Scuba Diving
This Africa hotel on Chole Island, has a very well equipped SCUBA diving facility and an experienced PADI diving instructor with extensive local knowledge. Introductory, novice, open water, specialty and advanced courses are available. The Mafia Island Marine Park was established because of the fabulous wealth and diversity of corals and fishes and the diving is spectacular.
Scuba diving is possible throughout the year but is best from November through April. There are lots of big fish and a chance to see dolphins, rays, sharks and other rarities. Mafia offers probably the best all-round diving experience in East Africa, with protected shallow coral gardens and reefs inside Chole Bay for beginners and novices as well as deep water diving, sheer walls and exhilarating drift dives for the advanced and expert divers.
Mafia Island is part of an incredibly important protected eco-system here in Southern Tanzania, which encompasses the Selous Game Reserve (the largest game reserve in Africa) and the vast mangrove swamps of the Rufiji River Delta (one of the most important fish spawning locations on the East Coast of Africa) and the lagoons of the offshore islands (which have some of the best preserved coral structures in the Indian Ocean).
Chole Island itself is at the heart of Africa's largest marine park here on Mafia. This park was established because of the amazing diversity of marine and terrestrial wildlife that it contains and these days people travel from around the world to dive here.
Your host, Jean, is an extremely experienced dive instructor (PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer) and knows these waters better than anyone. If you are an experienced diver then Jean will be able to take you to all the best and most secret locations in the area. If you are a novice he is able to take you out for a try dive and is able to provide fully accredited PADI course training, as listed below.
Jean reckons that Chole Bay contains at least six world class dive sites, including coral gardens, drift dives and some serious walls on the outside. Whilst there is decent diving and snorkeling to be had inside the reef all year round, when the wind is blowing from the south-west (usually June thru October), many of the dives on the outside of the bay may become inaccessible. The very best diving is between mid November and the end of March.
Fishing
A few rods without end-tackle (so bring your own) are available and Mafia is world-renowned for it's game fishing. However, because most of the good fishing sites are now protected within the core zone of the Park and there is an additional licencing fee to pay, fishing has been de-emphasized at this Africa hotel.
Jean and his son Didier are keen fisherman and will advise in detail on tackle and bait requirements for the various game fish, which at the larger end of the scale include giant trevally, yellow-fin tuna, various mackerels, barracuda, dorado and sailfish. Be warned though that the Marine Park zoning and licensing makes fishing a somewhat bureaucratic and expensive pastime nowadays and is only an option for those who have what it takes to get through the red tape
Excursions
Dhow trips are planned daily to the sandbanks and smaller islands for exploring, birding, swimming and sunbathing. Hikes along the village trails and also further afield to the nearby island of Juani to explore the forests and ruins of ancient Kua can be guided or unaccompanied, as it suits you.Bird Watching: Chole Island does not have the Indian House Crow, which is the scourge of bird life on most of the East African Coast. As a result, the bird life is spectacular, especially within the hotel grounds, the uninhabited islets in the bay and the remoter parts of next-door Juani Island.
Wildlife
Chole is a sanctuary for the Commores Fruit Bat, a large, good-looking, fructivore also known as the 'Flying Fox'. These can be seen resting in the trees during the day and active in the early evening. If you rise early you may also see monkeys, genet and, very rarely, civet. Giant Nile monitors patrol the hotel grounds all day long and they are often seen from the treehouses.
Village Tours
Chole is a small island of one village. Chole Mjini has been actively involved in establishing and running many projects that assist the community such as the hospital, primary school, kindergarten, market, bursary and loan schemes, and other development projects which are partially funded by our guests through the village levy included in your accommodation tariff.
The community welcomes and extends a warm hospitality to you and there is much of interest in the village. Chole is famous for it's boats and in the boat yard you can see dhows being built as they have been for centuries. Another renowned local craft is mat weaving and a large variety of items for sale can be found at the market.
