The Diving
Diving is done with Eco2’s boat ”Uchawi”, which means black magic in Kiswahili. At an official ceremony the local witch doctor cast a spell on the boat with the result that a possible culprit will end up with a frog’s head. And it has worked so far (i.e. the boat's still there).
The fiber glass boat is equipped with 2 x 75 hp outboard
engines, VHF, oxybox, life vests and not least fresh water to rinse off
photo equipment.
GPS is required to locate most of the dive sites as the reef tops usually
lie some 12 to 14 m below the surface. Martin Guard gave very thorough
briefings and talked extensively about the underwater topography, corals,
fishes, and how the dive was to be carried out. Since there is a difference
of 3.8 m between high and low tide all diving is planned using tide
tables.
Mikindani Bay is open towards the North East and the Indian Ocean, and often big pelagics drop by to have a look. From August to November it’s even possible to “whale watch” as the humpback whales pass by.
One of the ways to check the health of a reef is to note the number of
groupers. Not a dive went by without seeing several different species. One
of the more curious ones is the Chinese grouper (Plectropomus laevis). It’s
a bit difficult to take a predator seriously when it resembles a zebra wearing
yellow lipstick. But then, I wasn’t the prey.
Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary
Marine Park was established in 1999 and comprises 200 sqkm of water and
wetlands and 400 sqkm of land inclusive of 15 villages. What East Africa is
concerned bio diversity is booming, and so far 400 species of fish and 260
species of corals have been discovered.
The trip from Mikindani Bay to Mnazi Bay in the marine park takes about an
hour on board the ”Uchawi”. Msimbati Beach in the marine park must have been
the original Bounty Beach. Kilometres of chalk-white beach, palm trees, and
the merciless sun that bleaches bones and turns haphazard tourists into red
skins in no time at all.
Nearest recompression chamber is situated in Mombassa, Kenya
