Quad Bike Village Adventure, Zanzibar

Kiwengwa and the north-east coast

Kiwengwa is a long white beach on the north-east coast of Zanzibar, about an hour's drive from Stone Town, lined with resorts and backed by a village of the same name. The sea here is tidal: at low tide the water retreats a long way over the sand flats, and at high tide the lagoon turns a deep turquoise. The quad base is in Kiwengwa village, a short walk or taxi ride from most hotels along this stretch and from neighbouring Pwani Mchangani.

The ride starts with a briefing and a few minutes of practice on the quads, which are easy to handle. Helmets are provided. From the base the tracks head inland almost immediately, leaving the hotels behind within minutes. A quad bike ride in Zanzibar is the easiest way to reach the farmland and villages that visitors on the beach never see.

Villages and farmland inland

Behind the coast the land rises onto coral rag, an old reef limestone covered with thin soil, where villagers grow cassava, bananas, maize and sweet potatoes in small plots cleared between the bush. The tracks run between these fields and through hamlets of coral-stone and makuti-thatch houses, where children wave and goats wander across the path. Your guide stops in a village to explain how people live and farm here.

This part of the route is slow and social rather than fast, and it is where most riders take their photographs. Please ask before photographing people and dress modestly, since Zanzibar's villages are conservative. The tropical fruit stop is usually here: mango, papaya, pineapple, banana or whatever is in season, cut open and shared under a tree.

Spice plantations and baobab trees

The inland tracks pass plantations of cloves, cinnamon, pepper and coconut palms, the same crops that made Zanzibar famous as the Spice Island, growing in mixed smallholdings rather than large estates. Your guide points out the trees as you ride by and may stop so you can smell a clove bud or a cinnamon leaf. Fruit trees are everywhere: jackfruit, breadfruit, mango and papaya.

The most photographed trees on the route are the baobabs, massive grey trunks that look upside down and can be centuries old; several stand alone in the fields near the villages. The red earth, green plantations and grey baobabs make a striking combination, especially on the afternoon ride when the light is lower. This section is about half an hour of easy riding.

The beach stop and the ride back

The loop returns to the coast for a break on the beach, where you can cool off, take photographs of the quads on the sand and, at low tide, walk out over the flats. Depending on the tide the stop is on Kiwengwa beach itself or a quieter stretch nearby. There is no swimming time planned, but you can paddle.

The ride back to the base takes another twenty minutes or so, and the whole adventure lasts around four hours from briefing to return. The morning ride at 9:00 am is cooler; the afternoon ride at 2:00 pm has softer light for photographs. The dry months from June to October and December to February keep the tracks firm, while heavy rain in April and May can make them muddy and the ride may be rescheduled.