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Gemma Hoft

Joined June 2020 Message
  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day89

    Tanzania Day 49 - Paje

     October 22 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Feeling fresh from our early night we were up early, packed and ready to get our taxi down to Paje. The next stop (and the one after Jambiani) have been the ones I have looked forward to most as the kite surfing and diving scene makes them busier with tourists and giving us more to do!

    Our hotel room was cheap and modest but plenty nice enough for us, more importantly it back on the beach which is essentially the main road in terms of people, bar, restaurants etc. After some exploring we settled on 'Bounty' for lunch which was a lovely french run restaurant serving fresh fish!

    After some relaxing we scanned the beach further and for dinner had burgers at B4 - which had lots of veggie/vegan options so great for Gem and the burgers were easily the best we've had in zanzibar! It was early as we walked home so most places were still not busy so we finished the night with a game of cards in our room... 18-10 now to gem....    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day88

    Tanzania Day 48 - Michamve Kae

     October 21 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We woke up this morning for a breakfast and one of the four really nice guys that worked there had accidently given us sachets of Cockroach Killer instead of coffee!! Luckily Gem noticed and went for a Ginger Tea instead....

    After a quiet day relaxing in our room we came out for lunch around 2ish and were greeted with a worried looking waitor who must have apologised around 20 times when he realised his mistake from breakfast. We of course told him it was no problem and joked with him about it but as we had been in our room all day he genuinely thought he had poisoned us and we felt bad!

    This evening we were booked on a sunset paddeboard through the mamgroves! As the far weaker paddle boarder I, for some unknown reason, was responsible for the valuables bag and inevitably feel in drenching everything! Luckily gem's phone is waterproof but mine could not be saved... Lesson learned as the complety dry gem stepped off her board at the end of the trip....

    The boarding itself was great, although they didn't mention the fact we to go through a choppy/windy sea to get to the mangroves! Once there it was great to explore the winding aquatic maze and some parts were so narrow you had to lay/crouch down on the board to get through!

    The sunset on the way back to the start was brilliant and we both somehow felt closer to it being on the water.. We finished the day with a nice Indian dinner at Wing It By Sunset and got an early night    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day87

    Zanzibar Day 47 - Michamve Kae

     October 20 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We checked out of Shanuo feeling a little worse for wear after the previous night. Funnily enough we bumped into Luca at our hotel bar - he'd been out all night and was still drinking!!

    We headed to our next stop Michamve, which was meant to be the best place for sunsets in the south east of Zanzibar.

    We had a pretty chilled day and went out in the evening for sunset drinks at Kae Funk which had good music, comfy seats and a camp fire!    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day86

    Tanzania Day 46 - Pingwe

     October 19 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    For our last full day in Pingwe we made the most of the great food and lounge area at Upendo.

    For the evening we had already made plans Rashid, with the owner of Baladino (the fab Italian place with draught craft beer!). He told us that he visits a bar in Jambiani for live music every Monday and that we were welcome to come. Obviously we jumped at the chance as we couldn't remember the last time we were able to see live music.

    We had another great meal in Baladin for dinner and played a few games of pool after. After 4 very skillful games between Rashid and Craig which ended as a draw, we headed to Coral Rocks in Jambiani with Rashid and the Italian chef Luca.

    The live music was brilliant with lots of different performers from traditional African to reggae to R&B!We we're enjoying the beers as much as the music and both Rashid and Luca said they were impressed with our drinking hah! I took the time to quiz Luca on how to make some of the delicious Italian meals at Baladin (turns out an aubergine parmigiana isn't healthy or easy to make).

    When the live music ended at around 1am and the DJ started, it was our cue to leave (but we've already decided we're going next week and will book a room at Coral Rocks so we can crawl to bed as late as we like)!    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day85

    Tanzania Day 45 - Pingwe

     October 18 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    After breakfast and some time relaxing we headed back to Upendo for an early lunch.. The food here has been perfect and the steak and eggs/veggie burger left us both happy!

    We then went on to Five Star Restaurant, which is another Italian place but has a pool and terrace area, and stayed there for a drink.. Although being away from the seabreeze slightly made this place ridiculously hot and even the swimming pool was like a hot tub so, we headed back to our safe haven Baladin for the evening...Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day83

    Tanzania Day 43-44 - Pingwe

     October 16 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    The next stop on the east coast of Zanzibar was Pingwe. We didn't know much about the area but it is famous for 'The Rock' (not Dwayne Johnson, a restaurant on a rock in the ocean).

    We were welcomed with open arms into Shanuo Beach Bungalows by the lovely hotel owner Gillian (originally from Scotland). She showed us our room and we were delighted as the terrace overlooked the beach and ocean. Minutes later a local guy climbed seamlessly up the coconut tree to fetch us a fresh coconut. Craig tried next but only managed to climb a few feet!

    We spent the afternoon exploring the other local restaurants and hotels which were all a short walk away via the beach. The first was Upendo (the same company as the place we loved in stone town, Upendo House). It overlooked the rock and we had a great sharing platter for lunch.

    We thought we'd try The Rock next for a cocktail. Since the tide was high, we had to jump on a little boat to get to the restaurant (and it was a pretty bumpy ride)!

