Tanzania: Stone Town and Safari Blue

We were very excited to head into Stone Town, which is the original capital of Zanzibar.  This town was right along the Spice Trading route and has a wonderful Arab history.  It was also ruled by the Sultan of Oman and we couldn't resist staying at one of the Sultan's homes in Stone Town.  We stayed at Mizingani Seafront Hotel, which was the Sultan's honeymoon palace.

This was our room - the balcony, the parent's room, and the children's room.

We had a spectacular view of the pool.  I have a feeling that Pete Russell would absolutely love to stay here!

We loved the very Arab architectural details like the fountain in the main lobby of the hotel.

Of course, my children befriend all of the stray cats at the hotel.  This was the little kitten that lived at the front door to the hotel.  

We found this kitten (and Teddy took the picture) with two different colored eyes.

It was really fun to find the home where Freddie Mercury grew up down a side street in Stone Town.  With so much hype about the movie, Queen fans are flocking to Zanzibar to see his former home.

I could have walked the streets of Stone Town for weeks.  Every street led to an equally wonderful alley.  Although the kids were not thrilled to walk (and walk and walk), I really enjoyed simply walking with my boys.  

We headed back to the hotel for a swim before dinner.  I thought it would be fun to take this self portrait while sitting on one of the wooden beds around the pool.

The pool at night.  I absolutely loved this view!

The next day, we went on an ocean safari with the Safari Blue company.  It was a fun day of water, seafood, and snorkeling.

Of course, Ripley wanted to be buried in the sand.

Our boat!

For lunch, we stopped on a small island for a seafood feast and a few local beers!

Having grown up in New England, I have eaten my fair share of amazing seafood but this freshly caught lobster cooked on the beach over an open fire was one of the best I've ever had.

Picking up shells on the beach.

We had such a great day on the boat together.  We all got to snorkel although I didn't take any pictures.  We were on the boat with two South African couples who were recently married and a single woman from Switzerland who was there to scope out the tour for the Swiss Hospitality industry.  How cool!

We ended up stopping in a cove and swimming in the clear blue water.  Even Teddy, who is usually very hesitant to do anything outside his comfort zone, dove right in.

 On the way home, they put up the sail on the boat.  It was fun to see it raised, although there was very little wind.

After a great day on the water, we found a nice little restaurant to watch the sunset and have dinner.

What an amazing trip!

Tanzania: The Zanzibar Beaches

We flew from the Tanzania mainland to the island of Zanzibar and then took a harrowing night taxi drive from the airport to our hotel.  We arrived at the beautiful Diamonds on the North shore of Zanzibar and were so excited to enjoy our three full days at the all-inclusive resort.

Our first order of business was to hand out with Rachel and the Entertainment Crew to make palm frond hats.  They had a little photo shoot on the deck of our cabana.  

That afternoon, the boys (all three of them) participated in a bocci ball tournament.  They had a great time and everyone did very well.  We hope to play bocci this summer too!

What was Shana doing, you might ask?  Besides taking pictures, I was lounging by the ocean with a cocktail - all-inclusive, remember!

This is Sayed, one of the amazing staff members at Diamonds!

 More fun with our palm frond hats!

 

We were excited to book a cabana on the beach.  This is the view from our porch to the ocean.  

 

Although we have traveled to so many places that custom make clothing, I have never ordered anything.  I was thrilled to order a dress from this wonderful tailor at the hotel.

We enjoyed several meals at the dining hall.  Isn't it beautiful!

 We spent most of our time at Diamonds at the pool.  I'm surprised that I only took one picture of us! 

Leaving the hotel and heading to Stone Town, we drove through several small towns.  I enjoyed taking a few photographs from the taxi.  This is a very poor country.

   

 

Can you see the kids in the back of the truck?

And, of course, Ripley fell fast asleep with Bunny.

Tanzania: Taranguire National Park

After two wonderful nights at a tented camp on the edge of Nongorogoro Crater, we had a long drive to Taranguire National Park.  It was an opportunity to see children on the way to school and Maasai Tribespeople herding their goats. 

When we arrived at the National Park, there was a problem with our park entrance fees.  We ended up waiting to go into the Park for about 45 minutes.  It was a little frustrating but we realized that the universe had something amazing in store for us!  We ended up driving up to the watering hole just in time to see hundreds of animals heading there.  

It was absolutely amazing to see so many animals together in one place at the watering hole.  I really believe that we could have stayed for another hour to watching so many beautiful animals.  It was an amazing safari experience and one we will never forget!

We then drove a little and happened upon some beautiful elephants eating.  Of course, Ripley thought this was his friend, Wrinkles. 

We loved seeing this adorable mama deer with her baby.

We found another herd of elephants not too far away.  I loved seeing them under the African Baobab trees.

It was also so fun to see the giraffes.  I have always loved them because they are so tall!

We saw baboons and monkeys everywhere.  We loved seeing the little ones with their parents.  I think it made the kids more snuggly.  

We happened upon another watering hole.  Ozzy told us that the elephants are in charge at the watering hole and they make sure that they get a drink before anyone else.  When we first arrived, there were zebras and giraffes drinking, but soon after two elephants arrived and everyone cleared out.

While we were eating lunch, we heard that there was a lioness and her cubs walking in the valley below us.  We enjoyed trying to spot her.  Here is Ripley pretending to be a lion cub. 

On our way out of the park, Ozzy was able to find the lioness and her cubs eating their lunch.  We had to go off roading to find them and it was amazing to be 10 feet away from this beautiful family.  

We had a little photo shoot as we left the park.  We had to watch out for animals but Ozzy was able to find a great spot for us to get a few pictures.  Don't you just love our Range Rover!

This is my absolute favorite photo of us on the trip.  Thank you, Ozzy, for a great shot!