Discover Zanzibar SOUTH of Stone Town

On the way from Stone Town to the south of Zanzibar you will drive through an alley of Mango trees (at the village “Bungi”). There is a weird story about these mango trees – I counted 120 Mango trees on either side of the road that grow close together. There are more though with some distance between them.  I’ve heard from many different Zanzibaris that Princess Bi Khole had these trees planted – you can view the ruins of her palace here, look out for the sign on the roadside. According to the legend, Bi Khole Binti Said bin Sultan was the most beautiful of all the Sultan’s daughters and used her beauty to bewitch men. The story goes that at an Arab Sword Dance at the palace, one participant was so enthralled by her beauty that he didn’t even notice that he had cut his knee. Princess Bi Khole then realized what effect she had on men and used it to still her seemingly unquenchable desire especially for beautiful young slaves. She kept many lovers and when she grew tired of one, she had him beheaded and ordered her slaves to bury his head under a mango tree that was to be newly planted. Soooooo… each of these 240+ mango trees represents a beheaded lover of Princess Bi Khole… She is also said to have wanted to extend the alley of mango trees all the way to Stone Town…. Well, luckily for these young men she must have either run out of mango tree seedlings or she might have found THE PERFECT MAN (hey, it’s a story after all…)  This alley is beautiful but very creepy and I always slow down when I drive through it.  Quite a few accidents happened there.  Talking about ghosts?

A few km after that, you get to a brand new traffic circle. If you turn right here, you are on your way to Unguja Ukuu. This was the very first village on Zanzibar. According to archeological findings there, the city dates back to the 8th or 9th century! You can see still some ruins there. A very knowledgable man on Zanzibar, Mwalimu Chende, explained to me that Unguja Ukuu started to break up when people began to look for other areas to settle. During this period of exploring other suitable areas to live, some people went across the island to the south east coast and selected an area which they named “Bwejuu” as the perfect spot to settle (I cover Bwejuu further down on this page).

From Unguja Ukuu leads a very rough road through the Mangroves to Uzi island. You can only reach Uzi island by car at low tide! The road is completely flooded at high tide, watch out!

Info ex http://www.zanzibar-ecotourism.org:

“Little has changed in Uzi during the last centuries. Most of the island’s 5000 people are fishermen and farmers. Visitors to Uzi can experience pristine rural Zanzibar like it cannot be found elsewhere on Zanzibar’s main island Unguja.

The island is located in the Menai Bay Conservation Area which forms an important ecosystem of mangrove forests, sea grass beds, islands with fresh water forest, coral reefs and a large diversity of plants, land and water animals, including dolphins, African Sea Eagles, and protected marine turtles – a heaven for anyone enjoying nature.

A visit to Uzi might include a guided ecological tour to the Sea Turtle Lagoon and mangrove areas, and visiting Uzi village where traditional activities such as weaving, carving, henna painting, local crafts, seaweed farming and home cooking can be experienced.

sea turtle conservation on Uzi island

Ecotourism and cultural tourism activities in Uzi are offered by Uzi Island Conservation Society, an initiative of proactive Uzians, Zenith Tours and World Unite! Your visit to Uzi does not only help to create employment in Uzi, but all profits of the tours are being used for their conservation program which includes marine turtle conservation, environmental education and the creation of environmentally-friendly and sustainable income-generating activities for the local population of Uzi.

On your trip to Zanzibar, make sure not to miss Uzi Island! Its friendly people welcome you to experience their beautiful nature and rich culture!”

If you are coming from Unguja Ukuu and you want to skip the south coast (which would be a pity), carry on straight at the traffic circle onto a brand new road leading to the so-called Chwaka Road. This is the quickest connection to the northeast coast. (If you opted to first discover the south coast, take this road on your way back. There is no direct way from the southeast coast to the northeast coast, because of the Chwaka Bay Lagoon – you cannot cross the lagoon by car, there is no ferry).

To get to the south coast coming from Unguja Ukuu, turn right at the traffic circle. (If you skipped Unguja Ukuu, carry on straight at the traffic circle.) Just after the village of Pete, slow down for a long left curve. At the end of that curve you’ll see a sign Zanzibar Butterfly Center.  This is an interactive butterfly exhibit and consists of a netted tropical garden with usually hundreds of butterflies, all of them native species to Zanzibar.  The butterflies (in pupae form) are farmed sustainably by people from the villages around the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park and provides much needed income for the Zanzibari women of this area.

