Where in the world can you expect to swim with a whale shark at lunchtime then watch elephants play in the water and lions bask in the shade the next morning? In Tanzania, in eastern Africa, pushing towards the Zanzibar archipelago. Granted, it's a long trip, but damn it it's worth it!
To the east of Dar-Es-Salam, the point of entry of the country, one finds the spicy islands of the archipelago of Zanzibar, made up in fact of Unguja, the most animated (often wrongly called Zanzibar), and Pemba, quieter and more hilly. And facing south is the very flat and sparsely populated island of Mafia, home to the Marine Park of the same name.
UNGUJA ISLAND
It takes just fifteen minutes by flight to reach Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, from Dar es Salaam. Former hub of the slave trade in East Africa, you can still discover the old slave market, but also Persian baths, the gigantic wooden doors of the city, in a labyrinth of narrow streets. And countless restaurants, including the Mercury, since it is in this city that the famous singer of Queen was born!
But I'm here to dive, I give up the attractions of Stone Town, and I head for the dive center so as not to miss the morning dive: 30 minutes later, I rounded the north of the island on a light chop, and reached the atoll Mnemba. A shallow coral reef, with a tiny heart-shaped island on its western fringe, surrounded by steep drop offs.
And it is a must in Unguja: the visibility exceeds 20 meters, the sites are numerous, and the calm of the lagoon allows experienced divers but also beginners to dive in complete safety.
SITES FOR ALL LEVELS
We get on the water on Wattabomi, in the channel that separates the atoll from the main island, in a maze of corals invaded by fish. We meet three green turtles napping their heads in a crevasse, before climbing above a sand spit to make our landing, while hundreds of garden eels sway gently, as if there next door was an invisible snake charmer.
West Bank is another good site, which begins just six meters below the surface and continues with a drop off of 40 meters: covered with reef fish, hard corals and alcyonaria, and huge schools of fusiliers. We also discover an astonishing juvenile black snapper, damselfish in deer horn corals, royal and emperor angelfish, two-colored chromis, blue-spotted rays and two-banded clownfish. The site can sometimes be too busy, rarely by other divers but by many snorkelers who can spoil the feeling of having a private meeting with the fish!
SPECIES STILL NEVER DESCRIBED
But other sites are quieter, like the reefs of Kichafi et Hajj, and their vast formations of entangled corals, multicolored squills, magnificent anemones sheltering skunk clowns and leaf fish; but also Nankivell, with its immense coral colonies with fascinating shapes, its rays, its good-sized groupers; or Hunga, with its potatoes which come together and evoke a fantastic world, and its monstrous lobster hidden in a cave and which only lets out its gigantic antennae. Hunga is also home to even larger schools of snapper, and impressive and numerous flathead crocodiles.
Among my finds, just ten minutes from the Diving Center, seahorses, a Mauritian scorpion fish, and a leafy scorpion fish. That day the visibility is not good, barely 10 meters, but it's an excuse to go in search of macro, and I am not disappointed: I come across a practically translucent cleaning shrimp, never described before!
PEMBA ISLAND
It takes just thirty minutes flying over the atoll of Mnemba and its uninhabited islands, before landing at the somewhat dilapidated airport of Chake ChakeThe city of Pemba, on the west coast lined with mangrove. And despite many attractions, primary forest, endemic birds, deserted beaches and some of the most beautiful dive sites in the Indian Ocean, Pemba rarely welcomes more than a hundred tourists at a time! Chake Chake has the only ATM on the island, and is its main economic hub, but don't expect to find a supermarket. There are a few narrow streets lined with small shops, many sell and make khangas (the local sarong), there are also take-out food vendors, fluffy meat kebabs and fat fries. There is also a market with fresh produce. The absence of tourism and the lack of habitation on the coasts have helped to maintain the reefs of Pemba in good condition. During the southern winter, when the colder water rises in the deep channel that separates the island from the mainland, there are many rainbow runners, jacks, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, pilot jacks, and bigeye jacks.
WITH THE PIONEER OF THE DIVE ON PEMBA
Various Swahili and Kervan Saray Beach Eco-resort on the northwest coast are managed by Farhat Jah, an amazing mix of Turkish and Indian with a British upbringing, and his Dutch wife, Cisca. It's good value for money, with twin and double rooms, and healthy and hearty meals, local cuisine lovingly cooked on the charcoal stove. And as we sail towards Deep Freeze on perfectly flat seas, Raf, as the master of the house is nicknamed, regales me with ten years of history on Pemba: he is the pioneer of diving on the sea. island, and discovered and named most of the sites himself. His knowledge of reefs, the weather, his years of experience and his passion for photography and video allow him to give you a lot of advice, if you can keep up with his speaking speed!
IN THE BLUE BLUE
And while I equip myself, I can clearly see the coral tables which are about twenty meters below. I get in the water, wow! On one side, a wall, like the top of a submerged mountain, covered with hard corals and alcyonaria of all kinds, literally overflowing with fish. And on the other, the bluest blue, perfect visibility, the gaze that sinks far, all the way down, lower and lower! I am speechless.
After a snack of still hot pancakes taken on a small island of fossilized corals and white sand, we head to another site, Bunker Slobodan, that could be described as a hand apart, with between each finger flaws brimming with life.
The following days, I will also have the chance to meet a magnificent manta, a large school of barracudas, napoleons, snappers .... so many extraordinary dives interspersed with picnics on islands of white sand, bathed in waters of emerald under a cloudless sky… The remoteness of the island, the virginity of the sites lead me to dream, I would almost feel the reincarnation of Commander Cousteau! But it's time to go, Mafia is waiting for me!
