagoon to the landing stage in the middle of photo 3. We had a road transfer so missed out on both the view from above and being ferried across the lagoon but then you can’t win ‘em all!

Our verandah - seats, cold Stoney Tangawizi, hammock & a view straight out over the beach to the Indian Ocean. Idyllic

View from off our verandah

Sunset and 2km of beach to ourselves

ps if this decadence appears to contradict my previous assertion that I definitely wouldn’t include us in the “better-to-do” category!!, I hasten to add that the whole trip was a relatively late booking at a time when, due to the financial crash, wholesale cancellations were the order of the day and we got a stupendous discount – at “standard pricing” it would have been way way out of our league.

[FlyTraveler]

 

Ras Kutani is indeed stunning. We had a few days there at the end of our 2009 trip & it was a wonderful place to finish up. In answer to @@FlyTraveler question about the “concrete ramp” – if you arrive by air then all the Land Rover does to take you from the airstrip down to the lagoon you can see in photos 2 & 3, you are then “rowed across” the lagoon to the landing stage in the middle of photo 3. We had a road transfer so missed out on both the view from above and being ferried across the lagoon but then you can’t win ‘em all!

ps if this decadence appears to contradict my previous assertion that I definitely wouldn’t include us in the “better-to-do” category!!, I hasten to add that the whole trip was a relatively late booking at a time when, due to the financial crash, wholesale cancellations were the order of the day and we got a stupendous discount – at “standard pricing” it would have been way way out of our league.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your Ras Kutani experience and photos here, Ian! All this decadence looks great and once again, I am sorry for the impression that I am trying to place you in some sort of category, I would have edited my post if a could.

 

Cheers!

[AfricIan]

No need for any apologies or edits @@FlyTraveler. I've really not taken any offence nor do I think you've categorised me in any way - If anything, it's me that shouldn't get so "picky". I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip & photo's and looking forward to Zanzibar so keep it coming.

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Safari Air Link Flight from Ras Kutani to Zanzibar.

We stayed at Ras Kutani airstrip for just a few minutes, than took of for our last (fourth) leg of the flight to Zanzibar.

Here is the airstrip "terminal" with the concrete ramp photographed from the air:

 

 

This looks like some rocky part of the resort (Ras Kutani):




I guess this is the long beach that @Africlan was writing about:

 

 

After about 15-20 minutes flight over the Indian Ocean we reached the shores of the island of Zanzibar. At the initial phase of the landing it was hard to take photos against the sun. Aerial view of traditional dhow boats:

 

 

 

 

 

An aerial view of Zanzibar Town. Shangani (Stone Town) is just the historical town-center:

 

 

 

 

Large gathering of people, perhaps at a market:

 

 

 

 

The pilot's view of the runway during landing - the first tar runway for the day:

 

 

 

For more aerial photos taken during our Ras Kutani to Zanzibar flight, you can visit my Travel Photography Blog

Edited September 2, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[AfricIan]

Looks very much like it @@FlyTraveler, especially if that’s the Ras Kutani lagoon on the far left. As well as the long beach of perfect sand, back in 2009 there was a wrecked dhow just off the beach, both that & the reef were easy to snorkel, especially at low tide. What I really liked about the beach at Ras Kutani was that you could swim off it at all times of the day, high or low tide.

[Tom Kellie]

Oct. 05, 2014. Safari Air Link Flight from Ras Kutani to Zanzibar.

We stayed at Ras Kutani airstrip for just a few minutes, than took of for our last (fourth) leg of the flight to Zanzibar.

 

~ @@FlyTraveler

 

The only flying I've ever done in Africa has been between Arabian Peninsula gateway airports and Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Seeing your aerial photos of the flight to Zanzibar is thrilling!

The detail and clarity in each image reminds me of my teenage years when I'd pour over National Geographic magazine photos, seeking out every small feature.

The fourth image, showing dhows with outriggers, has a lovely decorative quality, with shades of green and a pleasing distribution of the vessels.

The close spacing of the structures suggests tightly-knit neighborhoods.

