Diving Mafia

Scuba Diving In Chole Bay

The most outstanding dive site in Mafia Island is Chole Bay. It is a vast circular bay where the depth goes from 5 to 27 metres. The continuous replacement of waters due to the tide offers an excellent environment. Safe dives are possible throughout the whole year in this bay, which is like a natural harbour. However, as Mafia is an equatorial zone, during the months of April and May the island is affected by the monsoon with heavy rains. During these two months, lodges and the dive centre are closed.
 
From June to September and sometimes in December and January, the monsoons produce particularly strong winds, which prevent divers from going out of the reef at almost all the Tanzanian and Zanzibar dive destinations. Thanks to Chole Bay and to the shield formed by the archipelago, Mafia is a rare and perfect alternative for diving.
 
The Dive Centre offers great diving for advanced and novice divers in safety under professional instruction (PADI certificate). The snorkelling on the shallow reefs surrounding the many islands in and around Chole Bay is a great attraction for non-divers and divers alike. Trained diving assistants handle all equipment, help divers and check their equipment, so that you are free to enjoy the dives and all other activities during each day. Courses are taught in English.
 
Almost all Mafia's best diving is at depths of less than 30m so it is a sport diver's paradise. The reefs of the archipelago offer a staggeringly beautiful and varied display of marine life. The excellent condition and high diversity of the reefs stimulated the creation of Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania's first marine park. Examples of most kinds of tropical marine habitat occur here, including exposed fringing reefs, rock walls, soft coral and algae-dominated reefs. The diversity of animal and plant life is hard to match, with over 48 genera of coral and 400 species of fish so far identified.

There are excellent examples of giant table coral, delicate seafans, whip coral, and huge stands of blue-tipped staghorn coral. Large predatory fish and turtles are common and surprisingly unaffected by approaching divers. Many reef creatures are nocturnal, avoiding daytime predators. As the light fades and the rich "soup" of plankton rises from deeper water, the daytime, rock-like appearance of coral is transformed into a brilliance of colour as the polyps emerge from their stony cups to feed on the plankton.

Night diving focuses the attention on the many small, delicate reef species usually missed during the day. A spectacular occurrence is the spawning behavior of coral. Chole Wall and the Coral Gardens are an excellent night dive. Last but not least, it is possible to swim with whale sharks, one of the most exciting encounters sea lovers can dream of. 

Dive Sites Inside Chole Bay

Dive Sites Outside Chole Bay