Diving

Pemba is fast becoming known across the globe as one of the world’s most magnificent underwater destinations, ranking alongside the Maldives and Red Sea. The island is framed in glorious coral reefs and marine life is plentiful. The underwater visibility in Pemba is excellent, averaging up to 40m, often increasing to 70m on incoming tides.

Diving in Pemba is an exhilarating experience where you’ll find a spectacular array of barracuda, surgeon fish, wahoo, kingfish, tuna, giant groupers, Napoleon wrasse and giant trevally. Highlights include Manta Point – the tip of a 400m underwater mountain, which has lovely coral formations, an abundance of fish and if you’re lucky you can see manta rays; Misali Island with its completely unspoiled coral and steep drop-offs; Emerald Reef, which enjoys fantastic visibility; barracuda and sharks; and Kotota Reef, ideal for night drift dives. Other good dives include Fundu Reef, Njao Gap and either side of Uvinje Gap.

Diving off the sheltered coastline of Stone Town is the perfect setting for novices. Experienced divers can explore one of the many wrecks, including the Great Northerner. Mungo Reef is known for its abundance of marine life and lovely coral gardens and is blessed with dramatic pinnacles, gullies and swim-throughs. Pange Sandback, east of Mungo, is also a good place for novices. There, you’ll find an unidentified wreck at 40m between them. More wrecks lie off Bawe Island and Fungu Reef.

If you’re a novice, then the ideal place for diving is the east coast. The entire coastline is laced by a long barrier reef and shallow coral gardens inside the lagoon. You’ll be able to see blue-spotted stingray at Stingray Alley Reef off Jambiani as well as magical corals at Unicorn Reef. The east coast is also a good place to spot dolphins, turtles, trigger fish, giant eels and puffers.

The magnificent Leven Bank in the Pemba Channel is a ‘must see’ for experienced divers. The currents are strong and the coral is sparse but it is impressive and unspoiled with plenty of marine life. Other locations in the north include Mbwangawa, good for novices, but watch out for the occasional reef sharks; Kichafi Reef, great for night dives; and Big Top, good for big game fish.

If you want to see big game fish, then Mnemba Atoll on Zanzibar’s northeast coast is the place to be. It is a shallow reef surrounded by some steep drop-offs. The near-vertical Big Wall can be dived to around 30m. Other good dives include the barrier reef off Matemwe Reef, suitable for novices; and Kichwani and Sinawi, on the south side, have shallow drop-offs good for all levels as well as snorkellers. The west side contains the spectacular Coral Garden, with turtles and occasionally big game fish like black-tip reef sharks, barracuda and blue-spotted ribbon tail rays. The northeast coast is also known for its dazzling array of turtles, dolphins, whale sharks and migrating whales.