"Nungwi is the driest place of Zanzibar. Be responsible with water," I read when I washed my hands. "We get our water by tank transport." This big tank in a dust of cloud had passed me on my way. Big tanks which transport milk or petrol in the first world. I looked out of the window and saw a lush garden, flowers and green trees, no shortage of water. I don’t know why the management of Ras Nungwi makes tourists believe that there is water shortage on the island. There are no water pipes and thus no running water and that’s the problem. There is enough water in the wells and water reservoirs under the surface, filtered by chalk. It is of excellent quality so much so that Zanzibar mineral water is bottled from here but exploited by Tanzanians who bring it over to the mainland and then back to Zanzibar, where only tourists can afford to buy it.
Ras Nungwi Resort is on the east coast, which means that at low tide, the ocean is way out and high tide means no beach at all. In its grounds, ras Nungwi has created some places for sunbathing. It also boasts the only swimming pool in Nungwi, which is used for diving lessons. The dive instructors are from Australia and are reputed to be more experienced than some other dive centres. Anyway, their boats are better; they have two engines and are not overcrowded when they sail out. Neither do they forget to bring back some of the divers. When there are 20 persons on a boat, it is easy to overlook some.
We had a very tasty lunch: fish fillet in coconut sauce, curried vegetables, mixed salad with fresh buns, but the soggy fries were rather disappointing. We finished the meal with a strong cup of coffee, freshly brewed, which was a nice surprise as all other places in Zanzibar had served instant coffee.
Ras Nungwi is an upmarket hotel. The price of the meal was higher than in other restaurants in Nungwi. The quality was not better, but we had to pay for the nice surroundings, the linen napkins, and the well-kept garden. I would not consider staying here, comfortable that it may be, because the village is 30 minutes on foot and there is no transport.