MAFIA ISLAND
Mafia Island is 30 minutes southwest of Dar-es-Salaam by sightseeing plane and has two main attractions: diving with whale sharks off Kilidoni on the east coast from December to March, and diving on the outer reefs of the west coast, in the channels of Chole Bay, where several diving centers are located.
Kinasi Lodge to my preference, with a beautiful swimming pool and a magnificent beach, well-appointed rooms, and a cuisine that is both gourmet and plentiful. Owner Peter Byrne is a staunch environmentalist and the lodge uses solar power to heat water, biogas, compost, and recycles wastewater. With just 13 suites, spread over a large lot, it's easy to relax and feel pampered! And for those who would like to be pampered, there is a spa and massage center on site. In terms of luxury-price ratio, Kinasi Lodge is definitely the best place I've been to! We dive from a traditional wooden dhow equipped with outboard motors. The departure takes place after breakfast, and we generally have lunch on board between the two dives, unless the tide requires a very early departure: in this case, we take a big snack between the two dives, and the we really have lunch a little later, back at the lodge.
DIVING IN THE PASSES
La Kinasi pass, if we compare it to the waters of Pemba, is less rich in corals, but the amount of fish is surprising, snappers, moray eels, schools of barracudas, big groupers. A wealth due to the tides that renew the water every twelve hours, loaded with nutrients. So we plunge to the slack, to have good visibility and avoid the current.
On the outer reefs of the pass, to the north, we find the Dindini caves, a series of overhangs carved into the wall, between six and thirty meters. Visibility exceeds 20 meters, and the cavities serve as dens for large potato groupers. These little animals can measure nearly two meters and weigh 200 kilos, and are often curious! Twice they came to have their portrait taken and didn't seem at all bothered by my presence. There are also many whip corals on the walls inhabited by gobies.
The sites of the Gina and Juani passes are covered in soft purple and pink corals, frequented by schools of blue striped, five-banded, Bengal snapper, and are excellent places to encounter turtles.
CAP ON WHALE SHARKS
On my last day we headed to the west coast as it was whale shark season. Between the end of November and March, the planktonic bloom attracts in the channel between the island and the estuary of the Rufiji River the largest species of fish. Once spotted on the surface, the skipper put us on his way and we slipped into the water. Swimming next to a four-meter-fifty male, I trigger a bit at random, the sunlight preventing me from seeing properly, to try to photograph the pilot fish in front of him! When it continues on its way, the boat picks us up and we start again a little further: in all that day there, we saw five or six of them, and during the few minutes when none of them was in sight, a manta ray came round and looped, in case I was bored! Fantastic !
A WORD ON TERRESTRIAL SAFARIS
Tanzania is also the famous and unforgettable Ngorongoro crater, the Serengeti and its massive migrations, the less known but very areable area of Manyara and the Tarangire National Parks. The first is classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, and the lake is home to huge herds of flamingos and pelicans, but also the famous trees that lions climb, huge baobabs, herds of elephants, and more of 500 species of birds. The Ngorongoro Crater is also the only place where you can see black rhinos in Tanzania.
Further south, we find Mikumi National Park, the largest on the continent, dotted with gigantic baobabs, and crossed by the Ruaha River, known for its exceptional population of elephants, its huge herds of buffaloes, and other mammals. Africa. Portage donkey treks are also possible through the highlands of Ngorongoro to the beautiful Lake Natron and its flamingos, passing through Olduvai Gorge, where a 1,8 million year old hominid fossil has been found. been discovered, or Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano at 2878 meters… And of course there is the climb to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the continent at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Whether you are a diver who fancies a few days on safari, or a safari junkie who fancies spending a few days diving, Tanzania and its islands has a lot to offer, and the quality of the air connections make it easy to get around. in the blink of an eye. And if like me you're a fan of both, it's a dream come true. In fact, I've been there seven times already, and my next trip is already scheduled ...
CONTACTS AND PRICES
- UNGUJA Café Stone Town offers double rooms at 90 USD per night, The Tembo Hotel on the beach at 130 USD and the lavish Serena Inn from 285 USD. On the large beach of Kendwa, one can quote for example Sunset Bungalows, next to the Scuba-Do Dive Center (65 USD for a double room with bathroom, 98 USD for a bungalow on the beach with air conditioning). Package of 10 dives with full equipment rental for five days at 575 USD. - PEMBA Kervan Saray Beach / Swahili Divers offers full board starting at US $ 100 per person per night, and six nights full board and 10 dives package starting at $ 1250. - MAFIA Kinasi Lodge offers full board for $ 170 USD per person per night, and a 10 dive package for $ 480 USD. The park fee is $ 20 USD per person per night. Whale Shark Dive: $ 60 USD per person. Domestic flights: With Zanair: from Dar to Stone Town, $ 80 USD, from Stone Town to Pemba, $ 101 USD, from Dar to Pemba, $ 140 USD. With Coastal Aviation: from Dar to Mafia, $ 120 USD and from Stone Town to Mafia (via Dar), 150 USD. Safaris There are hundreds of safari companies in Tanzania, but Kervan Saray can arrange safaris through trusted operators such as Indigo Safaris. Depending on where you want to go, you can also contact Christopher Bartlett directly through his profile page.
Text and photos: Christopher Bartlett - http://www.bartlettimages.com/
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Excellent idea !