The Jozani Spice Farm is based just 300m after the Butterfly Centre (between the Butterfly Centre and Jozani Forest). They offer spice tours, ox-cart safaris and traditional Swahili lunch.
There you’ll find numerous trees and plants, such as cinnamon, vanilla, black pepper, turmeric, Habanero chilies, the Lipstick tree and Iodine plant, and many more.
Price: 25,000 Tzs incl the fee for the guide per adult, kids up to 12 years old are free
Start with a seasonal fruit tasting, followed by a 1,5 – 2 hour guided tour. Finish with a fresh coconut and spiced coffee. For further information and photos please check their facebook page.

Booking is essential: +255 778 66 2872 (whatsapp)

Carry on the tar road and after negotiating a few speed bumps you get to Jozani Forest National Park, home of the Red Colobus Monkeys.  They only live on Zanzibar, nowhere else in the world. I heard that these monkeys need a diet of 70 different leaves, berries etc to survive, which only grow at the Jozani National Park. They live freely in this huge national park.  Some of them are quite cute actors, they pose for the cameras as if they were Beyonce or Jay-Z (no similarity in looks of course). A guide will show you the indigenous plants and trees and possibly even tell you about their medicinal purposes while you are surrounded by playing monkeys.

At the same time, you can also view the mangroves on the other side of the tar road with the same guide, very interesting. They built comfy board walks over the water.  

The Jozani Sea Turtle and Tortoise Sanctuary as well as the Reptile Park are opposite the entrance to the Jozani Park, take the dirt road to their information centre. This animal sanctuary is a community initiative which belongs to Jozani farm owners and aims to help the local people to benefit from tourism and conservation.
In three large pools you can observe sea turtles and fish-farming side by side. It is also a great place to see giant tortoises, translocated here from Chunguu Island as a gift from the President of Zanzibar. A guide will show you around.
Here you find those big tortoises that unscrupulous people offer tourists to sit or ride on, or swim with. Please don’t, it hurts them! The injured or sick tortoises are taken in by the sanctuary and helped, when they are strong enough they are released back into the ocean. If you are lucky you can also see baby tortoises there.
The sanctuary also takes in injured snakes, lizards and other reptiles and releases them when they are healed from sustained injuries.

Carrying on towards the south coast, you get after about 5 km to the village of Kitogani.  Here you find two petrol stations, one on your left, and the other after a few meters on your right. There you have a choice of turning left to the south east coast, or carrying on straight to the south coast.

If you stay on this road (you will then get to the south east coast later after you completed the tour around the south coast of Zanzibar), then you are on your way to the south-western most tip of the island, Kizimkazi.

After about 5 km you will see the sign “Zala Park” on the right hand side. It is a haven for reptile lovers, a special local zoo that features snakes, lizards, chameleons and more. Guides there will introduce you to all these local species, and even teach you a little about local witchcraft, the “juju”.  This zoo is a great project, teaching especially local children about the wildlife of Zanzibar and how to protect it.

After a few more kms you get to a traffic circle. Take the 2nd exit and you get to Kizimkazi. It once was the capital when the island was under the power of the pre-Omani Wawinyi Wakuu and is considered to be the oldest habitation on the island. It is located in the remote southwest corner of the island, a little fishing village which happens to have rather ancient “Shirazi” origins. This part of the island is very different from the broad palm-backed lagoons of the east coast. Here a coral rag cliff elevates the waterfront above the ocean and the beaches take the form of small coves rather than broad expanses of sand. There are relatively few lodges or resorts in Kizimkazi.

For many years Kizimkazi has been best known as a location to ‘swim with dolphins’. In reality this activity became a rather distasteful tourist trap which offers little chance of decent sightings. The tour coordinators assure tourists that this is an eco-conscious experience, indicating that operators take animal welfare and ethics into consideration – only to successfully sell the tours to unsuspecting tourists. As the taxi arrives at the parking lot – that is packed with minibuses and with tourists flocking towards the beach – tourists realize that this has nothing to do with a tranquil or magical experience with dolphins.  Often 20 or more small motorboats head out of the shallow lagoon at a time to the open sea. There are quite some safety issues: the boats are quite small for the sometimes rough Indian Ocean and only a few of them have life jackets or other flotation devices on board. But the greatest concern is that the boats chase the dolphins. They then cut off a few of the pod by enclosing them in a small circle of boats, with the boat propellers running to keep the dolphins in the circle!!! It gets even worse:  In some cases, tourists are encouraged to jump in right on top of the encircled dolphins. All of the boats keep their propellers spinning in the water as they herd the dolphins around and some tourists spotted what looked like propeller scars on the backs of a few of the animals. Complaints of tourists are ignored.
Many of the hotels and resorts on Zanzibar do not recommend these Dolphin tours anymore to their guests and also tell the boat owners why they don’t send them any guests anymore.  This is the only way to force the boat owners to change their attitude and behavior and to respect and protect the dolphins.  It’s is a long way to go and I sincerely hope that the boat owners get the message soon and realize that neither tourists nor us residents accept this shocking behavior. This is for the sake of the Dolphins!

