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CC Africa, paradise awaiting...
Combine your diving with a safari
One of CC Africa's lodges with a dive operation is Mnemba, an untouched atoll off the coast of Zanzibar, is therapy for the spirit. This is where Bill Gates comes to unwind and savour Mother Nature's delights, on our heart-shaped splash of sand in the blue depths of the Indian Ocean. More...
Pemba Island
PEMBA is the northernmost of the two Spice Islands lying off the East African coast and centuries ago had busy trading ports. Still the world's major clove producer, Pemba has now slipped into its more traditional role of being an Island Paradise with small inter-island trade.
Pemba was seized by the Sultan of Muscat (now Oman) in the 17th century. He was so taken by the Spice Islands that he installed himself in Zanzibar and ruled Muscat from there. When the Western Colonial powers came to East Africa the British forced the Sultanates of Muscat and Zanzibar to separate and then administered the Spice Islands in the name of the Sultan. All the while, the Arab dhows would ply the trade winds down from the Arabian Peninsula to East Africa. With the winds they would take cloves to India, textiles back to the Arab lands and silver and wood to the Spice Islands
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Map of Tanzanian coastline
The Dhows have remained a constant throughout the history of Pemba. To this day they ply the Wete-Shimoni run, and when the winds are favourable they plough through to Northern Moçambique. (See more about our Sunset Cruises).
Turtle in the Pemba Channel
Situated 35 miles off the East African coast, Pemba is separated from Tanzania and Kenya by the world famous Pemba Channel. This drops to 400 fathoms in depth giving the ocean around Pemba many stunning dive sites.
Pemba Liveaboard
Diving Mtangani Channel
Although it is wonderful to stay on the island if you have the time to explore, to get the best out of Pemba diving it has to be from a liveaboard boat.
Try the SY Jambo, an excellent 3 day liveaboard trip arranged through Manta Reef Lodge. This liveaboard takes you to the less frequently dived reefs on the South East Coast around Mtangani Channel
Going past Mtangani Channel going North, you generally pass schools of large Tuna just hanging there seemingly motionless facing into the current. Eagle Rays are spotted gracefully flying below. The reef on this side is beautiful, undamaged and full of life. |
DESTINATIONS » Africa » Kenya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mozambique | South Africa | Tanzania | Zimbabwe
Tanzania stretches from volcanoes in the crater highlands along the Great Rift Valley to the tropical Indian Ocean, home to the spice islands of Zanzibar. You'll be able to encounter schools of oceanic fish, pelagics, mantas, large groupers, and clouds of reef fish among an extremely healthy reef system.
Diving is done at the Zanzibar Archipelago made up of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands, and several islets. It is located in the Indian Ocean, about 25 miles from the Tanzanian coast, and 6° south of the equator. Zanzibar Island (known locally as Unguja, but as Zanzibar internationally) is 60 miles long and 20 miles wide, occupying a total area of approximately 650 square miles. It is characterised by beautiful sandy beaches with fringing coral reefs, and the magic of historic Stone Town - said to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa.
Perhaps it is your starting point already, but combining your diving adventure with a safari to one of the beautiful national parks such as the Serengeti is an absolute must. Visit CC Africa for the best lodges and itineraries you can imagine.
East Africa has a lot to offer if you like nature. The incredible topside and underwater adventures are sure to provide you with an exhilarating and enriching experience that will create a lifetime of memories.
Zanzibar
Zanzibar, also called Unguja, has several reefs to explore. Morogo Reef, Boribo Reef & Turtles Den from StoneTown, the reefs surrounding Mnemba Island accessible from Nungwi and Matemwe, Leven Banks from Nungwi.
The visibility averages 10 m from StoneTown and 15m from Nungwi. Best times of the year to dive this site is October to March before the long rains hit and affect the visibility. There is supposedly a higher possibility of seeing Mantas around January.
Morogo Reef is beautiful. 'Turtles Den' is another favourite. This site actually lives up to its name with as many as 10 turtles being seen in one dive.
On the North Coast accessible from Nungwi, Leven Banks is popular with advanced divers as it lies near the deep water of the Pemba Channel. It is a spectacular dive, often in strong currents in the Pemba Channel and is home to big schools of tuna, trevally, king fish, barracudas, wrasses, big moray eels and large schools of reef fish. The Big Wall is generally dived as a deep dive max 30 m. Located on Mnemba's east side at the start of the Pemba Channel it is a vertical wall of coral with many overhangs where you can spot a pod of 8 dolphins which are apparently a regular thrill for visitors to the reef.