Really appreciate this posting, as it's an experience unlike anything I've done apart from flights between the Hawaiian Islands and along Alaska's Aleutian Range.

Thank you!

Tom K.

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 05, 2014. Stone Town (Shangani), Zanzibar.

After our arrival at Abeid Amani Karume airport in Zanzibar we collected our luggage next to the plane right on the tarmac (this is one of the advantages of flying small single engine planes) and since this was a domestic flight and we didn't have to pass immigration, we reached the arrivals hall in about 5 minutes. Our driver was already waiting for us, holding a sign with my name. I've had arranged a car rental for 24 hours + a local driver. The additional cost for the driver wasn't very high and considering the corrupted traffic police on the island, I believe that we even saved money by hiring a driver. There were other benefits such as not having to deal with traffic issues or getting lost and being able to take photos instead of driving. Not mentioning that there would be no arguments in case of an accident, theft or some sort of damage or malfunction of the car.

 

We also didn't have to hire a taxi from the airport to Stone Town. About a month before our departure for Tanzania I got in touch with several car hire agencies and the best offer came from Zanzibar Express Car Hire. After exchange of a few emails "Miss Eva" offered me a a great price and a "free upgrade" from the equivalent of Suzuki Vitara/Sidekick (models from the 1990-s) to some sort of Toyota minivan. We would use the car for the transfer to the hotel, than let the driver go for the night and on the next day drive to the northern beaches (Nungwi, Kendwa and Matemwe) and back to Stone Town. We were pleasantly surprised that we were upgraded to Toyota Land Cruiser Prado without any extra charge. The driver was a young boy, perhaps in his early twenties and the payment went "straight forward" without any formalities such as rental contract, paperwork etc. The guy made a phone call to "the office" and money changed hands. For some reason I trusted these people and as you will see later, everything went smoothly like a Swiss watch.

The rental car and our driver:

 

 

 

Shangani - on the way from the airport to Al Minar Hotel:

 

 

 

 

 

The Old Dispensary in Stone Town:

 

 

 

Beit el Ajaib national museum (House of Wonders):

 

 

 

Ngome Kongwe - The Old Fort of Zanzibar:

 

 

 

 

 

Al Minar Hotel in Stone Town (the building on the left):

 

 

 

 

 

A sunset in Stone Town (photo taken by Mrs. FlyTraveler):

 

 

 

Later in the evening we headed out to experience the nightlife of Stone Town, blend with the crowds and have something to eat. There were some holidays (either national or religious) and the town was overcrowded, mostly with local people. A totally different from the serenity of Ruaha National Park experience . A tout found us on the street and took us to a street stall where we purchased lobster and octopus (cooked on the spot) and most likely he got a commission. The guy was quite interesting and we had a pretty good time talking to him, so we didn`t mind this. We spent more time with him on the following day, but I will write about that when I get there.

 

 

You can find more photos from this day in Stone Town on my Travel Blog

 

Edited September 10, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 06, 2014. On the road from Shangani (Stone Town) to Nungwi, Zanzibar.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we had a car rental with a local driver for this day (up to 17:00 h.) for that day. The plan was to visit the Northern beaches of Nungwi, Kendwa and Matemwe on the North-East coast of the island. The weather forecast was for a rainy day, but we still were hoping to get on a boat from Matemwe to Mnemba Island and do some snorkeling if weather turned sunny.

First we had an early breakfast on the rooftop terrace of Al Minar Hotel. Just a few words about the hotel - nothing short of fabulous, everything one would need for more than reasonably priced accommodation in the heart of historical Shangani. I am not sure if the building is new or a restored old one, but it follows the trend for Stone Town hotel - the look and feel is of an old traditional merchant house with elegantly appointed rooms and common areas and with the mandatory for Shangani rooftop terrace with a restaurant. The rooms are clean and equipped with a well working air-condition, en-suite bathroom and mosquito net over the bed.

