Pemba Island forms part of the Zanzibar archipelago and is about 50 km long from the mainland coast of Tanzania. Pemba Island is the second largest island off the Tanzania Indian Ocean coast with excellent natural vegetation. Also know as ‘
Al Jazeera Al Khadura
‘-the green island regarded more fertile than its neighbor
Zanzibar
(Ugunja) although inscribed in long history of clove growing and political administration.
Pemba island towns
Chake Chake located on the western side of the island and is the capital commercial town of Pemba Island. It is few kilometers from the only airport on the island, Karume Airport,
and is well served with banks, post office, hospitals and other essential services. It is also located close to the oil depot and power generators at Wesha. On its outskirts, there is a clove stem oil distillery at Wawi, which is also engaged in the production of essential oils from lemon grass, eucalyptus, in addition to cloves.
Other important towns in Pemba Island Tanzania include Mkoani is the main sea port, Konde, Micheweni, Wete –the largest city and Mtambile.
Tours in Pemba Zanzibar
Pemba Island Tanzania has remained intact and untouched for a long time, natural beaches, fishing beaches, and plenty of water sports to do. Pemba is renowned for its fascinating, varied and stunning diving. Spectacular underwater sights, stunning blue-water drop-offs, awe-inspiring hard and soft coral gardens, magnificent scenery, sparkling clear blue sea – everything combines to ensure the diving holiday of a lifetime.
The mosque ruins from Mkumbuu Peninsula date several years back and are one of the most visited attractions. Take walking safaris to chake chake’s ruins at Pujini and Mkama Nduume’s old Swahili town. Boat rides to the neighboring small islands are as adventurous and exciting. Some of the smaller islets include Fundo, Funzi, Kiweni, Kojani, Kwata, Makoongwe, Matumbi and many others. Discover the beauty of hilly and forested slopes on these islands, mangrove forests and so much more.
Ngezi forest reserve cover 40% of the island and is hoe to island endemic bird species like the white eye, green pigeon, scoops owl and sunbirds. Some of the animals found here include vervet monkeys, red colobus monkeys, blue duiker, Pemba flying fox and so much more.
Big game fishing in the Pemba Island channel is as good all year round with record breaking fishes such as tiger fish, mako, tuna, wahoo, king fish, dorado, hammerhead, barracuddaand many other species. In peak Marlin season, the billfish and tunas move right up to the coast line making Pemba very interesting for fishing enthusiasts. The beaches along the islands are lined with several fishing boats set for the evening catch.
Pemba island Zanzibar diving
Pemba Island Tanzania has more interesting, varied and spectacular diving than anywhere else in East Africa. There are a lot of excellent drop off diving along the big walls, gentle slopes, pristine beaches and some huge independent bommies teeming with reef fish. These deep walls are for the more experienced divers only. At the right times of year, you can encounter schools of pilot whales and awesome humpback whales. All of the recommended diving is found off the west coast and with the dive sites stretching from the northern to the southern tip.
In the north there are almost limitless dive sites stretching right around the northern tip towards the east coast. Most of the good dives are fast drifts, catching the tide as it sweeps in or out through the gaps between the islets and there are also some excellent underwater bommies where huge schools of pelagic species congregate. There is enough variety here to keep anyone happy with at least a week of good diving.
To give you a taste of what it is all about, here are just a few of the recommended dive sites
Deep Freeze
at 90m named because it seems to catch a cold current from the depths on the Southern side of Fundo Gap. Visibility varies from 15 metres to 70 metres. When the visibility is low, the site becomes a magnet for turtles and giant trevally, both Bluefin and Blackfin. When the visibility is high, you can see the bottom of Fundo gap at 90 metres – makes you feel very, very small.
Manta Point
is another deep drop off with no mantas here. You’ll find schools of jack fish and surgeon fish that strike you as you swirl in the deep water. It is also a great spot for pelagic watching. Either side of Njao Gap encounter table-top coral at max depth of 50m, sea whips and gorgonian sea fans with giant groupers, Napoleon wrasse, titan trigger-fish and regular darting wahoo, jacks and giant trevally.
In the south, Mesali Island is a
Marine Reserve
and the coral jewel in the crown with shallow water reefs in pristine condition so snorkellers can indulge. Along the southern coast there is an almost continuous wall of soft coral, but be aware of the strong currents. Again, there is enough variety to keep anyone happy for 4 to 5 days of good diving. Recommended sites down this way include .
Just off Mesali Island, this is a craggy
Murray reef
wall peppered with small caves, ridges and underwater peninsula at 60m deep. Large rivers of sand run off the top of the reef to form wide canyons that enter the wall at 25m. Gorgonian fans are in abundance below 20m. On a turning tide the marine life is exceptional and the currents quite strong. Huge giant grouper lazily drift through the reef and hundreds of surgeonfish cruise below divers, still visible at 40 to 50 metres.
Discovered on Christmas Day 1999 this reef is a very steep slope of pristine hard coral that descends from 12 to 35 metres where it too becomes a wall.
Christmas reef
is unique for its sheer density of coral and this site is a pleasure to drift along at any depth.
Visibility is excellent in these warm tropical waters & the average water temperature is 28’, and whilst the best months to dive are September through to April diving is good year round with exception of May.
Pemba Island hotels and accommodation
There are a few island beach resorts and
Pemba Island hotels
offering good overnight facilities like kite surfing, dhow and boat rides, relaxing honeymoon packages, and spectacular rooms with excellent views of the fine sand beaches. Some of these include pemba crown hotel, Mamy hotel, verani Beach Hotel, Fundu Lagoon, The Manta Resort and other budget overnight accommodation from Pemba Kiweni lodge, Wete Sharook Annex, Mkoani Jondeni Guesthouse, Old Mission Lodge and Mkoani Zanzibar Ocean Panaroma Hotel
