Any good diving sites during backpacking in Southern & East Africa?

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jychoi84

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Location
South Korea
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25 - 49
I'm planning a 50 days backpacking trip to Southern&East Africa.
Trip begins at Cape Town, SA and the first part of trip is 20 days overland truck tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. Last week or so will be at Zanzibar Island, Tanzania for resting and diving.
I haven't decided what to do between Vic Fall and Zanzibar. (I have rough plans though such as safari at Serengetti, etc) and would like to include some diving to the itinerary.
This is not a diving trip, however, I don't want to miss a great dive sites in Africa when I won't be having this kind of big holiday to visit Africa for at least five years!
So I narrowed down and Inhambane and Malawi Lake looked interesting.
Will it worth going to Inhambane if I just had great live-aboard trip at Similan(20 dives) and when I have plan to dive at Zanzibar Island?
What about Malawi Lake? I heard it's among the best fresh water dive sites in the world. But how is it when compared to Zanzibar, or Inhambane?
 
Hi
Firstly you cannot compare apples and pears lake diving in Malawi and diving in Inhambane are two completely difference things you have to decide why you are diving and what you hope to see.
I am also amused that Mozambique is almost an after thought I have dived in many places including Zanzibar and Mozambique and I rate Mozambique as as one of the best spots in the world off Inhambane for example there are 3 Manta cleaning stations that I have been to and the whale sharks are fantastic all year round visit Mozambique diving resorts Guinjata Bay and Mozambique guinjata,barra tofo fishing Resorts,dive at Guinjata Bay,Barra Lodge,Flamingo Bay,Promene Lodge,Barra Lodge,Flamingo Bay,Indingo Bay,Matembo Island,Mejumbe Island,Pemba Resrt,Ponta Malomi for more info if you would like more help contact me
 
Don't downplay Moz as a dive destination. Inhambane offers some of the best diving on the continent ! It is an entirely different experience to a liveaboard however - you cannot do a comparison. Pics from my last Moz trip:

Topfo, Inhambane - Tofo 2007 - a set on Flickr

Morrungulo - Morrungulo 2007 - a set on Flickr
 
Lake Malawi is great (or used to be when I was last there). Its really beautiful and the people are amazing. Diving is not as sensational as the coast but there is an enormous and unique diversity of fresh water fish there. You would probably get there via Zambia and thats do-able but no diving until then. Only many km of pot-holed roads but an adventure. CT to Vic Falls is a long dusty road.... but Vic Falls is quite amazing.

The diving in Moz is off your route way to the East, perhaps contemplate a different route up to East Africa. I would go from CT up the East Coast (the Wild Coast is really great, lots of back packer action there) some options for diving up the KZN South Coast (Aliwal Shoal, Protea Banks) then to Maputo either via Swaziland or Joburg then up the coast - lots of bus and taxi options etc but its going to take time and a spirit of adventure. Pack a tent if you going to do this. Many dive resorts all the way up the coast. Then you can go via Biera to Malawi then to Tanzania from there and give Vic Falls a miss. You could try direct up the coast to Zanzibar via the sea, but thats going to take some luck.

Organised overland trucks are the easy way to do it, but you dont have flexibility and you are on a stuck route. There is lots of public transport - it cheap and mostly informal and you will be riding with feeding mothers, curious children and sometimes goats but thats the real travelling experience of Africa which will always be a fond memory.
 
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