Africa & Middle East > Tanzania > Coast > Dar Es Salaam > Articles > Ras Kutani

In Tanzania, the perfect way to end a safari is to wash off the dust in the Indian Ocean. In which case Ras Kutani is the name to remember. Sheltered from the rest of the world by a pristine forest alive with monkeys, Ras Kutani is a romantic hideaway in the best traditions of Africa’s barefoot luxury beach lodges. Lying just 35 km south of Dar es Salaam, it is the only lodge in Africa where you are met at the airstrip and conveyed by rowing boat across a lily-covered lagoon.

Under the palms are a dozen thatched cottages, each one the size of a modest tithe barn and open to the sea breezes, with en-suite showers, giant beds and voluminous white mosquito nets. Each one has a shady verandah where you can loll in a hammock or relax on a heap of colourful scatter cushions. Beside every bed is a beach bag containing a straw hat and a cotton wraparound kikoi. These, plus sun block and swimwear, are all you need at Ras Kutani.

Outside, sandy paths wind under the palms to the beach – a mile of blissful, bone-white sand strewn at low water with tropical shells. Apart from a few local fishermen from down the coast, you can have it all to yourself. In all honesty it is not a great place for snorkelling. If you want to look at fish you should go down to the Mafia archipelago. But by way of compensation it’s a great beach for boogie-boarding, especially when the Kusi is blowing – the monsoon wind that once drove the great trading dhows back home to Arabia.

The staff are as friendly as only Tanzanians can be, and appear to take a genuine delight in looking after their guests. On the beach they will happily fix you up with a sun lounger, a hand-woven sunshade and a flag on a stick which you place upright in the sand to summon a waiter whenever you are thirsty.

To complete the picture there is a bar, library and a spacious dining area. The cuisine is outstanding, Pan-African in style, with the accent on seafood and fresh tropical fruit.

The entire mood of Ras Kutanis is one of indolence, but anyone wishing to burn off a few extra calories can hire a horse for a canter along the beach, borrow a kayak to look for pied kingfishers around the freshwater lagoon, or walk through the surrounding coastal forest in search of black and white colobus monkeys and exquisite tropical butterflies.

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