A view from the rooftop terrace:

 

 

 

Our driver (the boy who drove us from the airport to the hotel on the previous day) was waiting for us in front of the hotel just to introduce us to our "new driver" - an older guy. We didn't mind the change, the man was very nice, spoke a good English and new the island inside-out. Did I mention that we got upgraded from the local equivalent of Suzuki Vitara (Sidekick) to Toyota Land Cruiser without any additional charges, so there was plenty of space on the back seat.

 

On the image below you can see a local mode of public transportation called Dala-dala, which is essentially a truck fitted with seats. It is a very inexpensive way to move around the island and get close to the locals. When I write close, I mean really close - the trucks get terribly overcrowded to an extend that comfort becomes even a lesser concern than safety.

 

 

 

This one looks still invitingly empty, but it will not stay like this for long:

 

 

 

I would like to point out that most of the photos are taken while the Land Cruiser was moving with about 70 km/h. I have developed and mastered a special shooting technique for such cases - on top of high shutter speed settings of the camera, I would make a sharp and fast jerky motion with the camera in opposite of our movement direction while pressing the shutter. The shot must be taken after that motion has started and before it was over (something like a very quick and short panning), thus cancelling the effect of the moving vehicle. Framing and composing become a lot more difficult though and quite a lot of practice is required before starting to get satisfactory results. One must also sit on the left side of the vehicle in order to apply successfully this technique.

 

Local women waiting for Dala-dala:

 

 

 

A workshop for the famous Zanzibar front doors:

 

 

 

Most of the photos below do not need any caption - just shots of local life taken during our trip from Stone Town to Nungwi:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dala-dala sequence. The atmosphere inside is becoming increasingly more intimate:

 

 

 

 

 

The landscape is lush green - a complete contrast to the arid areas of Central Tanzania:

 

 

 

Watching life going by:

 

 

 

You can find more photos from this day on my Travel Blog

 

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 06, 2014. On the road from Shangani (Stone Town) to Nungwi, Zanzibar.

Playing hide and seek:

 

 

 

 

 

This is either a school or some extended family:

 

 

 

Neighbor's gossip is a favorite activity anywhere in the world:

 

 

 

The men's version of "hanging out":

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again the favorite pass-time of the locals - watching life (and vehicles) going by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best ways for taking photos of local women is from a moving vehicle - they do not have time to cover up, in most cases they don't even know that they have been photographed:

 

 

 

 

You can find more photos from this day on my Travel Blog

 

 

Edited September 10, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Back to this epic report after 21 days in South Africa and Lesotho. Will try to complete this trip report before I start the next one.

 

Oct. 06, 2014. Nungwi, Zanzibar.

Nungwi is one of the Zanzibar's Northern beaches (the other being Kendwa) where the tides are not as big as on the Eastern beaches thus it is possible to swim at any time of the day. This, on the other hand has lead to heavier development, a lot more tourists and a overall tropical-beach-anywhere-in-the-world look of the place. Nevertheless both Nungwi and Kendwa are also (still) real local villages and fabulous local life scenes can be observed and photographed a bit aside from the hotels.

We asked our driver to leave us at the beach in front of the local village and to wait for us there. It was still relatively early in the morning and we had plenty of time left to wonder around at our own pace. Unfortunately the weather forecast proved to be correct and clouds and rain were on the menu for the day. The good side of this was that we saw Nungwi, Kendwa and Matemwe literally in a different light and with a lot less tourists on the beach.

The first thing that drew our attention was some cattle on the beach. I have seen such photo of Zanzibar on the Internet, but have never experienced such a thing before, neither in the Caribbean, nor in South-East Asia. Well, I remember seeing camels on the beach in Aqaba, Jordan, but this is another story.

The cattle on the beach in combination with the traditional dhow boats made a great local life scene:

 

 

 

Locals going after their daily routine. Here I couldn't quite understand whether the kids were just playing with this rug or the activity had some other purpose:

 

 

 

Here come the beach girls, bikinis are not an option:

 

 

 

These guys were fixing (scraping) the dhow by lighting up some grass or seaweed and using the fire to dry the wet hull of the boat.

