Page 29 - Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

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BEACHES

Seating area made from an old dhow at the beachside Saadani Safari
Lodge, Saadani National Park, Tanzania
Balcony at the Peponi Hotel, Shela Beach, Lamu Island, Kenya
Shela Beach, Bwejuu Beach on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania Saadani

Lamu Island East Coast of National Park

Zanzibar
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LOCATION Lamu Island is &5)*01*" LOCATION Saadani is on the 7 7JDUPSJBJDUPSJB ,&/:""
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in the Lamu archipelago, just -BLF NEED TO KNOW north coast of Tanzania, 96 miles
off the Kenyan coast, 217 miles 5VSLBOB (155 km) north of Dar es Salaam
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(350 km) north of Mombasa LOCATION Zanzibar lies about 7JDUPSJB ,&/:" BEACH FRONTAGE
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BEACH FRONTAGE ,&/:" coast of Tanzania About 22 miles (35 km) /"5*0/"- 1"3,5*0/"- 1"3,
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KEY WILDLIFE Dolphins, -BLF 4)&-" #&"$) About 50 miles (80 km) ,JHPNB Elephants, hippos, crocodiles, 4BMBBN
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KEY WILDLIFE Kirk’s red %PEPNB
ACTIVITIES Snorkeling, colobus monkeys, green turtles, %BS FT ACTIVITIES Swimming,
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diving, exploring old towns, 5"/;"/*" .BMJOEJ *OEJBO dolphins, colorful reef fish 5"/;"/*" 4BMBBN boat safari, game drives, ; ;".#*"".#*" -JOEJ
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island-hopping, bird-watching .PNCBTB 0DFBO nature trails, bird-watching /ZBTBBTB
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ACTIVITIES Snorkeling, scuba
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and dolphin-spotting, bird-watching /ZBTB
The focal point of Lamu Island is the eponymous Long, lush, and serviced by just two small and
town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a rich exclusive tented camps, the seafront of Saadani
architectural heritage and cultural integrity that The east coast of Zanzibar isn’t the place to go National Park boasts dozens of beautiful beaches
make it unique among the medieval Swahili for bland, international beach-resort luxury. and is a great spot for swimming, snorkeling, and
ports that survive into the modern era. Only a Although its sandy palm-lined beaches are as sunbathing. There really is no better destination
45-minute walk from town lies Shela Beach, a idyllic as they come, the east coast offers visitors for discerning travelers looking for a true African
fabulous sweep of bone-white sand that fulfills much more than just pretty beaches. The seafront beach wilderness – a stunning palm-lined beach
every expectation of a tropical beach nirvana. is studded with traditional Swahili villages, where you have a good chance of encountering
This is one of the few East African beaches to including Bwejuu, Paje, and Jambiani, each one creatures as diverse as eagles and giant turtles,
lack a protective reef, and although swimming smaller and more rustically somnambulant than lions and dolphins, seagulls and hippos, and
is usually safe here, the sea is refreshingly lively. the one before, making it a great place to giraffes and jellyfish. What makes Saadani –
The nearby Peponi Hotel, which has been run experience rural Africa on its own terms. In which bills itself as “where the beach meets
by the same family for 40 years, is the ideal keeping with this, accommodations tend to be the bush” – even more special is that it is one of
place for a drink or a fresh seafood meal after low rise, low key, low impact, and low cost – it’s the only places on the planet where snoozing
a day on the beach. the ideal place to relax after a costly safari. Look sunbathers might conceivably be interrupted
out for the endangered Kirk’s red colobus, a by a beachcombing elephant.
fringed monkey endemic to Zanzibar.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Getting There Regular scheduled and chartered light aircraft flights link PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Nairobi, Mombasa, and Malindi to Lamu Island. The airstrip is on nearby PRACTICAL INFORMATION Getting There Most visitors fly here either from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar.
Manda Island, from which point motorized dhows cross the channel to Getting There Several flights connect Dar es Salaam and Arusha, both of The park can be approached by rough roads from Tanga via Pangani or
Lamu itself. The town and beach are easily explored on foot. which are on the mainland, to Zanzibar Town, from where it is easy to from Dar es Salaam via Chalinze. Activities in the park are organized by
When to Go After the rainy season in May and June, the weather gets arrange a transfer or taxi to the east coast. Ferries also depart every day for the camps.
progressively finer. Christmas and New Year offer constant sunshine and the island between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar Town. When to Go Visit Saadani at any time of year, though the rainy season,
pleasant offshore breezes. When to Go Any time except the rainy season (Mar–May). which runs from March to May, is best avoided.
Website www.lamuheritage.com Website www.tanzaniatouristboard.com Website www.tanzaniaparks.com
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