We had been sailing for about 4 hours in light winds before we arrived at Kwale Island for lunch. We anchored a short distance from shore and watched the cats come ashore as we waited for a dinghy to pick us up. In the end, the water was so shallow that the dingy dropped us off some distance away and we all walked ashore.
The cat crews looked weathered and exhausted. They definitely needed the stop more than we did. I felt a bit like a cheat having made no physical effort to arrive at the island except to reach into my bank account to pay for the passage.
We had passed several other small islands and sand spits to get to Kwale Island and I looked longingly at the clear blue waters and wished we could stop and have a swim and snorkel. But the winds were too light to afford us any time to do anything but head directly for lunch.
For $35 I was expecting a magnificent feast of seafood. We did get crab and prawns but it was a little disappointing and it was clear that what you’re really paying for is the location.
Being one of the best spots off Zanzibar for snorkelling the waters around the island are usually full of tourists and the beach BBQ attracts long queues (even at $35 per head!). This time we had the whole island to ourselves. The beaches, the sand banks and the reefs were devoid of anyone and I was thinking maybe that was a good thing for the coral heads and wildlife in general.
Over-priced lunch eaten, we made our way back to CQ and watched as the cats were reunited with their crew and refloated for the penultimate leg to Karamba Lodge.