 

 

 

These two local boys were quite happy to pose for photos:

 

 

 

 

 

After the photo session with our adorable models we headed to the touristic zone of Nungwi and more precisely to Langi Langi Hotel:

 

 

 

 

After visiting the touristic zone, we felt that we had seen enough of Nungwi and returned to the car. Our driver was waiting for us and we headed for our next destination - the other Northern beach - Kendwa.

 

For more photos from Nungwi, you can visit my blog for Travel Photography here

Edited October 20, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 06, 2014. Kendwa, Zanzibar.

After Nungwi we headed to the other Northern Beach in Zanzibar - Kendwa. It was already raining quite a bit, so our driver stopped in front of a big resort and we just went to the beach in front of it. We spent most of our time there hidden from the rain under a thatched sunshade.

 

 

 

The name of the catamaran implies the strong Italian presence in that part of Zanzibar:

 

 

 

The beach of Kendwa under the rain:

 

 

 

In general this was kind of anywhere in the world-tropical beach, too developed and touristy for our taste and we decided to move on.

 

For more photos from Kendwa, you can visit my blog for Travel Photography here

 

Oct. 06, 2014. Matemwe, Zanzibar.

After spending about 40 minutes under the rain at the beach in Kendwa, we drove to our next target - the beach of Matemwe. This is the closest beach to Mnemba Island and the idea was to take a boat for a snorkeling trip around Mnemba (the island is exclusive to the guests of the guests of the extremely expensive andBeyond lodge which is the only property there, day visitors are not allowed to step ashore) if the clouds cleared up. The weather however stayed cloudy occasional light rains, so we just spent about an hour on the beach, enjoying the beautiful views and taking photos.

This was the first typical for the East Coast of Zanzibar beaches the we saw - huge coastline with tall coconut palm trees for as far as the eye can see. Due to the weather conditions, there were hardly any people on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dhow boat with Mnemba Island in the background:

 

 

 

Group of locals walking on the beach:

 

 

Apart from the cloudy weather and not being able to snorkel around Mnemba Island, we had a great time visiting Nungwi, Kendwa and Matemwe and had completely fulfilled the plan for the day. We were in Shangani right on time (we had to let the driver go at 17:00 h.) and spent the rest of the day and the evening wondering around town.

 

For more photos from Matemwe, you can visit my blog for Travel Photography here

Edited October 20, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 06, 2014. Stone Town, Zanzibar.

After transiting through Zanzibar City we finally entered Stone Town. The Anglican Christ Church Cathedral (the former slave market site):

 

 

The Old Dispensary:

 

 

The sign reads ""Dhow Countries Music Academy". Later on we attended this traditional Taarab music concert and enjoyed it very much:

 

 

 

The Roman Catholic cathedral of St. Joseph:

 

 

 

Scenes from the old town:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another model in front of a traditional for Stone Town door:

 

 

 

 

For more photos from Stone Town, you can visit my blog for Travel Photography here and here

Edited October 20, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 07, 2014. Transfer from Stone Town to Jambiani, Zanzibar.

As I mentioned in my previous post, our initial plan was to spend the first half of the day in Stone Town and perhaps visit some museums - House of Wonders etc. We had an arrangement for a car transfer to Jambiani at noon, checked out at Al Minar hotel, left our luggage at the reception desk and started our walk in the narrow streets of Shangani. For some reason fifteen minutes later both of us felt like spending the entire day in Jambiani, returned to the hotel, phoned the transfer person and asked if we could go to Jambiani right away. The guy didn't have a problem with that so in 10 minutes we were on our way.

We had a different driver from the one we spent the previous day with and instead of the Land Cruiser we had an older Toyota Corolla sedan car, but nevertheless the transfer was quite pleasant and I was able to take some photos during the hour and a half long drive.

First we drove through Zanzibar City where most of the local population lives:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local beauty on the road from Stone Town to Jambiani:

 

 

 

Dala-dala with a bike on the roof:

 

 

At certain point we were out in the country, but on both sides of the road there were still small villages or just groups of houses:

 

 

 

Kite surfing is quite popular in Zanzibar, mostly on the beach of Paje:

 

 

 

For more photos from the transfer from Stone Town to Jambiani, you can visit my blog for Travel Photography here