On the South Coast of Zanzibar at Kizimkazi, there is a growing industry springing up around large resident pods of humpbacked and bottlenose dolphins. Local fishermen and villagers recognised the financial potential a few years ago and are using their boats to take tourists to swim with the dolphins. Since that time, various marine biologists and projects have tried to monitor the dolphin's behaviour patterns around the boats and the tourists. Present researchesr, assess that these dolphins are very stressed due to the uncontrolled jostling and chasing of boat operators. Research is not conclusive but tries to encourage the boat drivers to exercise respect, restraint and common sense and to relay these teachings to the tourists.
For a detailed description of Zanzibar dive sites, click here...
Pemba Island
Pemba lies 50km east of Tanga on the Tanzanian mainland and about 50km north of Zanzibar. It is a chunk of heaven - a lush green paradise surrounded by beautiful coral reefs, white squeaky sand beaches, and covered head to toe in terrible roads. Unlike Zanzibar, Pemba island stands alone and is severed from the African continental shelf by sheer coral walls that drop down to over 300 metres. Spectacular wall diving, variety of sites, big marine life and clarity of the water makes Pemba without a doubt the best diving location in East Africa.
Favorite Dive Sites on the West of Pemba include those around Njao Island and Fundhu Island (Njau Gap, Fundhu Gap, Manta Point, Swiss Reef) and Mesali Island (Mesali West, Chiles Wall and Attaturks Wall. Incredible walls with lots of colour, these reefs practically vibrated with life. As a general rule, the diving on the west side of the island is more chartered, accessible and in many places protected from by the maze of coral reefs and islands whereas diving on the east coast requires more diving experience due to the depths and strong currents. Everyone raves about the visibility around Pemba. The quote is "You're having a bad day if the visibility is 20 metres or less". In fact so sure of themselves are the divemasters on Pemba that they guarantee the vis to be at the very least 20m.
Another good web site is Pemba Diving.
Heavy rains occur between May and June, with short rains during November/December. The average temperatures range between 68°-90°F (20°C-32°C) typical equatorial climate. The right time for land packages with game viewing is a complicated affair; animal migrations are scheduled by rain, not calendars. The diving is simpler: September through March is when the winds should be favorable. Whale sharks often cruise the coast about February. May / June and in some areas July / August are no dive periods due to strong winds. Malindi is an exception and is badly affected by the Galana River outflow. Nov through to March the water literally turns brown and is undiveable on the usual reefs. Best diving in this area is around July / August.
To Dar es Salaam
From Australia and the Far East Emirates Airlines have excellent connections and service.
From North America try KLM/Northwest. KLM have a daily flight to Dar es Salaam from Amsterdam.
From Great Britain, British Airways have a direct flight from London four times per week.
From Europe, Gulf Air, Emirates and Kenya Airways all serve many European cities and have really convenient connections to Dar.
From South Africa: South African Airways.
To Zanzibar
From the Middle East Gulf Air fly from Muscat to Zanzibar five times per week.
Kenya Airways serve Dubai twice a week from Nairobi and have onward flights to Zanzibar daily.
Air Tanzania fly from Johannesburg three times a week. They also have flights from Mauritius and The Comoros Islands too.
For the Budget conscious Ethiopian Airlines fly from the US, Rome and the Middle East into Zanzibar. Beware, flight times are long.
When you arrive in Dar it costs a mere $85 to fly to Pemba direct. Two airlines make the journey daily (excepting Sundays) Coastal Travel and ZanAir. We recommend the latter for fast, safe connections.
Domestic Flights to Zanzibar
Coastal Aviation and Precision Air offer a range of scheduled flights between Zanzibar and Tanzania's main cities. Typical one-way per person ticket prices are:
Zanzibar - Dar es Salaam US$55
Zanzibar - Arusha US$165
Getting to Zanzibar by Sea
Several sea ferry companies ply the waters between Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Tickets generally cost between US$35 and US$40 per person one-way.
The Dive Sites of Kenya and Tanzania: Including Pemba, Zanzibar and Mafia
by Anton Koornhof :: Buy
Lonely Planet Tanzania :: Online
| Buy
Lonely Planet Tanzania, Zanzibar & Pemba :: Buy
Zanzibar.net
Zanzibar.com
Tanzania Tourist Board
DESTINATIONS » Africa » Kenya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mozambique | South Africa | Tanzania | Zimbabwe |