Trip Report Mafia, Zanzibar and Pemba.
We have just had three weeks diving in Mafia, Zanzibar and Pemba from 26th December 2008 to 19th January 2009.
We flew BMI, Kenya and Precision to Zanzibar from Manchester via London and Nairobi. Then there was a Coastal flight from Zanzibar to Mafia via Dar es Salaam. No problems here, just a few things to be aware of.
If you can, get a visa before travelling. The immigration queue at Zanzibar airport is slow and very long. If you buy a visa on arrival payment is in US$ cash.
Keep re-checking your flight departure times. Our flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar was rescheduled several times after we booked it, at one point we were due to arrive in Zanzibar 15 minutes before the Coastal departure to Mafia.
There is a weight limit of 15kg per person on Coastal flights, anything over this is charged as US$1 per kilo. They were fairly relaxed about it and didn't charge us for being a couple of kilo over but other people with more weight were charged. The luggage is loaded into holds underneath the aircraft body and there is a size limit to what can be carried. A holdall of 80cm by 50cm by 40cm was no problem. It's your responsibility to make sure that your luggage is loaded / unloaded on your flight.
There seem to be only 3 hotels on Mafia which vary from the horrendously expensive to very expensive. We stayed at the Mafia Island Lodge in Utende which was the least expensive.
Avoid it at all cost at peak holiday time. The hotel was full of Italian family groups, very noisy and infested with hyperactive, bored children. The evening meal was buffet style served late which didn't suit us at all.
We had a couple of days outside this period and it was actually a really nice place to stay.
The rooms are a bit spartan but adequate. The showers were a luke warm dribble, the fans/aircon worked but sounded like a washing machine on final rinse. There was no swimming pool. Snacks / drinks were expensive, US$7 for an indifferent fish sandwich. The coffee tasted like sludge so take your own Instant. There were intermittent power cuts.
There are virtually no shops near the Lodge so take all the sun block you need with you.
All the hotels are in the Marine Park and guests are charged US$10 per person per day park fee. This is paid at the park entrance when you arrive. It's US$ cash only and keep the receipt, it's collected on the way out.
We dived with Mafia Island Tours which is based at the Mafia Island Lodge. We were generally happy with them. The rental equipment was Scubapro and Mares and was in good condition. The tanks were aluminium. Diving times are dictated by the tides, most of ours happened to be in the afternoon. The dive boats are small converted dhows that can carry around 8 divers at a squeeze. Water entrance is a back roll off the side, it's kit off in the water before getting back onboard up the ladder.
It was generally a 1hr 20min trip out to the dive sites most of which were outside the mouth of Chole bay at either Jina Pass or Kinasi Pass Currents were on occasion strong, the drift dives were exhilarating, At slack water the currents were minimal. It's the usual mixture of walls and coral gardens. No dive was deeper that 23 metres. The dive / boat crew were local and pretty good. We seemed to be the only dive boat out each day.
The marine life was spectacular with massive Groupers and Napoleon Wrasse everywhere. Stonefish, Lionfish, Morays, Turtles, Sting Rays and even Sharks (black / white tip) The coral was extensive and healthy and in good condition with no sign of bleaching. There was a huge range of soft and hard corals.
The one big problem was the visibility. It varied from 5 metres on occasion to around 10 metres generally. There was quite a lot of silt and algae in the water. One of the divers on our boat was returning to Mafia after a few years away and didn't remember it ever being this bad. She had been working in Mafia on some conservation project for several months and had dived consistently over that period.
We had one morning snorkelling with whale sharks in the Mafia Channel just outside Killindoni and one day diving out at Mange Reef.
Next stop was Nungwi on the north coast of Zanzibar. We stayed at Flame Tree Cottages which I can recommend 100%. They have quiet bungalows set in gardens on the sea front, comfortable rooms, excellent food (ask for the goat curry) and all reasonably priced. If you are looking to eat out in Nungwi then Langi-Langi or Cinnamon restaurants are pretty good.
