Mafia Island in Tanzania - Auntie Anna and the ultimate chill.

Guest writer: Anna Nilsson Spets

The vast majority of people go to Zanzibar after finishing their safari on the mainland in the TanzaniaI did not. I was in Zanzibar many years ago, before the big tourist influx. What would I do without Google maps and the magnifying glass function?  

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I find Mafia island, an island about a quarter of the size of the one I just visited. Zanzibar. Mafia is reached by a small domestic plane from Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar or as in my case, Kilimanjaro airport. It is not possible to go there by boat anymore. 

Land at my smallest airport to date, like a villa in the middle of nowhere, get picked up by a jeep sent by my accommodation, pay the fee to enter the national park where I'm staying. 

I settle into my simple bungalow overlooking the Indian Ocean, get served a cold coconut drink and the holiday can begin. 

Mafia offers nothing more than chilling, swimming and snorkelling. Need more? 

I swim constantly and when the tide goes out, I lie in my hammock and look up at the clear blue sky. The tidal difference is palpable and the seabed is transformed into a lunar landscape. 

Whale shark... It's whale shark season, I book a trip, that day two American retired midwives join in, it's a big deal and we quickly realise that there will be no whale shark today. We shop among the beautiful wax batik dresses instead. 

The next day the rain has stopped a bit, I take a bodaboda to the harbour where the skipper with his wooden boat is waiting, just him and me. The waves are high and I wade out to the boat with water up to my waist and my back on my head. 

After hours of bobbing on the sea and splashing wet everywhere, we see a lone whale shark. Unfortunately, we were not alone at sea, a boat full of Japanese circles around the whale shark and the Japanese throw themselves into the water, thankfully with a life jacket because there was not much evidence of swimming skills. I had actually intended to swim too, but when I saw the waves and this chasing after the poor animal, I asked the skipper to turn around. It must be ethical.  

Every dusk the fruit bats come flying from Chole island and settle down to sleep in the trees around the beach, when I wake up in the morning they have flown back for their daytime activities. If Mafia is small, Chole island is even smaller.

I pick up a local who, after much discussion, drives me across the strait in his little outboard motorbike. We go on a tour of the island, way too fast and it seems that my guide would rather do something else. The old German settlements from the colonial era remain as memorials from a bygone era. 

Fruit bats, an endemic species found only in Mafia, Comoros and Seychelles, nest in the extremely large trees where they eat fruit and slowly move on to the next feeding station. The mega-sized animals give off a buzz and the air is teeming with them. A full-grown fruit bat can measure up to 140 cm between the tips of its wings. 

On Chole island, people have been boat builders and fishermen for many generations. As the area is a national park, there is no dynamite fishing and the seabed is healthy and fine. 

The midwives and I live in the same place, we decide to share a snorkelling trip with lunch on the sandbank. The water is crystal clear, the corals shine and large schools of fish follow us. Reportedly, there are 380 different species of fish, I don't see all but many. The diving is supposed to be topnotch. 

Lunch is eaten directly under the scorching sun, I would have liked a sunscreen and definitely a better moisturiser, the midwives fish out burn ointment from their huge pack later in the evening. 

Tinga tinga is an art form found in Tanzania and the islands, characterised by strong colours and simple shapes. The name comes from Eduard Tingatinga who began his artistic career by painting on simple canvases with bicycle paint. Today, the art of Tingatinga has spread around the world and many people enjoy its simple, colourful approach. Including me. 

The flight to the mainland goes a bit like this... The security desk is a regular table, my cigarette lighter is put in a drawer. The departure hall consists of two dark brown plush sofas a la 80s.  

Wonderful is short, unfortunately. Mafia island delivered the rest I needed, the warm clear ocean cooled my body and the food and drink were like balm for the soul. 

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Anna Nilsson Spets

60+ year old lady with a lifelong love for Africa. Emigrated to Flanders in Belgium and works with plants on a daily basis. Writes, takes photos and tries to inspire others to budget travel on their own. Blogs on "Anna's mix" about travelling, work, plants, writing and much more.

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