Best is if you go there in the afternoons, tide permitting, when most of the organized tours are finished. Tell the boat owners to take their time and to keep a distance safe for the dolphins. Then jump into the water and leave it up to these amazing and beautiful creatures to swim with you, or not.

I just heard that apparently the dolphins had enough of the mayhem and left the area. Good for them. If you want to have a chance to swim with dolphins – if they choose to do so – rather book a trip with Safari Blue (not to be mistaken with Blue Safari which is a cheap copy!). http://www.safariblue.net

For those in search of a cultural experience Kizimkazi is where East Africa’s oldest mosque can be found, the Kizimkazi Mosque. Unlike any other, non-Muslims can visit this place of worship. Despite its name, it is located in Dimbani, not Kizimkazi, which is about 5 km away. According to a preserved kufic inscription, it was built in 1107 by settlers from Shiraz. Although the inscription and certain coral-carved decorative elements date from the period of construction, the majority of the present structure was rebuilt in the 18th century.

Kizimkazi Miza wa Miza cave
There is a story told about this cave:  A local chief had two women, an old one and a young one. He also owned a cave with a well, where it was forbidden to call someone by name. His two wives went to the cave to fetch water. The older wife (apparently not happy about the younger wife) got her water first and hurried out of the cave. When she was outside, she called the younger wife, Miza, loudly by her name: “Miza come out quickly!”. Poor Miza turned immediately into stone, the stone can still be seen in the cave today. After this the cave was called Miza Wa Miza.

Now you are crossing over to the east coast of Zanzibar. At the traffic circle take the 2nd exit and head for Makunduchi. The town comprises two distinct settlements, about 2 km from each other, “Old Makunduchi” and “New Makunduchi”. Old Makunduchi is a small fishermen’s village, while New Makunduchi has some modern buildings, small shops as well as blocks of flats that were built in the 1970s with the aid of East German funds and engineers.

Makunduchi is mostly known for the Mwaka Kogwa or Mwaka Koga celebrations (“show of the year” – see photo below) of Shirazi heritage, that take place in July/August to celebrate the (Persian) New Year – in 2019 it happens on 18 July.  In Mwaka Kogwa, a ritual battle is fought, at the end of which a hut structure is burned. Then, predictions are made for the new year, based on the direction taken by the smoke of the burning hut. Tours are organised to visit the festival and to explain and point out the customs.

Makunduchi has one of the two cottage hospitals on the island of Zanzibar, which should serve the whole population of the South District. The renovation and improvement of the Makunduchi Hospital has been chosen as the flag project by the Health Improvement Project: Zanzibar (HIPZ), a charity initiative founded in 2006 with the intent of improving healthcare in Zanzibar according to public/private-partnership model. HIPZ’s Makunduchi Project has received support for the Zanzibar government and has already achieved several objectives, including the construction of a new Primary Health Care building, the establishment of a blood transfusion service, and the training of numerous staff.

After about 500m toward the east coast, turn left towards Jambiani.

The Kuza Cave in Jambiani offers a unique experience for adventurous nature-lovers. At the base of the cave is a crystal clear pool formed by a subterranean river. The water is cold but refreshing! Check out http://www.kuzacave.com – besides the cave visit they offer Swahili cooking lesson, drumming/dance lesson, Swahili history and music.

Kuza Cave

A group of five amazing acrobats just started the NGO project “Move_Zanzibar” in Jambiani to work with the local kids after school. Their applaudable motto is “inspire change in life”.
They acquired a building in Kibigija in the northern part of Jambiani – behind the Blue Oyster Hotel. Google Maps: “Move Zanzibar Community Centre Jambiani”.  It is open every day after school and at weekends. The plan is to first finish a classroom for English lessons, then get a library room going, a computer room, a room for the girls’ drama lessons etc. The acrobatics and dance lessons are done in an area next to the house where also their performances take place.

I watched their show (every Saturday from 16h30 – 18h30, free admission) and was amazed, not only by the acrobatic/dance performance but especially by the utter joy and fun the kids had.

