What we’re doing to minimise Covid-19 risks for our guests

Zanzibar tourism authorities are keen to get the island open again as so many local livelihoods depend on tourism. We need to establish a fine balance between having great days out but with a new sense of social responsibility and personal health risk awareness. Safari Blue is taking these risks and responsibilities seriously, not just for guests but also for the large number of local staff we employ on the island. We are making some changes to the way we operate and adding a new ‘bubble boat’ for those still being cautious about mixing in public. We’ve also equipped and re-trained our staff and teamed up with SteriScope from South Africa and developed our own unique Special Operating Procedures. There is nothing standard about the way we are working now.

Safari Blue Covid-19 safety measures:

  • All boats and equipment will be disinfected with SteriScope, an extremely effective, environmentally friendly, marine safe and food safe disinfectant before and after each tour.
  • We have reduced the maximum number of guests on our standard Safari Blue tour.
  • We have added a ‘Bubble Boat‘ – the same Safari Blue tour but with the option for a group to have their own ‘social bubble’ boat. (aka no strangers just you and crew)
  • Our food prep, service areas and restaurant area will be disinfected with SteriScope before and after guests arrive.
  • We are providing more room between tables at lunch for social distancing
  • Our lunch buffet will be staggered to allow for more distance between guests during service.
  • There will be washing stations with soap available. Our staff have constructed foot operated washing stations which will be placed near the restaurant and toilet block.
  • We’ve reached out to the local seaweed centre who are supplying us with Mwani, their locally made hand sanitiser. Guests may purchase this on the tour or bring their own hand sanitiser.
  • Guests are asked to bring their own re-usable water bottles, or they can purchase one of our Safari Blue water bottles.
  • Our staff have undergone special training and regular briefings to understand how to create the best experience for our guests while also minimising risks.
  • We are doing our best to adapt and communicate to everyone, from point of booking onwards, on how we can continue to deliver our Safari Blue products and give our guests a fab day out with minimum risk, without adversely impacting our hard earned small environmental footprint and community focus.

SteriScope Disinfection

We realised that to give people confidence in our equipment, boats, food handling, tented restaurant and toilets, that we would need to go to the next level in cleaning and protection.

We needed to source something which was people, food and marine safe while offering maximum protection from Covid-19. Alongside new operating procedures, SteriScope is a simple, effective and environmentally friendly solution for our staff to manage.

Safari Blue Water Bottles

We were already plastic free, but as we continue to make adaptions for Covid we are now offering plastic cups on our tours for guests who don’t have their own. But we still advise where possible for guests to bring their own re-useable cups or water bottles.

Our new branded water bottles are available to purchase before or during your trip. We are happy if you bring your own too.

Staff Training

We started training in early March 2020 and continued after our staff were furloughed and then returned to operations in June 2020. All staff have been been briefed and trained on our new Covid-19 protocols.

Locally Sourced Hand Sanitizer

We have sourced our hand sanitizer from Mwani Zanzibar (formerly the Seaweed Center at Paje). ‘Mwani’ literally means ‘seaweed’ in Swahili.

Their sanitizer is approved by the Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency (ZFDA) and recommended by the World Health Organization. The formula has a high ethanol content (98% derived from cane sugar).

Hand Built Wash Stations

These wonderful hand crafted hand washing stations have been made by our furloughed staff. Filled with water, the tap is operated by a foot pedal and another pedal operates the soap dispenser. ‘No hands’ hand washing!

We have placed these close to our toilet block, restaurant and departure points.

Locally-made Face Masks

We are extremely happy to have found a local solution to our face mask needs. The lovely Doreen Mashika (‘DM’) will be supplying us with face masks made from Kitenge fabric (colourful, traditional bold waxed prints). What’s even better is that for every one we sell, DM will donate another to the local community. Masks are required – please bring your own, or purchase one of these on the day.