    The next stop was Baladin, a restaurant and hotel serving Italian food and...... Italian craft draught beer! It also had an amazing beach front area with a pool, swing chairs, sun loungers and even a boat like structure with day beds to lie on!

    The next day we pretty much spent the whole day either lounging on the day beds at our hotel or drinking craft beer and playing pool at the lovely Baladin!    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day82

    Tanzania Day 42 - Kilimajuu

     October 15 in Tanzania ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    The hotel owner Georgia recomended that we walk out to the sandbank at low tide and suggested some local guides take us to show us the way (and thank goodness she did!). They gave us some sticks to help with balance and made sure that we were wearing shoes because of the sea urchins (obviously they were bare foot because they're used to it!).

    It was incredible walking through what would be the ocean floor at high tide. Some parts were just sand and seaweed and some parts were pools of water (sometimes thigh deep). We saw star fish, sea cucumbers, clown fish, puffer fish and millions of sea urchins (I don't even think that's an exaggeration). Every step our gaze was focused on the floor and trying to avoid them. We were told that papaya draws out the spike if you stand on one but we're hoping that we wouldn't have to use that advice.

    We didn't reach the sandbank as we had to turn back because the tide was coming in but seeing all the ocean wildlife without even having to snorkel was the highlight for us.

    We spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and eating the fabulous Italian food at Zanzibar House. The owners are Italian and the menu contains lots of fresh pizza, freshly made pasta with good veggie options too.    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day81

    Tanzania Day 41 - Kilimajuu

     October 14 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Our last morning with Ammat and Babalao was nice and after we said our goodbyes we had some pictures with him and his staff. Along with Tony at Savannah House I really do hope the best for Ammat at Babalao and we're sure once the people come back to Nungwi that he'll do fine!

    We drove down the east coast one hour to what we thought was Matemwe but we had actually booked a hotel in Kilimajuu. Zanzibar House is an old style hotel built right on the beach and on, arrival the high tide was almost in the back garden!! Once it had settled we walked down the beach to explore... What we found was mainly resorts or restaurants that 70/80% of were closed.. It seems a muvh quieter area anyway in terms of being more private but the lack of tourists seems much more noticeable here!

    We spent the evening playing American pool on a wobbly snooker table which was a laugh and also the South African version of trivial pursuit which was not a laugh!!    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day80

    Tanzania Day 40 - Nungwi

     October 13 in Tanzania ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    We woke up and had another delicious breakfast from Babalao - fresh fruit, passion fruit juice, eggs and pancakes (needless to say we've definitely both gained a few Zanzibar pounds!). After, we went to the cash point which is a 30 minute walk away, through the local village.

    After working up an appetite we ate lunch at M&J cafe which overlooks a local playing field. The food is amazing and reasonably priced as it's not right on the beach.

    Then straight to the stables to swim with the horses! This time, Craig politely declined but came for a stroll and was the designated camera man. We walked the horses down to the beach and hopped on once we were on the sand (no saddles or bridles either, just a harness). I rode Oreo and he loved the water - he loved splashing his front feet against the waves! We did some walking in the water and a little swimming but I got the impression that Oreo preferred the walking so I was more than happy to let him find his own way.

    After 35 minutes my legs were killing - riding bareback is tough on the legs anyway but combined with the resistance of the water naturally pushing your legs back and having to grip tightly to stop them, it was the most intense leg workout I've done! We rode the horses back along the beach to the stables and hopped off. For a horse obsessed child it was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip for me!

    We had dinner at a beachfront restaurant called Lungi Lungi and both had delicious local style coconut curries for dinner whilst watching our last Nungwi sunset.    Read more

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  • Gemma HoftTravelling 2020
    Day79

    Tanzania Day 39 - Nungwi

     October 12 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I woke up this morning with a sense of dread... Like a dark cloud was looming over me and something bad was about to happen... I knew the reason was because today Gem had booked to go horse riding on the beach!

    We spent the day on the beach and I must have changed my mind 20 times before finally agreeing to just close my eyes and hope for the best!!

    The stables weren't actually too bad and they all seemed pretty calm - mine was called Oreo and was the biggest which I was told meant he was the slowest/laziest but it didn't help in making it less intimidating! Gem's was called Sultan, an Arabian which tend to a but bouncier and firey.

    After getting on safely it was actually OK as it just stood waiting for the others to get ready but once we started walking I couldn't stop myself from tensing up and holding on for dear life!

    Once on the beach we started walking past bars and restaurants with English or South Africans guys heckling how stiff and scared I looked and then on past Africans playing football on the beach who found it hilarious that I needed a guide to walk infront of the horse!!

    All of this helped me to forget I was on a horse and after gem returned from a gallop with her horse that I'm told was only supposed to be a canter but it kicked out and went all wild I started to feel scared again! (Gem's take is not as extreme and says that it just had a little buck of excitement).

    We walked through the town and by early evening all of the kids were out playing and loved to sing and dance whilst shouting and chanting 'Falasee' as we passed, which I assume was Swahilli for horse and not 'stay calm and don't kill the rider' liked id hoped!!

    We made it back safely and the relief was intense - the feeling in my head of how it would be was far worse than the actual ride but its still something I would happily never ever do again!!    Read more

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