Underwater Photo Location: Mafia Island

Mafia Island and its reefs are renown as an excellent, World-class diving destination. Mafia has some of the richest reefs in the World, with an unparalleled variety of hard and soft corals and diversity of tropical fish. The Island lies close to the Rufiji Delta, just a short aircraft flight from Dar es Salaam, the Selous Game Reserve or Zanzibar. The island was a regular stop for two thousand years for Arab and Persian dhows plying the coastal waters from the Gulf to Madagascar and Mozambique. Chole Bay, Mafia's protected deep-water anchorage and the original harbour, is studded with islands, sandbanks and beaches. The clear, protected waters offer wonderful snorkelling, sailing and swimming. Outside the Bay unbroken reef runs the length of the island, from Tutia in the south to Ras Mkumbi at the northern tip.
Mafia Island is set in a Marine Park situated about 130 km south of Dar es-Salaam and about 25 km from the mainland. It is part of an archipelago formed of a number of very large islands and small uninhabited coral atolls . Due to its position alongside the barrier, the island is the meeting place of large oceanic fish and the the vast variety of fish common to the Indian Ocean coral reefs. There are over 400 species of fish in the park. The Park is a paradise for both expert scuba divers as well as those wishing to snorkel or sail in the native local boats from island to island.

Facts about Mafia Island