Chumbe Island Coral Park

My access to pictures from my time in Tanzania is limited right now but I couldn't wait to start sharing my experiences, so I'm going to start with out last day.

Just off Zanzibar, the Chumbe Island is a nature reserve with a protected coral reef sanctuary. The sand is soft and white, the sun bright (I have a lobster red back to prove it), and the water all shades of blue and teal.

Upon arriving we were greeted with fresh juice and shown to the bungalow which would be our's for the day. However there wasn't much time to settle in before heading back to the water for scuba diving. 

The coral and many different fish and sea creatures took my breath away. Much of the time I was practically swimming amidst a school of fish. I didn't have a waterproof camera, so sadly I can't share any pictures, but I can very highly recommend going scuba diving if you get the chance! 

After reluctantly leaving the water, we headed to lunch, where a wonderful table with all seats facing the ocean was waiting for us. It was the perfect way to sit back and really take in our beautiful surroundings. 

Once our bellies were full there was just enough time for a quick nap on the beach before our nature walk.

We learned a lot about the island, from the old coral which makes up a lot of the land to the coconut crab which briefly poked out of it's little rock cave to greet us.

But my favorite part was the view from the top of the light house. Getting to the top required going up a pretty extreme number of stairs, but it was definitely worth the climb.

A few hours later, I was sitting in the airport with fresh sunburn and a few lingering grains of sand still between my toes. We all wish we could have stayed longer, but Chumbe Island was a pretty perfect way to end the trip.