Magnificent Animals Of The Serengeti, Tanzania

On her first trip to Tanzania, Saumya Ancheri finds renewal in the magnificent animals of the Serengeti

- Saumya Ancheri

Dinner is served on a sunken table in a sandpit. Surrounded by flickering lanterns and candles, I sip a smooth pinot noir with my feet resting in the powdery white sand of this quiet beach. I'm on my first international trip since the pandemic began. I feel free and easy, as if transported back a couple of years, basking in the ocean's gentle roar and the distant glow of a million galaxies above.

In a way, it's the pandemic that has me mellowing in Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous island off Tanzania's mainland. When Susan Neva, a private travel designer at the tour operator Alluring Africa, found that there were only twice-weekly direct flights from India to Dar er Salaam, she suggested I head to the island for a few nights before beginning my itinerary on the mainland. Tanzania offers easy access to an incredible diversity of landscapes, Susan said, and with the African sands thrown in, I was set for a truly iconic trip. As it turned out, I wasn't just saved the hassle of a 20-hour layover. Most safari guests head to Zanzibar to unwind before returning home, but the reverse was just what I needed. I lost the constant churn of my city-dweller mind somewhere in the gently rolling waves and ruffling wind, freeing me to be fully present for my time in the wild.

I had told Susan I was intrigued by Zanzibar's Stone Town with its carved doors, spice bazaars, and historic church built on what was once East Africa's largest market of enslaved people. So she set me up with ZanTours' knowledgeable guide Muhammad Hamiz on my first day, before I headed to the hotel at the other end of the island. A Zanzibari and former physics schoolteacher, Muhammad has guided tourists for over 15 years. Like all the Tanzanians I would meet, he is courteous, gentle and soft-spoken. I longed to get a feel for the place and its culture, but we only had a few hours, so we went on an immersive walk.