Chole Mjini Lodge

Under the Stars

This is truly a magical place, real africa. It is a complete escape from every burden of the western world, set on the idyllic peaceful island. There is nothing between you and nature, living amongst the trees, watching the sun rise and the sun set each day from the most incredible tree houses. The hospitality is fantastic, Jean, Ann and Maya welcome you into their unique home and treat you like royality. They have a brilliant relationship with the people of Chole, employing them, establishing a school and health clinic there, committing to the running and financial sponsership of students and staff. They invest so much time in developing the education of these isloated islanders and the conservation of the marine park.

Of our three week honeymoon, the most memorable day was at Chole we dove with Jean and Ann in the crystal clear water of the marine park alongside turtles and huge giant groupers, we then travelled by Dhow boat to the neighbouring island where we witnessed a turtle hatch on a pristine, deserted beach. We returned to watch sun set and have a candle lit dinner, in amongst the ancient ruins. Each day there was a new experience, it felt so homely and liberating, with no mobile phones or electricity to disturb spending romantic, quality time together.

A Magical Spot

I have written a review for each place we stayed on this vacation and all have been pretty amazing but have to say this location was an unexpected highlight for us. When I booked this trip we wanted to do a safari and bypass any beach resorts (especially Zanzibar) as this was not what we wanted this trip to be about. However, our agent at ATR convinced us to give this a try as it would not be like anything we have experienced before. We were told we would have to be open-minded and enjoy living outdoors. We thought why not, let's give it a try. We arrived in the dhow to the jetty at high tide where Jean met us and greeted us warmly. He gave us a little orientation on life on the island, the work he and Anne have done to enhance the live's of the locals and briefed us on the wonders of living in a treehouse with absolutely no power, running water or flushing toilets. At this point we may have been having a few doubts but were intrigued. We then visited the treehouse that was to be our home for the next three nights and fell in love at first sight! What an amazing room (treehouse), beautifully decorated, fabulously comfortable bed with great linens, awesome view and open to the outdoors! We were shown how to operate the ingenius hot water shower system and soon were enjoying the best shower we'd had in two weeks! From here it just got better -a lovely dinner (all fresh seafood) on the jetty, just an intimate group of 4 guests, Jean, and two other ladies (one a tutor for Mya, Jean's daughter the other a friend of Jean's). Anne was away. Jean made us feel like we had known him for years and treated us like old friends - no pretenses, just very warm and friendly conversation. It was a magical evening.

The next days experiences were snorkelling, sailing and diving and the third day included a visit to the local village, a boardgame with Mya and the two other guests, topped with an amazing afternoon trip with Anne (who had returned along with more guests) to see the hatching sea turtles, a swim in the jelly fish pool and a wonderful evening sail around the island arriving back at dark. Dinner was in the ruins this night where we enjoyed chatting with Anne over a leisurely and absolutely delicious meal. Again we felt like we were visiting friends and not staying in a resort.

We especially enjoyed Jean's humour and story-telling, Anne's sense of fun and adventure and Mya's absolutely free spirit.

This experience suited us very well and it is something we will remember fondly forever.

Life in the trees

We had a fantastic time at Chole. The tree-houses are amazing and the whole arrangement of the lodge, amidst the ruins and with beautiful views at every turn, is great. Coming at the end of our trip, after a week of safari and 9 days on buzzy Zanzibar, we felt the timing of our Chole stay was right - it was a good way to end the holiday and head home feeling totally blissed out. We snorkelled, dived (among fantastic coral and thousands of fish), lazed about reading, wandered in the village and drank a lot of beer while admiring beautiful sunsets. Somewhere in between all that, my partner managed to get a PADI Open Water diver qualification!

Chole is not a place to go if you expect to be pampered and waited on every moment. It's just not that kind of set-up. You can't always do the activities that you have in mind - they are very dependent on weather and conditions, especially tides. We hoped to see the whale sharks but big swells and strong winds the few days before we arrived meant that they would not be near the surface. There were plenty of other great things on offer, though, so you just have to roll with the punches and make the most of the opportunities that are there. You also have to be prepared to light the kerosene flame to heat your own shower, use long-drop toilets, and do without electricity. The accommodation is so lovely, though, that it's not exactly a hardship.

We really enjoyed the time we spent with Jean and Anne, the owners, and their daughter Maya, and Maya's teacher Lina, and Jean's brother Rocco - we felt like part of the family by the end of our visit. All the staff were very friendly and kind, too.

I really recommend this place to people who want something totally out of the ordinary, and who aren't afraid to take it as it comes!

Chole Mjini Lodge

Our next 5 nights were spent at Chole Mjini Lodge on Chole Island next to Mafia. Reviews of the Lodge on TA are a bit mixed, owing to people’s varied reaction to the owners, Anne and Jean, who live on site and give the Lodge a bit of a bed and breakfast feel. They have built a unique property on this mangrove-fringed island, using some clever engineering to overcome the lack of electricity and other amenities we take for granted elsewhere. None of the pictures I saw online do the place justice. The rooms are basically large, roofed platforms in baobab trees, with big, comfortable beds and mosquito netting. We slept great, especially on breezy nights. Dinners were fun, served at various places around the property, such as in the ruins or on the jetty, always by lamplight, very nice. Breakfasts were fair, lunches a bit disappointing, as they ran out of food before everyone was done a couple times, and no snacks were served or available between meals, excepting chips at cocktail hour in the evenings. We did, however, have a very nice lunch on the beach at a small island, just our group and Maya, our hosts' daughter. It was delicious and relaxing. BTW, our 7 kids nearly cleaned the place out of sodas over 5 days, Jean told me they set a new record, probably never to be broken.

There are many activities at the lodge, most cost extra, but prices are spelled out clearly in the brochure you receive on arrival. Most are water-based, using their small fleet of hand-built wooden dhows (built right on Chole, visit the shipyard). We went on a few snorkel trips, a bit disappointing due to high winds, but the coral was in great shape, definitely. I have no doubt the diving is good, too. We also went to Juani Island a couple times, once to see sea turtles hatching and crawling into the sea for the first time, another to go on the “Little Amazon” river trip. Both were well worth the effort

If you go to Chole, remember that any beach outings are dependent on high/low tides, so make your plans 1 day in advance so you won’t be disappointed. As for Anne and Jean, they are nice people, just set in their ways on their remote outpost. Be clear about what you want to do when you are there and they will get you squared away. Our kids had a decent time, but without a beach or pool a few days is probably a good enough amount of time for families to visit. Based on what I have heard about Zanzibar, I would recommend checking out Chole after a safari, instead. Or, simply upgrade some of your safari lodgings and just skip the beach altogether. Zanzibar just doesn’t seem worth the hassle of visiting compared to other beach locations around the world. Chole (and Chole Mjini) is unique, though.