Zanzibar - An exotic island

We reached Zanzibar after a thrilling 9 day safari across 5 National Parks in Kenya-Tanzania. We boarded the flight to Zanzibar - a short and picturesque one at Arusha in Tanzania.
Zanzibar has always been to me, an exotic place seeped in history and I was not very far from the truth.
We were staying in Stone Town which was the old part of the city.
We reached our hotel - Funguni palace, freshened up and set out to explore the nearby part of the city.
We decided to grab a bite and stepped into Mercury Cafe - a lovely little place with views of the Indian ocean.
A few images below -

The place was filled with pictures of Freddie Mercury and we thought the owner was a big fan of the Queens' lead singer. Turns out that Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar and spent the first 8-9 yrs of his life here at Stone Town. Wow! Did you know that?

The place where Freddie Mercury stayed during his years at Zanzibar.

A view of Stone town from Mercury Cafe.

The next morning we went on a spice tour to one of the many spice gardens on the outskirts of the city.
Zanzibar is known for its exotic spices and many of them have their origin from India. Images of the grape fruit and nutmeg-mace -

We were then taken to a place where slaves were held in underground caves till it was safe to transfer them to the main land (could not get proper pics). This was during the time when slavery was banned across the World but it was still discreetly being done at Zanzibar.

A dark period of history left behind, we were taken to a beautiful isolated beach - one amongst the many beautiful sights we were to encounter during our stay at Zanzibar.

The next morning we set out to explore the old city of Zanzibar - the palace, the slave market etc.

Images of the erstwhile slave market - currently a church.

A memorial depicting slavery dedicated to the tortured history of this slave island.

Once we were done with Stone Town, we left for the amazing beaches of Nungwi - another part of Zanzibar famous for its pristine beaches.

Fine, powdered sand, clear blue-green waters, colourful corals and star fishes beached during our morning walks, serene sunsets - this place acts a salve to any weary traveller!

3 days of relaxation in an idyllic resort over looking the beautiful waters of the Indian Ocean, the desire to return back was nowhere on our minds. Alas! The holiday comes to an end.

An exotic end to an  exhilarating experience. See you on another journey!

Day 2 - 3 - Lake Nakuru, Kenya

19th Aug'2012 & 20th Aug'2012 - Amboseli to Lake Nakuru via Nairobi -
After the morning game drive in Amboseli, we moved on towards Lake Nakuru. Stopping over for lunch at Nairobi, we still had a good 4 hrs drive ahead.
I was really looking forward to see the Rift valley though I was not sure what to expect.
As we were passing the Rift valley, Isaac stopped the car telling us that the East African Rift valley was created due to a massive volcanic eruption which resulted in dividing mountains and created a rift that eventually created all of the lakes in Kenya - Tanzania.
We were amazed at the landscape views that a combination of - the valley - green in its lushness, the mountains - in the distance and the azure sky - with its puffy clouds presented.
What was also interesting was the play of light creating areas of shadow and light as also the quick variation in the cloud colours contrasting between grey and white.

We were behind schedule and had to really rush through the rest of the journey with no halts whatsoever.
We reached Lake Nakuru and stayed at Hotel Chester - a modest, relatively nice place. It was very thoughtful of them to prepare Indian food for us which included Chapatis, Dal, Veg.curry and rice.
With nothing much to do for the evening, we lazed around and were warned by Isaac that we had an early start the next morning. So off to bed.

20th Aug'2012 - An early morning 6:00 am start took us towards Lake Nakuru. We really had no idea what to expect though I was excited that I would be seeing a lot of birds - esp Flamingos - greater and lesser ones.

As we entered the park, we came across a few Baboons. While we didn't catch one baring its teeth or yawning, we did manage to get a few pictures.

The completely different lush green landscape encompassed by trees unlike Amboseli was breathtaking. 

Our first sight of the lake was spectacular as the sun was in front of us and the trees were silhouetted and the water was shimmering in the light.

Moving ahead we spotted a herd of Impalas. Their bright brown shiny coats against the backdrop of pristine natural green was a visual delight.

Continuing our journey through winding, bad (understatement!!) roads, we could not get enough of the landscapes. All we could think of was "Windows" and more "Windows" {The screen on a computer:)}

As we moved on we saw the first set of birds - flamingos. I was disappointed as there were not many of them like I had imagined. Isaac told us that they normally come to Lake Nakuru between Dec - Feb. But I was happy that I could get better pictures of the birds in a more pristine environment than the ones at Mumbai.

My heart skips a beat as the light changes and I see this gorgeous play of sun light flirting with the clouds taunting the waters below. I think to myself - the world's perfect!

Isaac's getting impatient as he wants us to quickly see the Rhinos so we can move out of Nakuru and head towards Mara. As we move towards the flat landscapes leaving the trees behind, we see Egyptian Geese, Great White Pelicans, Yellow Billed Storks, African Spoon Bills, Cormorants and other birds.

The trees end abruptly and we are still clicking landscapes, when we see a herd of Rhinos. We ask for Isaac to stop but he goes on ahead telling us that he'll take us to the other side for a better view. We had realised by then that the driver knows best and will do what's good for us.

Near the Rhinos we saw a Silver backed Jackal staring at us and then settling down in the grass for probably a snooze. Even a jackal can be so handsome / beautiful {I think it was a female as it was very graceful:D}

We had to stop the vehicle for clicking more visually stimulating shots despite irritating Isaac and you will understand why!

As is the case world over, we also spotted a Yellow billed stork perched upon a Wild buffalo's hide. Its the same stork and buffalo story that we see in India.

As we head out of Lake Nakuru, we spot some Giraffes and lots of Zebras. We close up on a Giraffe eating out of its favourite prickly plant (Acacia I think) and we are amazed that its tongue does not get pricked.

The Zebras were positioned perfectly in their white and black suits against the green grass and the blue sky. Their crossing the road in a single file one behind the other reminded me of kids at school playing the train game.

The last landscape, as we move out of Lake Nakuru ready to embark on another long but bad road drive towards the Masai Mara.

Wish I could fly like the yellow billed storks and soar over vast plains and great mountains. I'll see you in Mara (not the storks!)