We dived with East Africa Diving, based about 100 metres down the coast from Flame Tree Cottages . They were a professional outfit and we had a good time with them. Their rental equipment was a mixture, mainly Scubapro, all well maintained. The tanks were steel. All the dive crew were Western and had a good knowledge of the reefs. The boat crew were local. Like Mafia, diving was from converted dhows but these were a bit bigger and a lot easier to move around on.
All our diving was done around Mnemba Island which is around 1hr 30mins from Nungwi going there and 2hrs coming back depending on the wind. If the wind is strong the journey back is very rough.
All dives were scheduled for the morning, the exact sites dependent on the tides and currents. The reefs off the western and southern sides of the island could get a bit crowded at times. We were the only boat diving on the eastern oceanic side of Mnenba.
I was pleasantly surprised by the diving. The reefs were in good condition, not as rich with coral and fish life as Mafia but better than I had expected. We saw lots of Lion Fish, Turtles and even a shark.. The best for me was seeing Spanish Dancers.
Visibility was generally around 20 metres, worse when the wind was strong.
Our final destination was Pemba Island. We stayed at the Manta Reef Lodge on the northern tip of the island. This place is definitely a little bit of luxury and really nice place to stay at even if you are not diving. It's very quiet and very relaxing. The bungalow rooms are big and well furnished, and have aircon and / or fans. The showers worked and the water was hot. The restaurant was good and there was a bar with a resident barman to mix cocktails. There is a swimming pool. They even have Internet access.
There are no shops at all near the Lodge so take everything you need with you.
The onsite dive operator is Oxygene 2. We were very happy with them. The rental equipment was Scubapro and Mares and was in good condition. The tanks were aluminium. Diving times were dictated by the tides so we were diving either in the morning or the afternoon. The dive / boat crew were local and very good. They had small purpose built boats that were a lot more comfortable than converted dhows. They were also fast having twin outboard motors.
Our first couple of dives were on Swiss Reef and Shimba Hills which are slightly to the north of the Lodge. Both reefs have suffered what looks like storm damage with large areas of coral rubble. Ominously there were also some Crown of Thorns starfish. The reefs weren't dead but definitely not healthy.
Subsequent dives were to the south around Fundu, Njao and Mesali Island. The reefs here were in much better condition with healthy coral and little sign of bleaching.
The drift dives through Fundu Gap and Njao Gap are excellent, really fast roller coaster rides. They are not for inexperienced divers though. On one dive we got separated from our guide and had to abort the dive. By the time we got to the surface we were 300 metres away from our guide. It would be really easy to get swept away here.
Other dives at Mandela Reef and Allaha Reef had very little current and were excellent aquarium dives. Shoals of reef fish, lots of coral and Blue Spotted Rays in the sands between the coral heads.
Visibility was variable over the week, never more than 20 metres and on a couple of occasions considerably less. There was usually algae and silt in the water.
The trip to Mesali Island takes around 2 hours each way but it's really worth it. We were joined by a pod of Spinner dolphins for part or the journey.
There was one disappointment diving in Pemba though, the lack of really big fish. Apart from one dive when we saw a couple of Eagle Rays there was little spectacular to see. No shoals of Tuna or Barracuda. No Manta Rays or Sharks.
It's a difficult question as to whether I would recommend going to Mafia, Zanzibar or Pemba to dive. It took a lot of time, energy, aggravation and money to put this trip together and there are a lot of equally good diving destinations which would take considerably less effort to get to. I did enjoy myself but would I ever go back to any of these places? If the visibility could be guaranteed I would go back to Mafia. I'm not so sure about Zanzibar or Pemba.
Hope this is of use to anyone planning a trip to Mafia, Zanzibar or Pemba.
Andy
Two final bits of information that may be useful.
Many businesses in Tanzania will only take cash. Some tourist oriented places in Tanzania will only take US$ cash, some will take Visa but add a surcharge. If you do take US$ make sure the issue date on your notes is after 2001 ( particularly US$100ÃÔ) and that they are in good condition with no tears or excessively worn or they won't be accepted.
Tanzania may be one of the poorest countries in Africa but it is not a cheap country for Western tourists. There is local price and a tourist price for everything.
