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Probably
the most outstanding part of Mafia Island Marine Park's
marine environment is the wonderful Chole Bay, which is fast
becoming a 'Mecca ' for SCUBA divers from around the world .
It is a vast circular bay over 50 sq km in size with a
depth varying from 1 to 27 metres, and a tremendous variety
of coral, fish and other marine species (see articles on p13
of this issue).
An important feature of Chole Bay is that
the water is continuously exchanged as fresh ocean water
flushes in through Kinasi Pass every flood tide. This may be
one reason why the extensive coral bleaching that
obliterated corals I n most other parts of the India Ocean
in 1998.This happened when sea temperatures in the Indian
Ocean become unusually high as a consequence of the ''El
Nino'' in 1997.
As a result, Chole Bay's coral reefs remained largely intact
and even the damaged areas are regenerating well. This is
increasingly attracting SCUBA divers fed up looking at
moribund coral structures in other Indian Ocean locations.
Another crucial feature of Chole Bay is that it is shielded from both of the annual monsoon winds by surrounding islands. Most other diving destinations in the western Indian Ocean, including Zanzibar, Pemba and Kenya are exposed either to the NE (kaskazi) or the SE (kusi) winds and diving is therefore seasonal
.
In Chole bay, it is possible to dive throughout the year .The fact that the bay provides a sheltered marine environment throughout the year has been appreciated by local fishers for decades, and now increasingly also by SCUBA divers.
For these reason Mafia Island, so for so long a well-kept secret amongst international tourists, is gradually acquiring a reputation a s a world class SCUBA diving destination. These are 3 SCUBA diving operations based at different tourist lodges on the fringe of Chole Bay (at Utende).
All currenty have professional instructors, so even complete novices are welcome .It is a chance to witness at first hand the full spectacle of mafia 's rare marine life.
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