This great initiative is well worth a visit, and needs support, such as:
– used trainer shoes, t-shirts, shorts for boys of any age
– pens, pencils and other stationary (which you can also buy at stationary shops on the island)
– books in English (for example with pictures and the English name printed below the picture)
– old laptops with chargers for their computer room
– old mobile phones, even simple phones, with charger

You can contact their leader Clalence on +255 718360613 (also Whatsapp) if you want to drop off any of the above.  Thank you!

Whilst you are in Jambiani check out the project of Sean Williams, a South African who shortly after he arrived here single handedly began to tackle the garbage littering Jambiani beach. (We have no governmental garbage collection service on the island. Which means that any garbage including plastic, metal and glass, litters the villages, beaches and road sides. This is not only unsightly, but a serious health hazard.) Sean started off with a wheel barrow, then had a hand drawn carrier cage on wheels designed. His team as well as volunteers tirelessly pick up plastic etc from the beaches of Jambiani. These recycling goods are regularly collected by Zanrec, the only recycling company on Zanzibar.

But Sean didn’t stop here. Milk cartons cannot be recycled. So he designed together with a talented local tailor, Ali, beautiful products using the milk cartons and our stunning printed fabrics: laundry bags, laptop and sports bags and even backpacks, toilet roll holders, bill holders for restaurants, to name but a few. Please make sure you stop by at the shop of Tailor Ali, Tel +255 777 530 946. Check Google Maps for directions.

Recently Sean also created bin stations for the locals to drop off all recycling goods, all marked in KiSwahili. The contents are regularly picked up by Zanrec. So far he made 33 such bin stations. If you wish you can sponsor a bin station for 130,000 Tzs. Or just donate whatever you can spare.

Contact: Sean Williams +255 627 696 570 WhatsApp, Sean@livelifealways.co.za http://www.livelifealways.org Instagram: Lv_lifealways

 

 

After about 5km you will arrive in Paje. Look out for the Smoothies/ice cream place, they also offer good coffee. Behind “Smoothies” is a double story pink building (you need to make a sharp right turn onto the sand road). Upstairs you find the well stocked Kijiji supermarket, most Expatriates shop there.

Follow the sand road around the corner of the building and head straight toward the coconut trees.  That gets you to the center of the “action” of Paje:  restaurants, kite surfing, SUP, diving, you name it. Paje boasts one of the most beautiful beaches of Zanzibar.  It is the most popular village at the southeast coast and the preferred spot for kite surfing.  Just watch the kite surfers from one of the many restaurants or while lazing at the beach.

Paje beach at low tide

My favourite spot there is MR. KAHAWA right at the beach. Great coffee, freshly made super healthy juices and good food, combined with excellent service and always smiling staff. It is the best place to put up your feet and chill. 

Spice shop

Drive back to the tar road and before you turn right towards the traffic circle stock up on spices at the Spice Shop of Mr. Talieb. He has a huge selection of excellent spices. You pay only 1 US$ per packet – at the spice farms you pay anything between 5-10 US$ per packet of the same quantity of spices! I am passionate about spices ever since I managed a South African subsidiary of a well known German spice manufacturer, supplying spices to top Chefs. I always buy my spices at Mr. Talieb’s shop!

Brand new: You find a bright red Post Box for your letters in front of the Spice Shop.

Carrying on, you’ll get to a traffic circle. Take the 2nd exit of the traffic circle and head towards Bwejuu.

– If you opted to skip the route via Kizimkazi and come straight from Kitogani, turn left at the traffic circle. –

(In case you need an ATM you have 3 choices: Either take the 1st exit at the roundabout, an Absa ATM is at the UP petrol station just after the police stop, about 50m from the traffic circle. Alternatively, just before the 2nd exit of the traffic circle are an Exim ATM as well as an Umoja ATM.)

After the second street hump, look out for the (quite faded) sign of the Seaweed Center on the right hand side of the tar road. They are now called Mwani Zanzibar (please check their facebook page). This is a wonderful socially responsible business initiative that provides mostly female seaweed farmers in Paje with opportunities to improve their personal standard of living and develop economic activities that benefits the entire community. The project comprises a factory and gathering site to produce natural soaps, body butter, creams and amazing oils from seaweed that are sold locally, and beginning to be distributed throughout East Africa and Europe. Do yourself a favour and go on the tour that they offer, best at low tide (check with them beforehand) for US$ 15 pP (about one hour) which starts with a delicious fruit juice (just had Hibiscus/ginger juice, yummy). Do stock up on their amazing products (I love their pure lemon grass oil, great to keep mosquitos away too), they also make excellent gifts.

After carrying on for about 500m on the tar road you find the Vuvuzela bottle store on your right. Here you can stock up on beer and anything else.