We have just had three weeks diving in Mafia, Zanzibar and Pemba from 26th December 2008 to 19th January 2009.
We flew BMI, Kenya and Precision to Zanzibar from Manchester via London and Nairobi. Then there was a Coastal flight from Zanzibar to Mafia via Dar es Salaam. No problems here, just a few things to be aware of.
If you can, get a visa before travelling. The immigration queue at Zanzibar airport is slow and very long. If you buy a visa on arrival payment is in US$ cash.
Keep re-checking your flight departure times. Our flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar was rescheduled several times after we booked it, at one point we were due to arrive in Zanzibar 15 minutes before the Coastal departure to Mafia.
There is a weight limit of 15kg per person on Coastal flights, anything over this is charged as US$1 per kilo. They were fairly relaxed about it and didn't charge us for being a couple of kilo over but other people with more weight were charged. The luggage is loaded into holds underneath the aircraft body and there is a size limit to what can be carried. A holdall of 80cm by 50cm by 40cm was no problem. It's your responsibility to make sure that your luggage is loaded / unloaded on your flight.
There seem to be only 3 hotels on Mafia which vary from the horrendously expensive to very expensive. We stayed at the Mafia Island Lodge in Utende which was the least expensive.
Avoid it at all cost at peak holiday time. The hotel was full of Italian family groups, very noisy and infested with hyperactive, bored children. The evening meal was buffet style served late which didn't suit us at all.
We had a couple of days outside this period and it was actually a really nice place to stay.
The rooms are a bit spartan but adequate. The showers were a luke warm dribble, the fans/aircon worked but sounded like a washing machine on final rinse. There was no swimming pool. Snacks / drinks were expensive, US$7 for an indifferent fish sandwich. The coffee tasted like sludge so take your own Instant. There were intermittent power cuts.
There are virtually no shops near the Lodge so take all the sun block you need with you.
All the hotels are in the Marine Park and guests are charged US$10 per person per day park fee. This is paid at the park entrance when you arrive. It's US$ cash only and keep the receipt, it's collected on the way out.
We dived with Mafia Island Tours which is based at the Mafia Island Lodge. We were generally happy with them. The rental equipment was Scubapro and Mares and was in good condition. The tanks were aluminium. Diving times are dictated by the tides, most of ours happened to be in the afternoon. The dive boats are small converted dhows that can carry around 8 divers at a squeeze. Water entrance is a back roll off the side, it's kit off in the water before getting back onboard up the ladder.
It was generally a 1hr 20min trip out to the dive sites most of which were outside the mouth of Chole bay at either Jina Pass or Kinasi Pass Currents were on occasion strong, the drift dives were exhilarating, At slack water the currents were minimal. It's the usual mixture of walls and coral gardens. No dive was deeper that 23 metres. The dive / boat crew were local and pretty good. We seemed to be the only dive boat out each day.
The marine life was spectacular with massive Groupers and Napoleon Wrasse everywhere. Stonefish, Lionfish, Morays, Turtles, Sting Rays and even Sharks (black / white tip) The coral was extensive and healthy and in good condition with no sign of bleaching. There was a huge range of soft and hard corals.
The one big problem was the visibility. It varied from 5 metres on occasion to around 10 metres generally. There was quite a lot of silt and algae in the water. One of the divers on our boat was returning to Mafia after a few years away and didn't remember it ever being this bad. She had been working in Mafia on some conservation project for several months and had dived consistently over that period.
We had one morning snorkelling with whale sharks in the Mafia Channel just outside Killindoni and one day diving out at Mange Reef.
Next stop was Nungwi on the north coast of Zanzibar. We stayed at Flame Tree Cottages which I can recommend 100%. They have quiet bungalows set in gardens on the sea front, comfortable rooms, excellent food (ask for the goat curry) and all reasonably priced. If you are looking to eat out in Nungwi then Langi-Langi or Cinnamon restaurants are pretty good.
