How Zanzibar gave Dutch woman a new lease on life

Zanzibar. After emerging from a difficult period in her life, Gera Diesfeldt left behind the familiar comforts of the Netherlands and embarked on a journey that would eventually lead her to a new beginning on the shores of Zanzibar.

Her kids are all grown up; the youngest is 26, while the firstborn is 35. She pondered what she would do for the rest of her life. She felt like she needed a new beginning.

Her heart was always set on visiting Africa, but she never dared to, not alone anyway. The urge to visit the continent was always lodged at the back of her mind; eventually, she caved. She decided to visit Gambia in West Africa to scratch that off her bucket list.

“I went for a holiday to Gambia and saw how it feels. I went for three weeks, and it felt like coming home,” she reminisced.

For the first time, she wasn’t homesick; it was such a good, refreshing feeling that she contemplated making Africa her permanent home.

Initially, she wanted to open a picturesque beach bar in Gambia, but fate would have it otherwise: one of her old colleagues had married a man from Zanzibar; when they crossed paths, they persuaded her to go to the island with them.

They were moving from the Netherlands to live on the island, and they urged her to visit first before deciding where she would relocate to. That was the beginning of her journey to the spice island.

Her relocation to Zanzibar wasn’t all fairy tale. She had planned to build her own Airbnb or hotel; unfortunately, an unscrupulous contractor disappeared with half her money just as construction began. A huge setback. She had to travel back to the Netherlands and regroup, which included getting back to her old job. Despite the odds, Gera was never discouraged; she had already fallen in love with the island.

The locals were amazing people; they treated her like family. She would walk around the Makunduchi area, in the southeastern part of Unguja.

A coastal community where she would see children playing outside, running around with makeshift toy cars, laughing and carefree.

That image never left her mind. She embraced that free spirit and was truly embraced by the community. So even when she left the island, she carried that part with her.

Another fate returned her to the island: a friend of hers, with whom she had worked 40 years ago in the mental health sector, wanted to visit Zanzibar to see whether she and her husband could invest in her stalled hotel construction.

When her pal got to her Makunduchi plot, they coincidentally saw the hotel next door; they decided to invest in that and sought Gera to go back to Zanzibar and manage it.

“They called me from Zanzibar, like, when can you quit your job? Because we have found a hotel near your plot; it is already in business, we can take it over, and you can be the manager here,” she recalled their conversation.

Now she manages Coral Cliff Villas in Shungi, Makunduchi. A beachside resort that has brought her back to the community which she longed to get back to.

“It’s really quiet and peaceful here. For those who want to settle down and get a bit of rest after a safari trip to the mainland,” she said. “And for people who want to have fun, it’s not too far from the parties; it’s like a 10-minute drive to Jambiani and Paje,” Gera added.

Coral Cliff is really on a cliff with a breathtaking ocean view; during low tide, you get to see a lot of locals working on the beach, fishing or searching for seaweed. “It’s really relaxing here,” she said, smiling. Her Kiswahili is still in its infancy, but the smiles and hugs they share communicate more than words ever could. “My Kiswahili is kidogo, just really kidogo,” she laughed.

Her favourite phrase is kila kitu freshi. And indeed, now things are all well. She has been on the island for two years now.

Coming from a healthcare profession, this has been her first time managing an accommodation, but it’s not really a challenge but a blessing; it is still the hospitality industry, where you take care of people, something she loves to do. She gets to meet people from different nations: Kazakhstan, France, Italy, South Africa and beyond.

“Pleasing people, wanting them to feel good, and giving them the time of their life, it’s a bit like hospitality,” she said.

“It’s nice to meet a lot of different people,” she added. Now in Zanzibar, she has a new lease on life; she can now sit back, watch football, visit the local Makundichi festival and dance with the locals. She is living each moment for herself in the new golden chapter of her life.

Gera has seen a surge of Europeans visiting the archipelago. Just a few years ago, she was among many people in the Netherlands who did not know Zanzibar; most of them went to the tropical islands in the Caribbean, Curaçao and Aruba.

But now more Television programs about Zanzibar are on Dutch television. That has contributed immensely to the increase in the number of Dutch tourists visiting the East African island.

“I was really surprised that French, Italians and Germans were coming to Zanzibar so much,” she wondered. Now she organizes village tours for tourists, letting them see the community she has fallen in love with.

That, along with visits to Prison Island, Jozani Forest, and all the caves, “mainly we try to connect our visitors with the locals in Makunduchi,” she pointed out.

Her social media profile picture shows her surrounded by smiling students; the children look jovial and stopped mid-football game to take a picture with their European neighbour they welcomed into their village.

Gera’s first local friend is Ali, a resident of Makunduchi. Ali and his family have formed a bond with her. “That family is really in my heart now,” she said.

At the Resort, Gera has a group of friends who do aqua gym twice a week; guests are always welcome to join in.

It’s the little exercise she does while overlooking the ocean that keeps her physically fit. Not many people can say they work out in a gym with a stunning coastal view.

She keeps in touch with her children via WhatsApp and FaceTime. She couldn’t ask for a better life. For other investors who want to come to Zanzibar, she encourages them to do so. Zanzibar is at its real estate and tourism prime; however, caution and due diligence must be practiced.

She urges investors to involve relevant government institutions before any purchase and in case they need necessary authentications. “Really check, and double-check if the land that you want to buy is really from that owner,” she advised.

The Zanzibar government has its rules and regulations for investors; she urged potential financiers of any venture on the island to know those rules in advance.