Tanzania and Zanzibar. Part 2 How to Dive with sharks safely
Saying goodbye for a while to the beautiful island of Zanzibar (read about the beauties and interesting places of Zanzibar you can in the first part of my story at the link below)
we began to prepare for departure to Mafia Island — the main island of the eponymous archipelago in Tanzania, in the Indian Ocean.
But before starting the story about the island, it is worth talking a little about how to get to it. There are no direct flights from Zanzibar to Mafia. The easiest and fastest way to get to the island is to make a detour through the continental Dar es Salaam (the largest city in Tanzania) using coastal aircraft. This option can even turn out to be quite budgetary if you book tickets well in advance (about $80 per person for 2 flights) and that’s what we used.
Of the more budget options, a ferry is also available, the most famous operator of which is AZAM Marine. The cost per person will be $35. Or, if you want to feel the local flavor as much as possible, and even save money, you can use the boat, which leaves at 4 am from the pier of the small town of Nyamisati near Dar es Salaam. The cost is about $6 per person. Not the fastest and most convenient way, but the impressions are guaranteed!
Arriving at the Zanzibar airport, we made a half-hour flight to Dar es Salaam, spent the night in one of the many hotels near the airport, which, surprisingly, pleased us with a very tasty dinner, and, in the morning, returned back to the airport in anticipation of a new wonderful trip!
Arriving at the airport, we were faced with the traditional Tanzanian Hakuna-Matata — there are no flight schedules, the waiting room is full of people and who is flying where — it is absolutely not clear. Fortunately, the employees of the airport—friendly Tanzanians loudly announce the direction of the flight when the next plane taxis up to the airport building. But to find out — when our long-awaited flight will be absolutely impossible, since the employees only answered all questions — soon, soon. And finally, with just an hour's delay from the appointed time, our “air carriage” finally arrived.
We, joyful, left the airport building and went to the plane. Well, not a regular airplane, but rather a tiny one. Small single-engine aircraft of island aviation are designed for a maximum of 15 seats. And if you’re lucky, you can also sit in the co-pilot’s seat. Despite the apparent fragility and lack of reliability, this type of aviation is quite safe, and most importantly, it makes it possible to appreciate all the delight from the flight and the views that open up around you. Since the plane is not flying high, you can see everything in great detail. And as a bonus, you can also carefully observe the actions of the pilot during the landing and for the landing itself. Where else can you see this if not in small aviation?
Having landed, we set foot on Mafia Island, which we had long dreamed of getting to. You may ask — what is so special about this seemingly unremarkable island? The answer is simple — Whale sharks! But first things first.
Mafia Island — arrival
The relatively small island of 435 km², despite its telling name, has nothing to do with criminal groups, Al Capone or Pablo Escobar. On the contrary, the island is a very calm place, literally created for relaxation, and is considered the main diving center in East Africa. Marine National Park is surrounding Mafia Island and is the largest protected area in the Indian Ocean. But the most important thing for which travelers are so eager to get to this island is, of course, the opportunity to see and even swim with Whale Sharks! These majestic giants, reaching a length of 20 meters, come to the island to feast on plankton from November to March. The Whale shark is the largest of the existing fish, moreover, it is not aggressive at all and does not have razor-sharp teeth, like all its relatives, which makes it safe for humans. But let’s get back to these giants a little later, and now talk about the Mafia Island.
There are no taxis on Mafia, so it is better to think about your transfer to the hotel in advance. Upon arrival at the airport (which is more like a small hangar), we were met by a representative of our bungalows and comfortably drove in a small jeep. We chose the budget hotel Juani beach bungalows and never regretted our choice. Despite the fact that the hotel consists of a complex of fairly simple bungalows with minimal amenities (charging gadgets only in the restaurant or reception bungalow, and very weak internet), it has several huge advantages.
Firstly, it has its own beach, which at sunset turns into just shots from Hollywood films, secondly — it is not only located on the side of the island where Whale Sharks feed, it is also located almost perpendicular to the area of their greatest concentration. Most of the shark tours started from our hotel and people from all over the island came to us at the beginning of the tours. Thirdly, the hotel has a very nice and well-groomed green area where turtles live, birds sing, hammocks are hung and pleasant sandy paths are laid. Walking barefoot there is pure pleasure.
And perhaps the main advantage for me is the staff of this hotel. He is not just responsive but allows you to fully experience the flavor of Africa and Tanzanian hospitality. We arrived in the evening, settled in, and went for a walk and took photos of the most beautiful sunset on the beach, where, by the way, there are very authentic straw umbrellas and sun loungers. After taking plenty of pictures, we took a pre-purchased bottle of wine, and after passing through a local restaurant and ordering seafood for dinner — we returned to the beach. I was really surprised when after some time the hotel staff came up to us and started a vigorous activity 3 meters from our sunbed. I already thought that they had lost something or were looking for treasures, but no — after a few minutes of observation, it turned out that the guys were building a big fire for us (it’s good that all this happened in a developed country and not in some remote tribe, otherwise I would get nervous :) ) After the preparations, the fire was successfully lit, and exactly at this moment our hot seaside dinner was brought to us. The bliss of what was happening was beyond words. A beautiful beach, a light sea breeze, a bonfire blazing like a phoenix bird, pleasant company, and all this to the accompaniment of delicious wine and dinner! Many thanks to the staff for such a caring approach. It’s moments like these that make you realize what you’re living for!
