Hakuna Majiwe Lodge Paje

... or children were crying. Names were written on the doors in chalk. The whole time this old man is telling us how the TipTuu, the slave trader, ran his business. Finally we went to the top floor with the most amazing view of the ocean. This was our second guide's room and consisted of a mattress on the floor and an alter of random things in the center of the room. He told me that it was to ward off a ghost and our official guide told me the man was a witch ...

... Pole" the guards were shouting (Slowly, Slowly) however this fell on deaf ears. We were rammed into a bottleneck however after ten minutes of this we popped out the other side and made our way angrily onto the ferry.... In some ways the ferry was worth the wait. The ferry we were supposed to travel on all that time ago was full to the brim to the point where people were getting pushed on to fit and those that couldn't were ...

After spending a couple of days back in Stone Town, where we visited Prison Island, we decided to have a look at the east coast of Zanzibar. Bente had recommended a place called Paradise Beach Bungalows in Paje, which was owned by a Japanese woman. Again we used our favourite means of transportation - the daladala. Paje beach is a long beautiful beach with fine white sand and turquoise waters. Paje is supposed to have a bit of a party atmosphere (according ...

... ve changed and where we both want to be in the future. Great, free therapy ;) We first went off to Ngorongoro crater conservation area, which contains Olduvai Gorge where a 1.8 million year old Australopithicus boisei skull and 3.75 million year old hominid footprints have been discovered, hence the name often given to the area "the birthplace of mankind". The entire region, the Rift Valley, is geologically fascinating. I'd say ...

... tomorrow night but they were all closed as it wasn't even 9 am.. It wasn't a big deal. Chris and Allison were already well stocked with home made Mozambique rum so they said they would sell me a few bottles. I am glad I met them! I went to the beach as soon as I reached Kendwa. There are toursists everywhere. I totally do not feel like I am in Africa. I could actually be anywhere in the world right now. If it wasn't for this ...

... east coast of the main island (I forget the name of it, but NOT Pemba) in a beach area near the village of Paje. The woman who owned the place even had a driver meet me in Stone Town to drive me the 1.5 hour ride (for which I'm pretty sure they forgot to charge me!). The island is exactly what this entry's title suggests: whitest sand beaches I've ever seen, turquoise waters, and super friendly staff everywhere! There were always beach boys (no, not THEM) trying to ...

... fish amongst huge coral beds. In the evening it was back to Stone Town for a delicious meal at a restaurant just over from our apartment, along with one of the greatest surprises I've ever had, the entire restaurant staff bringing out a cake singing local birthday songs, as well as the better-known traditional favourite we all know and love! A brilliant day, a brilliant weekend! Thanks for all your messages! Lots of love, Benx

At Kendwa we stayed at Sunset Bungalows. We decided to do very little here - well, last week was fairly hectic (!) - except relax, swim, read and enjoy the delicious food at several of the beach restaurants. A few evenings we had our own candlelit table right on the beach. Dinner under the stars on a tropical beach - magical! The Rough Guide describes Kendwa as the perfect place for sampling (as the Italians say), dolce far niente - the ...

... i realised that we were in for an interesting time - that came as an epiphany when Rory, Glen and Marc all asked the general question... "what is this lever for" - pointing to the clutch or brake lever. On some vague questioning, i discovered that neither of them had EVER ridden a motorbike before...fun. So, in the spirit of things, we gave them a quick crash (being the operative word here) course, and laughed at them as they tried to negotiate the sandy track ...

... of this and farm the seaweed. They spear sticks into the ground and link them together with woven coconut rope to catch the seaweed as the sea goes out. They then sell this for TSH250 a kilo (thats roughly 10p) which is nothing! But they work so hard all day in the hot sun - it is interesting to watch them conversing in their brightly coloured kangas with their baskets and covered heads. You will be pleased to hear that we have had no more problems with drivers ...