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In Zanzibar we chose to stay in Marafiki
Bungalows in Kiwengwa, (about a 60
mins drive from the airport). A beautiful
calm resort tucked away from the hustle
bustle and calm! The owner has ensured
that he used all the local artisans and
materials giving it a wonderful
traditional Zanzibar like cottage feel.

The in house restaurant has extremely
affordable menus; this made it really
easy for us ‘cause we didn’t have to go
looking for cheaper food options/carry
loads of packaged food. In fact, on the
day we had to leave really early for our
dolphin tour, our host offered to arrange
for us a picnic with the most amazing
chicken sandwiches, muffins and fresh
cut fruits. Such is the hospitality of the
Zanzibari’s and Marifiki Bungalows in
particular!
 
Marafiki Bungalows
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We went to this forest trail at around 11
AM after the ‘Swim with dolphins’
activity.

The Forest trail has three sections
The Monkey viewing - Where the guide
shows two to three types of monkeys
and also some other various birds and
insects

The Forest Trees - the guide walks you
through the forest and introduces
various kind of trees, its uses and the
natural habitat in and around the forest.

The mangroves - they have a long
bridge to walk which has mangroves all
around it. You will also see a lot of crabs
in this place.

Our kids loved the experience.
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ROCK RESTAURANT
Rock Restaurant, a one of a kind
restaurant formed on a single rock.
When you google it you will see it is
perched atop a rock and covered with
water all over. Honestly though, I found
it quite far away from our hotel and the
chances are quite high that you may
miss it during the high tide, which is
when it has that special appeal, else it’s
so ordinary you’ll regret taking time to
come here!! A fine dining, but food was
very ordinary for the price.
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This tour is a walking tour and the kids
absolutely loved it. We know the spices
that we use at home....and it actually felt
great to see them in its rawest, natural
form and understand the know-hows.
We got the opportunity to take the kids
to see the farms / fruit picking or just
enjoying the nature in its abundance
and I’m guessing even city people would
resonate here with us.
It was an amazing experience to just
walk through with the eager, interested
and knowledgeable guide who patiently
walked us through each and every spice,
the plants, the roots and the trees.
We touched , smelled and felt the
texture of everything from Cocoa bean,
cotton pods, turmeric roots, vanilla
beans, Zanzibar’s very own famous all
spice to the most interesting of all was
the Iodine drops from the bark
(medicine for all cuts and bruises).
THE SPICE FARM TOUR
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Our tour organizer, arranged an
affordable and fabulous day here.
Snorkeling with our very own boat and
our awesome local sea-diver Rashid took
us to quite a few spots and we spent
almost 2 and a half hours snorkeling.
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After lunch, We went to swim with the
turtles and what a great experience to
swim alongside turtles of all shapes
and sizes. The water looks a bit mossy
and grey-green, but it’s formed in a
cave-like structure where the sea water
seeps in and out , and I was told it is
clean as it gets flushed in and out to
the sea.

Mind you, we did not have any health
problems after the swim though I had
instructed my kids to NOT drink in
any water whilst swimming as far as
possible.

A very different adventure for the
kids.
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At Nungwi, we enjoyed a relaxing few
hours watching the sunset. The kids just
lazed on the beach, whilst we adults, had
the perfect opportune to indulge to
spend some romantic time with each
other. Here there are loadssssss of shops
with the most beautiful paintings, hand
painted beach towels, keychains and
other souvenirs.
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STONE TOWN
Located in the city; we did this on the
day we were departing from Zanzibar.
This is en route the airport and since we
had engaged a car we had the luxury to
do this on the morning after our
checkout. It takes about 3 hours to see
and thoroughly enjoy the stone town.
Stone town is a crowded place so be
aware of your luggage and go with your
trusted guide. Here, you can really see
the different influences Zanzibar had
gone through; The English; the Omanis;
the Indian business conglomerates. The
paintings that line each and every shops
are stunning to say the least and you can
spend hours just gazing at them. The
shops along the stone town make such a
grand colorful photo op.
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CREATED BY

A banker by profession and a photographer by passion. Fitness is my life, Father to two cute kids and Husband to a beautiful wife. Any kind of Music is good and I absolutely love Bollywood. Born in Mumbai but now settled in Dubai.

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