The veranda of the beach house we stay at when we visit the Tanzanian coast .... it has views out over the Indian Ocean, & Zanzibar island is visible on a clear dayBy the time you read this, I’ll have left the cool, lush foothills of Kilimanjaro for the white hot, sun drenched shores of the Indian Ocean – as we’re off to a beach house on a fairly remote part of Tanzania’s beautiful coastline for a few days of R & R ! (I’ll still have blog posts publishing every day whilst I’m away though).
The trip to the coast is an adventure in itself …. we’ll drive for the better part of the day through vastly changing scenery …. unexplored mountain ranges and sisal plantations stretching as far as the eye can see … we’ll stop for a roadside picnic lunch, buy pockets of oranges and buckets of mango’s from children standing alongside the hot, steaming tarmac, and we’ll know that we’re nearing the coast when we feel the hot, humid, stifling coastal air filling our lungs & see the tops of the coconut palms swaying gently in the ocean breeze …. and when the style of the local homes changes … these huts are built foremost for coolness as the heat in this part of the country is quite unbelievable.
Once the tarmac ends we’ll bump along a potholed dirt road until we reach the vibrant coastal village of Pangani, where we will wait for the dilapidated old ferry to take us, our belongings and our vehicle across the Pangani River to the other side. The tricky part here is that the ferry only has one engine. Which means that we can only cross at low tide, else risk being swept into the ocean.
If we arrive too late / too early / at high tide then we’ll have to find an askari (guard), leave our car in the village for the night and take as much as we can (think coolerboxes, baskets of fruit & vegetables, medicines and everything imaginable that you’d need for a few days where shops etc are almost non existent) & hire a traditional dhow fishing boat to take us across the Pangani river (this has happened to us before !) … in which case, each passenger is also provided with a small plastic container, so as to scoop the water out of the boat to prevent it from sinking as we row across (this too, has happened to us before !)
Once we reach the other side, another bumpy road trip will eventually bring us to the beach house …. our reward will be this beautiful, cool, coastal house which will be our home for the next few days, along with it’s own strip of private beach. Oh, and not to mention a view of Zanzibar island on a clear day. And the use of our own motorized dhow fishing boat (“The Black Pearl”) where hopefully my Dad and husband will catch us a few fish for supper ….. as my Mum, daughter and I laze under the coconut trees on the powdery white sand …. or sit immersed in books and crossword puzzles on the veranda of the house (pictured above) which has views out over the Indian ocean …..
Of course it goes without saying that I’ll be taking lots of photo’s of our trip so that I can share with you all our adventures once I return. (For a brief couple of days before we’re off somewhere else again – but more about that soon !) I can’t wait to show you another part of this amazingly diverse country - to give you a peek into another part of life here, and to try and pass on a little of the passion that I feel for my beautiful adopted country of Tanzania – because I know that you’ll love this part of her, as much as I do !
The trip to the coast is an adventure in itself …. we’ll drive for the better part of the day through vastly changing scenery …. unexplored mountain ranges and sisal plantations stretching as far as the eye can see … we’ll stop for a roadside picnic lunch, buy pockets of oranges and buckets of mango’s from children standing alongside the hot, steaming tarmac, and we’ll know that we’re nearing the coast when we feel the hot, humid, stifling coastal air filling our lungs & see the tops of the coconut palms swaying gently in the ocean breeze …. and when the style of the local homes changes … these huts are built foremost for coolness as the heat in this part of the country is quite unbelievable.
Once the tarmac ends we’ll bump along a potholed dirt road until we reach the vibrant coastal village of Pangani, where we will wait for the dilapidated old ferry to take us, our belongings and our vehicle across the Pangani River to the other side. The tricky part here is that the ferry only has one engine. Which means that we can only cross at low tide, else risk being swept into the ocean.
If we arrive too late / too early / at high tide then we’ll have to find an askari (guard), leave our car in the village for the night and take as much as we can (think coolerboxes, baskets of fruit & vegetables, medicines and everything imaginable that you’d need for a few days where shops etc are almost non existent) & hire a traditional dhow fishing boat to take us across the Pangani river (this has happened to us before !) … in which case, each passenger is also provided with a small plastic container, so as to scoop the water out of the boat to prevent it from sinking as we row across (this too, has happened to us before !)
Once we reach the other side, another bumpy road trip will eventually bring us to the beach house …. our reward will be this beautiful, cool, coastal house which will be our home for the next few days, along with it’s own strip of private beach. Oh, and not to mention a view of Zanzibar island on a clear day. And the use of our own motorized dhow fishing boat (“The Black Pearl”) where hopefully my Dad and husband will catch us a few fish for supper ….. as my Mum, daughter and I laze under the coconut trees on the powdery white sand …. or sit immersed in books and crossword puzzles on the veranda of the house (pictured above) which has views out over the Indian ocean …..
Of course it goes without saying that I’ll be taking lots of photo’s of our trip so that I can share with you all our adventures once I return. (For a brief couple of days before we’re off somewhere else again – but more about that soon !) I can’t wait to show you another part of this amazingly diverse country - to give you a peek into another part of life here, and to try and pass on a little of the passion that I feel for my beautiful adopted country of Tanzania – because I know that you’ll love this part of her, as much as I do !
