One of the oldest known inhabited areas on earth, Tanzania is home to Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain; in addition, you'll find the Serengeti Plain and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, along with coastal mangroves and dozens of beaches and some world class diving. Here, we'll take a look at five excellent dives around the beautiful tropical island of Pemba.
Manta Point
A fantastic reef and wall combination, as well as a pinnacle offering a maximum depth of 40 meters, Manta Point once offered guaranteed manta encounters and while you'll still find them here from time to time, local fishermen have been catching them and selling them in the market, so the mantas are staying away most of the time and are rarely ever encountered here. The reef itself is stunning, covered in a garden of cabbage coral, and there are plenty of fish including big eyes and trevally, pufferfish, titan triggerfish, trumpet fish, and pipe fish; lots of sea stars and other invertebrates add even more vibrant color to a beautiful scene. In addition to the few manta rays that visit, you'll find eagle rays and devil rays, sometimes in groups of as many as 15 individuals. Watch for turtles, too, and at the tip of the pinnacle, you'll find a beautiful anemone garden where clownfish thrive.
Fundu Gap
A narrow channel connecting a shallow tidal lagoon to the sea, Fundu Gap is located near Manta Point and attracts a splendid array of colorful marine life. You'll find napoleon wrasse and flutefish here, along with surgeonfish and blue fin, big eye trevally, shoaling black snapper, and many others. Maximum depth here is 25 meters.
Ras Miungani and Emerald Reef
Located at the southern tip of Pemba Island, Ras Miungani offers the wreck of the SS Paraportiani, a steam freighter lying in just 15 meters of water and teeming with colorful tropical fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. At nearby Emerald Reef, maximum depth is 29 meters, though the reef top is situated at a depth of just 6 meters. Named for the mushroom shaped green algae that grows everywhere, this emerald colored dive site is sometimes washed by a light current that provides for a drift. At times, divers encounter shoaling barracuda, along with triggerfish, wrasse, and even unicorn fish; fusiliers by the thousands are seen on every dive.
The Crack
A wall divided by a massive vertical crack begins at a depth of just 7 meters, eventually dropping all the way down to a depth of 45 meters. Covered in colorful sponges that sprout up in brilliant bouquets, this site is home to huge potato bass and Nassau groupers bigger than you are, along with barracuda and batfish, napoleons, and devil rays. The crack is only diveable when weather conditions are perfect, so cross your fingers!
Njao Gap
A reef and wall located along the edge of a channel, Njao Gap features maximum depth at 40 meters, though the top of the wall is in only a few meters of water. Anthias and other colorful fish are here in abundance, and among the anemones that cover the upper portion of the wall, colonies of clownfish can be found. To the north, a shallow coral garden in 5 to 18 meters of water features huge sea fans and offers the opportunity for encounters with green sea turtles, making this multi-level dive site one that you'll want to explore at least twice.
Topside, you'll find ancient ruins, beautiful white beaches, friendly people, and a variety of accommodations. Pemba offers a slow pace of life, where you can simply relax and enjoy a marvelous tropical vacation you won't soon forget.