German tourist stunned by boat toilet near Zanzibar — loo flushes straight into the ocean

A German woman who has lived on the Tanzanian island for the past two years posted a video on social media showing an unusual toilet aboard a traditional dhow boat — the loo, it turns out, was directly connected to the waters of the Indian Ocean. The clip was later picked up by the AP news agency.

The video first shows the toilet bowl, with bright blue water glowing up from below, before panning out to reveal the whole "cabin" — an open-air nook at the stern of the boat. At the time, the vessel was anchored near Mnemba Island, one of the most famous snorkeling and diving spots not just in Zanzibar but across East Africa. The island is known for its crystal-clear water, coral reefs, schools of tropical fish, sea turtles and dolphins.

Mnemba Island itself is private — only guests of the upscale resort located there are allowed onshore, while tourists on day-trip boats normally stay in the surrounding waters.

The woman behind the video, a German named Liberra, said she had joined a one-day boat tour expecting a perfectly ordinary toilet on board. "At first glance, it looked completely normal. But when I looked down, I realized the flush was basically provided by the Indian Ocean itself. I never thought I'd have to time my bathroom breaks around the speed of the boat. Island life really does throw surprises at you," she admitted, adding that she would have felt awkward using such a toilet while the boat was anchored in shallow water.

Social media users called it the strangest toilet they'd ever seen. Commenters noted that this kind of setup is still fairly common on small traditional boats off the coast of Zanzibar, as well as in Oman and Southeast Asia.

For comparison, some pointed to a historical example: old railway carriages in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe, up until the 1980s, had open drainage systems that emptied straight onto the tracks — which is why passengers couldn't use the toilet while the train was stopped at a station.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz