There are places in the world where you can swim with whale sharks and others where you can see hippopotami. Never did I consider snorkeling above a whale shark the size of a school bus and, in the same day, seeing a hippopotamus stick its head out of a reed-lined freshwater pond. Add sailing in Tanzania’s Zanzibar Archipelago on a former Soviet icebreaker turned superyacht to my experience, and my cruise was mind-blowing.
Aqua Expeditions is a boutique cruise line that specializes in experiences for well-heeled travelers with a sense of adventure, such as hanging out underwater with a shark, that don’t involve a lot of other people—and for travelers willing to pay handsomely for the experience.
My 11-night maiden voyage of the Indian Ocean left Mahé, the most populated of the 115 islands of the Seychelles, to explore the remote, uninhabited Outer Islands of the Seychelles. We mostly hung out in private marine reserves and then continued to Tanzania’s culture-rich Spice Islands, where we eventually landed in bustling Zanzibar.
The route is the brainchild of Aqua Expeditions founder and CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro, who first sailed the coast of East Africa as a child. As an adult, he particularly remembers the wildlife. He saw an opportunity to introduce his guests to “the Galápagos of Africa,” he says. (The company’s six-ship fleet includes a yacht in the Galápagos.)
Our venue for exploration was the newly acquired 15-cabin superyacht, which the company renamed Aqua Lares. The ship was built in 1974 and later belonged to billionaire Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. The Aqua Lares will sail in the Arctic during the summer, including in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, and in the Indian Ocean the rest of the year..
The lure of wildlife
As in the Galápagos, this itinerary included giant tortoises, too, which we visited at the remote Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO Marine World Heritage Site and one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls. It’s home to more than 150,000 giant tortoises, the largest population in the world (with the Galápagos in second place). Many from the Seychelles have not been to the atoll, which is closer to Madagascar than to Mahé and allows only 1,000 visitors a year.
We wet-landed inflatable Zodiacs (the method of going ashore for most of our itinerary, whereby you disembark into shallow water and walk the rest of the way) at the Aldabra research station, operated by the Seychelles Islands Foundation, where we walked among giant tortoises hanging around the research facility. My cabinmate, my 25-year-old niece, Sasha, shook hands with a tortoise who has become friendly with resident naturalists.
So caught up were we in the experience that we returned to the ship on the last tender, missing the low tide, which required us to walk through thigh-high water. But the tidal change brought another wildlife bonus: close encounters with curious, black-tipped sharks.
Later, touring on a Zodiac jaunt around a lagoon in the Aldabra Atoll at dusk, we observed a thriving population of red-footed boobies, which are also common in the Galápagos.
Facing fears and pushing boundaries
One reason I brought my niece on the trip was that I wanted a snorkeling buddy. I am a timid swimmer, and the amount of underwater activity on this cruise proved intense for me. The primary morning and afternoon activity for the first several cruise days was boarding a bouncing Zodiac from the yacht’s pool deck, heading out to the deep sea, jumping off the Zodiac, and later climbing a ladder to get back on board. It was exhausting—and amazing.
Sailing on the Aqua Lares in East Africa is a marine-animal lover’s dream.
Anthony K Do/Yvonne Kreuzmayr
Led by the ship’s three Seychelles-based conservationist guides (one a marine biologist), we swam with sea turtles, a variety of rays and sharks, and all kinds of colorful fish. At times it seemed as if we were witnessing an underwater highway as the marine life swam around healthy coral formations. The half-dozen guests who were scuba divers were provided with equipment and saw even more deep-sea life as they explored giant walls of coral further below the surface.
In between the underwater activities was an afternoon on one of the most idyllic tiny islands I’ve ever been to. Under swaying palms and on powdered sugar-like sand, the crew set up a “beach club” with a bar. After I took a much-needed walk on dry land, I sipped wine from the comfort of a beanbag lounger and appreciated pale blue water from a more relaxing angle.