Bwejuu is a small village 5 km north of Paje. Bwejuu was founded centuries ago by brothers that were coming from Unguja Ukuu, looking for a new place to settle and to live. Bwe-juu means “stone” (bwe) and “on top” (juu). Mwalime Chende explained to me that the brothers came many times to this area to check it out. When one brother died, he was buried here and to mark the grave, they put a big stone on top of it that they could easily find the grave again. This grave can be seen today still, it is close to an old well.

Quite interestingly, the Shiraz dynasty also built a mosque during the same period when the Kizimkazi mosque was built (12th century); I was told that the mosque was destroyed by accident.

Bwejuu also has a huge hidden cave. It is said that it can hold up to  1000 people. It has sweet water, special herbal plants and plenty of positive energy.  The cave is a Bwejuu shrine and only Zanzibaris may enter it.

Bwejuu beach

Other than that, Bwejuu is known for its wonderfully quiet beaches, for fishing and the harvesting of seaweed. The people of Bwejuu are the most friendly people I encountered on the island. The swaying palms induce an attitude of relaxation and utter peace.

The locals are adamant that a ghost ship “Meli ya shangaani” appears some nights in front of the reef opposite the Palm Beach Inn Hotel and then vanishes again opposite Baraza beach.

Just after you passed the Bwejuu Charity School look out for the sign “MALKIA“. This is a women’s cooperative founded in 2003 by two friends, Salama and Iben. Malkia, which means Queen in Kiswahili,  creates jobs for local women, for a better future for all.

They make unique clothing and accessories with locally sourced materials, incorporating European and Zanzibar designs.
Please visit their showroom, it is open daily from 9am – 6pm. Clothing items can be made to order.

Do make time for snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon in Dongwe, about 5 km north of Bwejuu. Fishing is prohibited in the lagoon for many years already, therefore you find a  far bigger variety of fish in the Blue Lagoon than anywhere else at the east coast.

About 10 km furter on the tar road you will get to Pingwe.  You for sure have seen the photo below of The Rock Restaurant on most of the Zanzibar websites.

Look out for the wooden sign at the tar road “The Rock”, turn right onto the sand road and follow the signs. Built on top of a small rock, this restaurant is regarded as a “must” visit on Zanzibar because of its unique position on a rock. At low tide, you can walk the few meters from the beach, at high tide a boat brings you there.

This photo was taken from the pool of Upendo.

Do check out the shop of Jenga, at the beach opposite The Rock, between Upendo and the parking area. It is one of the Fair Trade initiatives of Melanie Steggink, owner of Bellevue Guesthouse in Bwejuu, to support the locals by providing a venue to market their beautiful crafts: dresses, hand bags, shoes, jewelry, etc. The ideal place to shop for stunning souvenirs and gifts for incredibly low prices – and you are supporting and uplifting the locals!

 

From here, the tar road leads to (Kae) Michamvi, a peninsula with a unique position that allows you to watch glorious sunsets – even though you are at the east coast. When I first visited this area 10 years ago I named it Robinson Crusoe beach: remote, untouched, enchanting. A few beach resorts were built there in the meantime. This is still my favourite beach for swimming.

As I wrote earlier, the road ends here. You cannot cross the Chwaka Bay lagoon, there is no ferry. To get to the northern part of the east coast, you now have to drive back to Paje. At the traffic circle turn right, after about 10 km at the T-junction of Kitogani, turn right again. Follow that road through Jozani Forest and Pete. When you get to the big traffic circle, turn right onto the brand new road (on google maps it’s called UNNAMED ROAD). This road leads you through beautiful rice plantations. They are the most beautiful during rainy season (April/May) when they flower.

rice fields

This road ends at a T-juntion in JENDELE. I recently “discovered” the UFUFUMA FOREST AND SPIRIT CAVES” in that area, very much off the beaten track. Please read about it on the page “Discover Zanzibar EAST of Stone Town”.

Back to the T-junction. If you turn right here you get to Chwaka Bay and to the coastal road through Uroa, Pongwe, Kiwengwa to Matemwe.

If you turn left, you first get to the turnoff to Tunguu, 500m further you get to the turnoff toward Mwera and Stone Town. If you stay on that road (ignoring the turnoff to  Mwera/Stone Town) you are on your way to the north coast through the central part of Zanzibar. It is a beautiful drive through lush vegetation.

If you turn left at the intersection toward Mwera, you are on the road back to Stone Town.

If you want to visit a spice farm on your own: In Mwera, turn right onto the only tar road branching off the main road (a GAPCO petrol station is on that corner, although a bit hidden). After you crossed 2 small bridges, you will see several spice farm signs on the road side.