Mafia Island | Tanzania | Island and Beach lodges

I recently wrote a blog titled, Ras Mbisi | The Home of Barefoot Luxury which received lots of views and retweets !! Thanks

As a result of some of the content i was then tweeted by @Mafiaisland - which is Peter - who along with his daughter and wife own and operate Lua Cheia Beach Lodge and Kinasi Lodge

WOW - both of Peters properties look fantastic. I will definatley be visiting both on my next trip to Africa.

What is so amazing about visiting somewhere like Mafia Island is your priorities really change. At the end of the day - a cool swim, a cold beer and dinner is pretty much all you need. This is my kind of place.

Check out Peter's main website www.mafiaisland.com  - which links to both his lodges.

Peter writes a great blog if your really interested in real island life - from someone who lives there !!

Sunset Bar at Lua Cheia

Kinasi Lodge

Posted by AB Holidays | 07 September 2010 | Like this post? Use our share buttons to tell your friends !


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Ras Mbisi | The Home of Barefoot Luxury

Blog Update | Ras Mbisi Lodge | New video !!


Well done Michelle - great video, i love it. Follow @RasMbisi for whats happening on this Mafia Island paradise.



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This week i checked one of my new Twitter followers ( @RasMbisi ) to find she is the owner of Ras Mbisi Lodge in Mafia Island, Tanzania -

This coastline is a part of the world so rarely visited by Australian tourists. The travellers who do get up there are there generally for safari, in Kenya and Tanzania or to visit Zanzibar.

This is certainly a place i would visit to chill out and relax for a while in isolated simplicity. Can you imagine the fishing and snorkelling ?

There are a whole load of activities you can do - sunset cruises to help you unwind, and excursions to local attractions include Chole Island, Chungaruma lakes, Mlola Forest, and the Marine Park located in the Chole Bay area.

There is fishing, snorkelling, diving, sea kayaking, sailing in n’galawas with local boatmen as well as heaps of other great things to see and do.  Fancy a dhow safari around the islands ?

There are places like this of all shapes and sizes all up and down Africa's east coast. Mozambique has some stunning deluxe properties, accessed through Pemba in the Quirimbas Archipelago. Kenya has pockets of beautiful developments, as does Tanzania.

Then there are the islands of the Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Comoros and Mayotte and Madagascar

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Clarens , South Africa | Golden Gate National Park

We recently drove from Johannesburg to Durban and on the way stopped and spent the night in Clarens.

Clarens is a beautiful little town on the edge of the Golden Gate National Park and the Drakensberg mountains. In many ways it reminds me of small towns dotted through Australia's Blue Mountains and southern highlands. Little gift shops, cafes and specialty food stores are in abundance. The air is crisp and has that alpine freshness to it. I was surprised to learn we actually were at quite an altitude - Clarens sits at just over 1900 meters.

Equidistant from Johannesburg, Durban and Bloemfontein, Clarens is fast becoming a semi alpine, trout fishing and golf getaway resort for the South African wealthy.

We discovered that the Golden Gate National Park that we drove through earlier in the day actually contained large elk and some large elk and springbok

We were all in awe at the colours and contours of the incredible cliffs that cleave the landscape. Car high grass made us feel like we were the only ones exploring the vast park and added an element of danger and excitement to the experience.

Eagles, kites and hawks circle and ride the updrafts above our heads as we slowly drive the paved roads that wind through this stunning national park. We did spot Zebra and a solitary blue wildebeest.

Not the usual tourist spot in South Africa, Clarens, the Golden Gate National Park and the Drakensburg are well worth a visit.

Check out Marius Coetzee's photos and blog of his recent trip to the Drakensburg

Watch this great video of the Golden Gate National Park from Siyabona Africa

Check out this amazing time lapse footage | Moonrise and Dawn over Golden Gate National Park, South Africa  | with thanks to Craig Hind




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Kilwa to Mafia Island on a dhow 'Shaniyake'

While looking around on the internet for great new product for our Indian Ocean travel company we come across all kinds of amazing things.

I recently found this great youtube video from Wazza2007

I love the music and think it perfectly matches this short video of a few friends enjoying sailing off the coast of Kenya. Kilwa has an awesome old Arab fortress in ruins at the entrance to the river. It is a very difficult place to find out anything about.

Enjoy !! Let us know your thoughts.....