The hippo whisperer
On traditional wooden dhows (a type of sailboat), crewed by locals hired by a German dive-shop owner, we went whale-shark spotting off Mafia Island. For our hippo adventure, we landed near the main Mafia Island town of Kilindoni and drove a half hour on dirt roads, glimpsing life in the dusty town and outlying areas, including passing women in hijabs; the Zanzibar archipelago is majority Muslim.
Hippos first arrived in the area around the turn of the last century, after flooding on Tanzania’s mainland, and there are about 70 of the creatures around the island. They are not particularly well liked since they tend to destroy rice paddies and other crops. Some locals hunt and trap them. As a result, the creatures tend to hide.
Walking through tall grass as insects and birds created a choir of sound, we arrived at a pond, where a third-generation hippo whisperer told us about his efforts to protect the animals. He and his crew used various whoops and calls to draw their attention. At the sight of a hippo’s head coming out of the water, we whooped too.
Missing for me was any real insight into Swahili culture, even as we briefly visited a traditional Swahili fishing village on nearby Chole Island.
This was mostly a cruise for people who love snorkeling or diving. On an early morning off Assumption Island in the Seychelles, we saw a nurse shark, a moray eel, and a large stingray, all before 8:30 a.m. It’s enough to make anyone feel like a marine-animal nerd.
The newly refitted Aqua Lares from Aqua Expeditions will sail both the warmer waters of East Africa and the polar waters of the Arctic.
Courtesy of Aqua Expeditions
Sailing on Aqua Expeditions’ Aqua Lares
In refitting the 253-foot superyacht, the design team, including Birgit Galli Zugaro, wife of Francesco, set out to create an elegant yet comfortable environment. Cushy furnishings from Italian designers, such as Minotti couches indoors and out, invite passengers to curl up with a good book or play a game of backgammon with a fellow shipmate.
To protect flooring that’s made of marble and high-gloss wood, the six-deck ship has a no-shoes-allowed policy, both inside and outside. You can wear the provided blue velvet slippers if you want. Most passengers go barefoot.
Dining is family style; some meals are served in the main lounge, and others are hosted alfresco, with guests seated at long communal tables accented with extravagant beaded napkin rings that change daily and gold-rimmed ceramic dishes from Bali.
The theme for the cuisine was still being determined. Chef Karime Lopez, the first Mexican woman to receive a Michelin star (for a restaurant in Florence), is currently consulting. Some of the most impressive dishes included freshly caught fish in a Veracruz sauce (with tomatoes and jalapeños), and pasta with salmon roe. Our favorite meal was the “Zanzibar-spiced” wagyu rib eye. Missing for me were more tastes of Africa. Meals are accompanied by complimentary pours of South African wines.
Each cabin, including the owner’s suite (pictured), on the Aqua Lares has its own unique layout and decor.
Photo by Stevie Mann/Courtesy of Aqua Expeditions
The yacht’s bespoke cabins, each with its own distinct layout, start small, at 139 square feet, and rise to three tony suites; the owner’s suite is more than 700 square feet. None has a balcony, which you don’t really miss given the generous availability of open deck space. Our deluxe cabin had a big executive desk on a raised platform, a king-size bed, and enough space in between to do flips.
A cooking class and a showing of the movie Castaway in the yacht’s 14-seat cinema were among the minimal activities offered. The itinerary could have used a boost by, say, offering lectures by an East African historian or even showing documentaries about the region. We did get excellent lectures by two of the conservationists, who discussed marine life and sustainability efforts in the Seychelles.
At the ship’s spa, which is equipped with a small Jacuzzi and a sauna, guests can book massages by a therapist from Mauritius. A “gym” was set up each morning with a rower and a bench and weights out on deck.
Sundowner cocktail hour was a nightly event. One evening, cocktails were served on the heli deck, which was set up like a cool Moroccan hookah lounge. (The heli pad is not regularly used but is available for guests who enlist the ship for full-ship charters, which start at about $600,000.) On another evening, there was a surprise champagne masquerade party complete with provided Venetian masks.
To book: An 11-night Seychelles and Tanzania itinerary on Aqua Lares starts at $19,800 per person.
