There are certain things one expects to find in a tourist-themed shop on the African continent. Animal carvings, perhaps, and local artwork. T-shirts celebrating the neighbourhood attractions. Postcards of impossibly perfect vistas. But endless piles of Freddie Mercury merchandise? There’s only once place in Africa you could possibly be…

Welcome to Stonetown, the old fort city that serves as capital of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar. Celebrated for its spices, its beaches, and its warmth of welcome, Zanzibar has a further claim that’s not quite so widely known: the island gave us Freddy Mercury, the flamboyant front-man of rock group Queen, and a man whose fame is now proudly displayed across his birthplace, from acres of tourist kitsch, to seafood restaurant 'Mercury' on the sea front.

But much as the locals take pride in their link to one of British music's iconic figures, the island boasts attractions well beyond a lingering tribute to a departed musician, and Stonetown itself is foremost amongst those. Full of old stone buildings, narrow, winding passages, and quite breathtaking wooden doors, it’s a fascinating place to explore.

And as the first stop on the island if you arrive on the ferry from Dar es Salaam (the more sedate alternative to flying in to Zanzibar — and at $30 a trip, considerably cheaper), it's the obvious starting point in exploring the island. Once you’ve negotiated your way past the posse of informal tour guides eager to accompany you — there’s a cheerful insistence, but poor as the local people largely are, offers of goods or services for sale are invariably polite, and free of the drawn out negotiation of a South African traffic light — a quirky old port town awaits.

Old forts and stone buildings dot the capital of Zanzibar, that plays out against a vista of light commercial shipping, and the trademark dhows that crowd the horizon. The buildings house a great collection of restaurants, with seafood, Indian cuisine and traditional Swahili fare complemented by a number of Italian spots, with the aforementioned Mercury doing a great trade in pizzas (and holidaying Queen fans, I suppose). And Stonetown is also very much cocktail territory — a cosmopolitan crowd gathers on the deck of Africa House, the old British Club in days gone by, a grand platform to watch the sun slip down almost as quickly as lurid cocktails with exotic names.

Enjoy crayfish fresh off the braai

But also hidden amongst the alleys and corridors are an assortment of hotels and lodges, mazy routes leading to inconspicuous doors that reveal plenty of cool, spacious accommodation. For about $40 a night (quoting in Tanzanian shillings makes it seem a fortune), you can find an air conditioned room with a bathroom (be warned, though — Zanzibar isn’t big on shower curtains, just an open shower head), and in the case of the Safari Lodge just down from the port, you have the option of a dazzling array of satellite television channels that might not all come directly from the broadcasters in question…

Watching Fox Movies or Bollywood star chatter holds scant attraction, though, when there’s an island to explore, and once you’ve seen the buildings, done some shopping, and visited the brilliant night food market (endless trestle tables littered with fresh lobster, crab, prawns, snapper, octopus, and several unidentifiable kebabs, all waiting to be cooked on an open fire to your specifications), the spice farms of Zanzibar are your next stop.

Spice things up...

A local tour guide is essential — and extremely entertaining. A stop at the ruins of the Sultan’s burnt down palace reveals the purpose of the building ("the Sultan would visit his wives here for some horizontal refreshment," our guide revealed with a grin), and a walk through the spice farms, a dream for both chef and botanist, reveals that Cockney slang has somehow found its way into the local patter.

"That falls on you, and you're brown bread (dead)," the warning when pointing to a coconut; "I need to take some of these spices home for the trouble and strife (wife)," delivered with a well practiced weariness.

The avid botanist could probably spend significant time exploring the spice route, but as a half-day diversion it serves as a perfect appetiser en route to the other big attraction of the island: the beach. The east coast of Zanzibar is far more developed, and is home to several large luxury hotels; for a more authentic local flavour, however, head to the north west coast, and the rich white sand and shimmering turquoise waters of Nungwi Beach.

A step up from backpacking, Nungwi is dotted with simple, clean lodges with plenty of hot water, and never more than a minute’s worth of travel between you and the ocean. There is enough accommodation to warrant simply arriving and strolling along the strip, enquiring as to what rooms and prices are on offer (the spirit of negotiation is strong in Zanzibar).

And therein lies one of Zanzibar’s chief delights: sitting on the deck of a restaurant, watching a flotilla of dhows glide across the horizon, and washing down an impossibly vivid sunset with a succession of cold Kilimanjaros (the local beer), before climbing into fresh fish (around R30 a main course, with fresh snapper at the 'Fat Fish' highly recommended), or if you’re feeling particularly luxuriant, a giant 800g crayfish for about R80. Why on earth Freddie Mercury wanted to leave…

Laidback evenings and kaleidoscope days...

Simply dozing on the beach is the natural complement to laidback evenings of beer, seafood and splendid sunsets, but there’s also plenty of diving off Nungwi, and the option of a day trip on a dhow.

Heading up the coast, and accompanied by a school of dolphins as friendly as the local people, the boat glides into place just off Mnemba Island (privately owned, and home to a luxury South African hotel, and a very self-important South African security guard, policing the waters in yellow kayak and Speedo), where lies a coral reef that’s a blaze of piscine colour, fish of every hue darting about amongst the coral, and providing hypnotic entertainment to the snorkelling tourist.

Throw in a fish braai on an endless stretch of white beach, and a gentle sail back to Nungwi Beach and any semblance of normality seems a world away and more — surrealism of the perfect sort. The food, the people, the climate and the ocean all combine for a destination that’s in equal parts absorbing and relaxing.

Throw in the chance to buy as many Freddy Mercury t-shirts as you could possibly carry home, and you can't help but fall in love with the place. Zanzibar? It’s a kind of magic, I suppose…