Zanzibar, diving at Nungwi (video included)

[GEODIVE]

Last August we visited Zanzibar.

We used the service of East Africa diving center and although we were a big group of 17 divers they managed to keep us happy and safe.

The diving center is in Nungwi at the north tip of the island, close to the major reefs.

Diving in Zanzibar is not top class but it is definitely memorable especially because of the magnificent macro life that exists in all reefs and especially my favourite , the Shanes Reef.
The really poor visibility due to tides narrows the pleasure but again diving is always fun!

Unfortunately there are no big animals like sharks etc but if u r lucky you can experience the migration of whales passing just off the island.

Here is a little video i made

Hope u enjoy it

YouTube - Zanzibar diving macro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDfp_WtW6UM)

[TSandM]

Thank you for sharing that! That's lovely video and beautifully edited, and kudos to you for the very steady shooting in the face of what looks like pretty significant surge. I love the one nudibranch who looks like a lady getting her skirts blow up around her ears!

But you and I have a very different idea of what constitutes lousy viz . . . :)

[Jan Kruger]

Amazing video thank you.You seem to know where to look for these tiny creatures having had such bad viz....

[hmp2z]

Hi! I came across this thread while looking for reviews of diving in Zanzibar. I realize it's been 2 years, and the OP may no longer be on this board, but I was curious as to feedback from others who have been diving in Zanzibar.
- Is the visibility poor because the video was taken in August? Would it be clearer in some other month?
- Is the current always this strong?
- I've read some reviews stating that there is great sea life to be found here, and others stating that this area is way overfished. Is there a different African area that others might recommend for diving over Zanzibar? We've been diving multiple times in the Caribbean, and I'd like to try a different area for different types of marine life.

Thank you for any feedback!

Cheers!
Heather W

[Dr Wu]

I found the visibility excellent.

I don't recall the current being particularly heavy.

Egypt is pretty great. South Africa as well.

[minchia]

I was in Zanzibar in March and dove in the local reefs off Nungwi and the Mnemba Atoll. The visibility was fantastic and there was not much of a current at all. There weren't a lot of big fish (I did see one white tip reef shark) but the smaller fish were abundant and beautiful. The coral was the best I have ever seen. I'm not a very experience diver but the other people I dove with in my group were very experienced and they said Zanzibar ranked as one of their favorite places to dive.

[damiano82]

A quick question, anybody knows if is possible to find nitronx in Zanzibar?

[abu]

Hi hmp2z,
We were in Nungwi for a week is September a few years ago. The locals are charming,but the diving was not up to much: very poor visib. and not much to be seen. There was some current - nothing very strong. Maybe we were unlucky as other people I've spoken to have found it fantastic.

The Egyptian Red Sea is great if you don't mind hordes of people. If you go there I would certainly recommend a liveaboard.

Then there is Sudan which is another story. Very few people and really great dives: pristine reefs with loads of life,encounters with gray sharks on most of the dives and hammerheads on 4 occasions. We dived 3 wrecks and the remains of an underwater station set up by Cousteau in 1963. Here the only option is liveaboard.