Wed 14th October

Seronera, Serengeti – Arusha – Zanzibar

Waking up at Olakira camp for our final day on Safari, my eyes flickered open to come into focus on the horizon of the Serengeti plains and a rich golden orange sun illuminating the earth. A breathtaking sight to wake to, especially when you are still tucked up warm in bed and beginning to contemplate the day ahead.

Breakfast was served in the mess tent at 6.30am, toast and omelettes prepared on the barbeque grill and fresh juice to set us up for our game drive before flying out from Seronera at 11.05am.
This last morning we had an exciting ring side seat for a pair of Cheetahs hunting for their breakfast amongst a vast heard of Thomson’s Gazelle. Not dissimilar to watching our domestic cats in the UK creeping low to the ground before pouncing on unsuspecting prey – only the Gazelles clearly sensed the Cheetahs whilst they remained hidden close to the ground amongst the grassy plains. The Cheetahs tried to flank the herds but to no avail as they are nimble little creatures and as soon as one goes they all bolt like wild fire. I particularly enjoyed the chivalry of the male gazelle who stood firm protecting the females to the rear of the heard, furthest from where they sensed danger. Females in the wild are revered, protected and even boss if you are a hyena !

Final stop on our northern Tanzanian adventure was to visit the beautiful Maru Kjopes, an ancient Maassai meeting point which was used for ceremonies before the tribes were moved south from the Serengeti to Ngorongoro. Kjopes is a Dutch word which means ‘big head’ and refers to the clusters of large rocks found off the beaten track in the south east of Seronera. On the giant rocks sits a singular rock drum around 1.5 metres high and 3 metres wide. There are concave cups the size of fists set in the rock and a beating stone which when hit into the individual ‘cups’ gives a different tone. You can bang out a tune Masaai style to the audience which in our case was a leopard in the distance dragging his breakfast to the shade of the rocks. You can imagine the great festivities that took place here through the years and the scene of Massaai tribes coming in from every direction on the 360 panorama of the Serengeti – a word that in Massaai translates to endless plains.

By 10.30am we arrived at Seonera airstrip for our flight with Coastal Aviation to Zanzibar via Arusha. An informal check in procedure which consisted of walking to the aircraft, putting your bag in the hold, being part of a head count and buckling up saw us taking off bang on time. Well, the second time as our first attempt at take off was aborted due to Impala on the runway. 10 minutes in Arusha gave us enough time to have a quick chat with Anita before running back to our connecting flight. It was a little touch and go as our bags had been moved onto the second aircraft for Arusha – Zanzibar & as we had run into the departures lounge to see Anita we had to put our bags through the scanner before departing again (not something they have at Seronera) and a glass bottle was detected.

I politely but firmly informed the guard who was telling me this was a problem that it was not a problem as we had just flown in with the said bottle in hand luggage and any more chit chat with him & we would miss our flight which was revving up to depart. I scurried across the runway flapping my arms and still talking to the guard protesting and as soon as we got to the aircraft the security officer asked me if I had whisky with a smile – I said ‘No, it’s Rum’ and with a big grin again he ushered us onto the plane and off we went !

On arrival into Zanzibar we were met by a driver from Zanzibar Unique with a bottle of ice cold water each and an air conditioned car to drive us to Swahili House in the centre of Stone Town.
The hotel was formally International house and is so much so in the centre of Stone Town that we had to park a few windy streets away as there is no vehicle access to the labyrinth within the old town.

Swahili House is set over 5 floors with an open inner courtyard and rooms situated around the galleried landings. The walk up to the roof top restaurant is a dizzy one when coupled with the intense early afternoon heat and though there is a lift shaft in place, the lift is waiting at Dar Es Salaam port to be released from customs.

Well worth the climb though is the roof top bar and restaurant, Tarquin & I went up for a refresher before heading out to explore Stone Town at 4 in the afternoon and after 10 hours we were still there - all exploration on this particular afternoon was done from the rooftop !
Great cocktails, great service, the best food in Stone Town and the views are stunning. They even have a roof top Jacuzzi and a few sun beds for those who find tanning a daily essential! Hats off to Alex Innes, the chef from the UK who has seen the refurbishment of Swahili House kitchens & the hotel opening in December 2008, creating a destination in itself for rooftop sun downers and dining in the heart of Stone Town.