We dived with East Africa Diving, based about 100 metres down the coast from Flame Tree Cottages . They were a professional outfit and we had a good time with them. Their rental equipment was a mixture, mainly Scubapro, all well maintained. The tanks were steel. All the dive crew were Western and had a good knowledge of the reefs. The boat crew were local. Like Mafia, diving was from converted dhows but these were a bit bigger and a lot easier to move around on.
All our diving was done around Mnemba Island which is around 1hr 30mins from Nungwi going there and 2hrs coming back depending on the wind. If the wind is strong the journey back is very rough.
All dives were scheduled for the morning, the exact sites dependent on the tides and currents. The reefs off the western and southern sides of the island could get a bit crowded at times. We were the only boat diving on the eastern oceanic side of Mnenba.
I was pleasantly surprised by the diving. The reefs were in good condition, not as rich with coral and fish life as Mafia but better than I had expected. We saw lots of Lion Fish, Turtles and even a shark.. The best for me was seeing Spanish Dancers.
Visibility was generally around 20 metres, worse when the wind was strong.
Our final destination was Pemba Island. We stayed at the Manta Reef Lodge on the northern tip of the island. This place is definitely a little bit of luxury and really nice place to stay at even if you are not diving. It's very quiet and very relaxing. The bungalow rooms are big and well furnished, and have aircon and / or fans. The showers worked and the water was hot. The restaurant was good and there was a bar with a resident barman to mix cocktails. There is a swimming pool. They even have Internet access.
There are no shops at all near the Lodge so take everything you need with you.
The onsite dive operator is Oxygene 2. We were very happy with them. The rental equipment was Scubapro and Mares and was in good condition. The tanks were aluminium. Diving times were dictated by the tides so we were diving either in the morning or the afternoon. The dive / boat crew were local and very good. They had small purpose built boats that were a lot more comfortable than converted dhows. They were also fast having twin outboard motors.
Our first couple of dives were on Swiss Reef and Shimba Hills which are slightly to the north of the Lodge. Both reefs have suffered what looks like storm damage with large areas of coral rubble. Ominously there were also some Crown of Thorns starfish. The reefs weren't dead but definitely not healthy.
Subsequent dives were to the south around Fundu, Njao and Mesali Island. The reefs here were in much better condition with healthy coral and little sign of bleaching.
The drift dives through Fundu Gap and Njao Gap are excellent, really fast roller coaster rides. They are not for inexperienced divers though. On one dive we got separated from our guide and had to abort the dive. By the time we got to the surface we were 300 metres away from our guide. It would be really easy to get swept away here.
Other dives at Mandela Reef and Allaha Reef had very little current and were excellent aquarium dives. Shoals of reef fish, lots of coral and Blue Spotted Rays in the sands between the coral heads.
Visibility was variable over the week, never more than 20 metres and on a couple of occasions considerably less. There was usually algae and silt in the water.
The trip to Mesali Island takes around 2 hours each way but it's really worth it. We were joined by a pod of Spinner dolphins for part or the journey.
There was one disappointment diving in Pemba though, the lack of really big fish. Apart from one dive when we saw a couple of Eagle Rays there was little spectacular to see. No shoals of Tuna or Barracuda. No Manta Rays or Sharks.
It's a difficult question as to whether I would recommend going to Mafia, Zanzibar or Pemba to dive. It took a lot of time, energy, aggravation and money to put this trip together and there are a lot of equally good diving destinations which would take considerably less effort to get to. I did enjoy myself but would I ever go back to any of these places? If the visibility could be guaranteed I would go back to Mafia. I'm not so sure about Zanzibar or Pemba.
Hope this is of use to anyone planning a trip to Mafia, Zanzibar or Pemba.
Andy
Two final bits of information that may be useful.
Many businesses in Tanzania will only take cash. Some tourist oriented places in Tanzania will only take US$ cash, some will take Visa but add a surcharge. If you do take US$ make sure the issue date on your notes is after 2001 ( particularly US$100ÃÔ) and that they are in good condition with no tears or excessively worn or they won't be accepted.
Tanzania may be one of the poorest countries in Africa but it is not a cheap country for Western tourists. There is local price and a tourist price for everything.