Mafia Island — people, villages, and nature
Waking up the next morning in a great mood and having breakfast, we went to the registration to talk about the main purpose of our visit, namely — to find out the schedule of excursions to the Whale Sharks. It turned out that the temperature and weather conditions did not leave much chance to see them that day, so we were highly recommended to go on a date with the sharks tomorrow when the weather was more favorable. We had no reason not to trust the words of experienced Tanzanians, who, moreover, constantly explore the waters in search of sharks on boats, so we decided to take this day with other activities and explore the island on which we ended up. And this idea justified itself one hundred percent!
Africa is extremely heterogeneous in terms of the composition of the population, the worldview of people, and their friendliness towards foreigners. It is worth saying here that money and standard of living do not have a direct and significant influence on all these factors. Paradoxically, people in the poorest African countries may be friendlier than their more fortunate and wealthy neighbors. Consideration of these processes is a good topic for a separate article, and as for Mafia Island, the people there are friendly towards foreigners, and especially children are delighted :) Yes, sometimes they try to cheat in local markets by giving the wrong change and pretending that they do not understand what we want from them, but even this looks somehow naive, without aggression, and does not cause much discomfort.
Armed with the knowledge that it is safe to move around the Mafia, we first decided to take a walk along the coast, and it left mixed impressions. The most beautiful landscapes, azure water, velvet sand, and interesting local people are unpleasantly complemented by garbage, rusting shipwrecks, and the general desolation of these places. Maybe it’s for the best that mass tourism has not yet reached the island, but, on the other hand, there are already quite good hotels there, and there is some kind of infrastructure, which means money income. It would be nice if the authorities of the island spend at least some of them to clean up and develop the island.
Having seen enough of the local kids, and women, either washing or picking up some kind of shellfish, snow-white beaches, we did not notice how we reached the settlement. The village on the island, like its inhabitants, is a sample of a classic African village — somewhere abandoned and rickety houses, somewhere cute neat courtyards with lush vegetation, dusty sandy roads, and attentively but friendly locals studying us. Although, there is one feature that is very striking — these are local kids. So much cheerfulness, energy, and undisguised positive emotions cannot, perhaps, be seen anywhere else on the European or American continents. The children were happy to show us the village, take pictures, play, and have fun next to us. They are a kind of mini perpetual motion machine of endless energy.
After walking around the village, looking at local shops (which, by the way, have a full range of all the necessary products), and buying a package of delicious ripe mangoes at the local market (just the one where they naively tried to deceive us with change), we decided to return to our hotel and spend the rest of the day on the beautiful beach, swimming, sunbathing and enjoying the most beautiful views.
In the evening, the hotel organized a sightseeing tour of the island from a boat for us and other tourists, as well as a mini-sea disco. The locals actively moved in, sang African tunes, danced African dances, and actively involved us in the process, which created a wonderful atmosphere. Oh yes, the huge ripe coconuts that were in abundance on the boat were especially good!
Having fun and meeting the sunset, we moored to the shore, had dinner, and went to bed in anticipation of the most important day on the island, namely the excursion to the Whale Sharks. We had an early rise, so there was no point in sitting for a long time, we wanted to swim to the sharks cheerful and full of energy!
Mafia Island — Sharks, Sharks, Sharks!
The long-awaited day of meeting with the Whale Sharks, these majestic sea giants has come. At that time, however, it was not certain that we would meet them. Groups of sharks are constantly moving, sometimes swimming very far from the island, and the chance to see them depends on many factors. For example, we met Chinese tourists who have already gone out in search of sharks 3 times without success. But, I firmly believed in our luck, and for good reason! :)
A few words about the tour itself — at the time of the trip it cost about $ 80 per person and was a 4-hour boat trip to the habitats of Whale Sharks near the island, their search, and, if successful, snorkeling with these fabulous creatures (unless, of course, they are not very deep and you keep up with them). The price also includes drinking water. Almost every hotel on the island provides such a tour, they vary slightly in price and duration. When choosing a tour, the following factors should be taken into account — the location of the hotel (sharks are found only on the western side, and if you live in a hotel in the east, you will still be taken to the other side by transfer, which will increase the cost of the tour), the decency of the organizers — some are ready for the money to carry tourists on any day and weather conditions, even knowing for sure that there is no chance to meet sharks. Reviews of tour operators can be found on TripAdvisor. Separately, I want to recommend tours from our hotel Juani beach bungalows, in addition to a decent approach, the hotel is located directly opposite the place in the ocean where sharks are most common and all tours actually start from the beach of our hotel.
