We set off at 7.30am which was a bit later than intended. Peregrine had omitted to book flights or accommodation for Mike and I in Zanzibar but Jen and Erellah between them managed to sort that out by communicating with the Peregrine reps in both NZ and Africa. 

We travelled on a very good road through increasingly lushly vegetated countryside and small towns. It was a lovely outlook but I was not terribly well. I’ve developed a nasty cold and am trying to fight off a sinus infection. I don’t want to use the remaking antibiotics in case we have a need later in the trip. 

We arrived at Arusha airport just before 11am. Pat and 4 of the others were booked on the noon flight to Stonetown in Zanzibar. Lesley, Rick and Yvonne were to travel by road with Erellah and Martin back to Nairobi and the other 2 had booked their own flight to Zanzibar which left at 4pm. Mike and I had a different flight at 1pm. 

Unfortunately the Peregrine people hadn’t checked the itineraries closely enough so there were a number of minor errors which seemed to cause tremendous hardship for some of the others. For example, on the day we travelled from the Masai Mara it says that you buy your own lunch, but later in the paragraph says that breakfast, lunch and dinner were included. Clearly there was a mistake but some wanted Peregrine to fix it and include the lunch. On that occasion Erellah was able to point out that there was another error later which said that only breakfast was included but actually we got all meals – so overall we gained a meal. Well, Arusha airport was another cause of great kerfuffle. The itinerary clearly says we go to Arusha but also says we leave from Mt Kilimanjaro airport (which is actually over an hour away). Evidently the latter is the international airport. The error arises because they have cut and pasted from the itinerary for someone finishing the tour in Tanzania and flying to a different country rather than for someone travelling internally. Well, for one bloke, you would think that the entire trip was about the opportunity to go to Mt Kilimanjaro airport. He would have you believe that he wouldn’t have paid for the trip if he had known there would be no view of Mt Kilimanjaro (from the airport).  He doesn’t have a computer (or even an email account) so I think he needs to buy an atlas and check out where he’s going before he leaves home!  He is one of the ones doing the complete 39 day Peregrine trip that continues to Botswana and Namibia, finishing in Capetown. Poor Pat, who is also doing the same trip. 

Arusha airport is a busy but very basic outfit. Most of the planes were quite small and people embark by walking between the planes to find the one taking them. We could see where our bags were loaded so knew which one was ours. We flew in a 14 seater operated by a regional airline. One of the other women commented that she was glad they appeared to have a white pilot as he should know what he was doing. Personally, I was glad to have a Tanzanian pilot. You have to wonder why any competent European pilot is working for a commercial airline out of Arusha in Tanzania. 

It was a 100 minute flight with glimpses of land and then sea through the cloud. We shared the flight with 2 families which we think were Israeli.

It was a very smooth flight marred only by my sniffing and both of us coughing. Yes we were THOSE people. Both of us also got very blocked ears. 

We were met by James from a tour group contracted to Peregrine. He was excellent. Very informative and we have organised to do a walking tour of old Stonetown in the morning and a spice tour on our way to the final accomodation on this tour, which is at the beach on the southeastern coast. 

We stay for 2 nights at the Tembo Hotel which is right in town and fronts the beach. It is a Moslem hotel so no alcohol but there’s a bar next door. The hotel is in the Indian style and is a bit shabby/chic but very comfortable. There is a large courtyard pool and the restaurant faces the beach. 

We had a great time people watching both outside the hotel and in the bar next door. It is the end of  Ramadan and last night there were thousands of people on the beach all clearly dressed for some sort of celebration. It was wonderful to watch all the families with the girls and women in the most beautiful dresses and head scarves. I felt a bit sorry for the girls as it was clearly much more effort to get damp bodies back into good dresses than it was for the boys. Most opted to paddle instead. 

It was lovely watching the sun set over the water. 

James had suggested we try the Archipelago restaurant, which is just along the beachfront. It is a seafood restaurant and we can recommend it. I had steamed whole fish in a chilli ginger sauce and Mike had pan fried fish of some sort with feta and olives. We both had steamed veges and a half portion of rice. The total meal, including a mango juice and an iced hibiscus tea was $30 NZ. 

Our room has both a ceiling fan and aircon so we were able to have a very pleasant sleep within out mosquito net tents. We got the last room available so only single beds but we need to avoid re-contamination in any event.