Please remember to act modestly and dress appropriately when in the village in order not to offend your hosts and thus make the most of the rare opportunity to visit a traditional Swahili village, still unspoiled by the 'march of progress'.
Safari
Days here at Chole are passed with a mixture of leisurely hours around the lodge and more active expeditions out and about...
Beaches
Mafia is not renowned for its beaches. Most of the coast is mangrove, which means that the few decent stretches of sand tend to be at the centre of the main areas of population, where they are used to pull up the boats and for net-mending. There are a few remote coves which can be reached as part of a longer walking or sailing expedition, as described below.
The other more convenient option is to head out to one of the sandbanks which are exposed for a several hours each day. The lodge has a number of canvas structures which can be taken out and pitched on the sandbank to provide shade and to act as a windbreak if necessary and a coolbox of drinks and snacks can be taken along too.
This does mean that guests at the lodge do not have the convenience of being able to walk directly out onto a beach, but these sandbanks are good compensation and in a lot of ways make for a much more interesting beach visit since the swimming, snorkeling and diving around these sandbanks can be excellent.
Expedition to Kitutia Atoll
One of the very best days to be had here at Chole is the all day expedition to the remote atoll of Kitutia, which lies at the extreme southern end of the fringing reef to the south of the bay. It is a two hour sail southwards along the inside of the reef, passing by the remote island of Jibondo, whose inhabitants are the descendants of pirates and are a bit scary. All along this section you sail through shallow waters containing great coral structures and a host of marine creatures. It is not unusual to see turtles and rays swimming about the boat or through the depths.
The end of the reef turns back on itself in the form of a hook and in the small area of protected water inside this hook sand gathers into a bank know at Kitutia Atoll, which is only high enough to emerge from the water at low tide. This is an incredible location to set up the mess tent for a picnic, whilst the divers head out to the reef which surrounds at a distance of a hundred metres or so. If you were to get a single palm tree and plant it in the middle of this otherwise naked sandbank you would have the archetypal cartoon island.
This is a great day out, although it is very dependent on tides and weather, so you should not assume that it will be possible during your stay, just hope that you get lucky.
Short walks around Chole Island
The island of Chole itself is pretty small, but has plenty of interest occupy a good half day walking around. Highlights include the ruined citrus plantations, the ancient ruins and the village itself, where you can rely on a warm welcome. One special claim to fame is Popo Park... the only reserve in Africa dedicated to bats... which consists of about half a dozen trees, covered with these honey-coloured creatures that are about the size of a small cat.
For a really good all day expedition you can take a guide and a picnic lunch and head to the nearby island of Juani. This crossing can either be made in one of the boats in half an hour or it is also possible to wade at low tide across the sandflats between the islands, although you need to be sure to time the tides correctly or you will end up swimming.
Once on Juani island there is a beautiful section of forest to traverse, where you may encounter wildlife including vervet monkeys and small duikers. There are also some inland saltwater pools which you can swim in (but we didn't really fancy). An hour or so gets you over on the outer southern coast where there are some lovely sandy coves, prime turtle nesting territory and a great place to take a swim before kicking back and enjoying a relaxed picnic lunch.
On the way back you can pass further to the south where there are some particularly interesting ruins. The ancient city of Kua was founded in the twelfth century by the son of the first Sultan of Kilwa (the great silver trading port on the Mozambique coast to the south), which remained a city until the early nineteenth century when it was sacked and razed to the ground by cannibals from Madagascar.
Town Excursions
The capital of Mafia is the tiny town of Kilondoni, which has a superb old-fashioned atmosphere and is well worth spending a half day walking leisurely around the streets and markets. The beach here is home to some of the most colourful scenes of fishermen, traders and children. Pulled up onto the beach are some of the largest dhows in the Indian Ocean... the last of the great 'jahasi' that still sail between here, Zanzibar, the Arabian Peninsula and even India. Jean and Anne don't think this is worth doing, presumably because they are so used to going there that the allure has dulled somewhat, but we highly recommend this little diversion, especially if you are staying for a decent length of time at Chole.