Getting up early in the morning, having breakfast, and boarding the boat, we set off to meet the adventure! Morning dawn, beautiful weather, sea breeze, and azure water made the mood just great!
We talked with people on the boat and did not notice how the first hour passed. There were no signs of sharks, the boat turned in circles, and the guides peered into the water with concentration. Another half hour passed, and we became discouraged and anxious from the fact that we might not see one of the main goals of the trip. The situation was aggravated by a very tight schedule for the trip and we could not afford many search attempts. As soon as I completely plunged into these sad thoughts, the guide’s cry was heard from the stern of our boat — SHARKS, SHARKS!!! The next command was to put on fins masks and jump into the water in groups! We, as passengers of the Titanic, frantically began to gather and jump. In a hurry I almost dropped my underwater camera, managing to grab it only at the last moment.
Having jumped into the water, we split into groups with our escorts and began to dive. From the very first dive, SHE appeared before me! Huge, like a small submarine, a fish, iridescent black with white dots along the entire body, imposingly swam about 3 meters before me, slowly sucking in plankton. The graceful movements of this colossus were simply mesmerizing. Despite the seeming slowness, keeping up with her turned out to be an impossible task, and no matter how hard I tried to work with my arms and legs, remembering my training in the pool, the fish inexorably swam away from me. Fortunately, she was far from alone there, and, not catching up with one shark, I saw a second nearby, which gracefully wound circles, collecting plankton. All this went on for about half an hour, during which both- we and our entire group were exhausted, chasing our sea neighbors. The fish began to swim further in search of plankton, and we, tired but satisfied, pulled back to the boat. From the stories of other travelers, I heard that sometimes Whale Sharks even float up to people, and you can touch them. We were not so lucky, but this did not diminish the impression of these majestic creatures!
Returned onto the boat, we enthusiastically shared our impressions, studied the photos, (which, although did not turn out to be very high-quality, were nevertheless pleasing to the eyes), and also greedily drank water, realizing how much effort we gave away, trying to compete in speed with sharks.
Back at the hotel, we spent the rest of the day on the beach, soaking up the sunset, drinking wine and cocktails, and getting ready for a great dinner to celebrate our success!
There are things that are remembered forever, which serve as a reminder of how beautiful our world is, and how lucky we are to live in it! Encountering Whale Sharks is definitely one of those moments!
Having had a great dinner and celebrating our victory, we began to get ready for bed, the next day was ahead and we had a new adventure — to visit islands near the Mafia, snorkel on coral reefs, see mangroves, swim in an ancient volcanic lake and visit the island where flocks of Flying foxes live.
But I will talk about this in the next part.
Bonus — our hotel, food, vine, and people
Finally, I want to say a few more words about our beautiful hotel on the island, the food, and the other guests.
Despite the fact that the facilities at the hotel are very modest, it boasts excellent seafood cuisine. A large open-air bungalow restaurant is open all day, in addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can always have a bite of squid rings various snacks, and also drink excellent local wine. And all this for a very reasonable price. The price of the hotel includes breakfast. Dinner of lobsters with a side dish of potatoes and cucumbers will cost about $ 20, which is quite acceptable for Tanzania's quite expensive food price.
Interesting fact. Once at dinner, we drank wine, and when the bottle was over, we decided to order more. It turned out that the wine was over, but the staff swam to the neighboring island for only $10 and brought us another bottle. It was very nice and added to the already great atmosphere!
In the restaurant in addition to eating sea delicacies, you can meet other tourists, and in this regard, we are very lucky!
The ability to meet interesting people is one of the key things in life, and I am very glad that luck helps me in this.
One of our new interesting acquaintances was a man of about forty, who turned out to be a traveler, as well as a fairly well-known biologist from Germany. He lived for half a year in Somalia, and his story about this country, its dangers, and its difficulties easily can be a separate story! Our other acquaintances were a young couple from Switzerland. The guys traveled around the countries of Africa and we started a long conversation about which countries are safer and how it turns out that Africa is so heterogeneous in terms of culture, people, and attitude towards foreigners.
What could be more enjoyable than expanding your horizons by meeting people from other countries and cultures? Only do it on a beautiful island with Whale Sharks! :)
At the very end, I want to note that the weather in Mafia Island can be very changeable. The hot sun can be replaced by heavy rain and vice versa within 30 minutes. But nature doesn’t have bad weather, especially in a wonderful place with wonderful people, right?
What’s next?
In the next part, we will continue our journey. I will tell you about our trip to the islands near Mafia, snorkeling on coral reefs, a tour of the mangroves, swimming in an ancient volcanic lake, and visiting the island where flocks of Flying Foxes live.
Don’t miss it!
While you are waiting you may check my other fascinating story about a trip to Armenia:
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