Pemba Island

Chake Chake · Zanzibar Archipelago · Tanzania

Pemba Island is East Africa's best-kept diving secret, an island on the edge of the 800-metre-deep Pemba Channel yet receiving a tiny fraction of the divers who flock to neighbouring Zanzibar. The result is reef systems of extraordinary health and pelagic encounters of a calibre that more popular Tanzanian dive sites rarely deliver. I descended over the western wall south of Chake Chake into water that transitioned from tropical turquoise to ink-dark blue within seconds. The wall dropped vertically from a reef top at around 8 metres, disappearing into darkness far below. The 800-metre depth of the Pemba Channel was directly below, and I could feel that abyss in the water movement and the size of the fish that appeared from the blue. The wall was in remarkable condition. Hard corals covered every surface in dense formations clearly undamaged by anchors or blast fishing. Gorgonian fans spread from the vertical face in deep purples and reds. Massive barrel sponges occupied ledges, and black coral bushes grew at depth in sizes suggesting decades of undisturbed growth. The pelagic traffic was outstanding. Grey reef sharks patrolled the drop-off edge. On my second dive, a school of scalloped hammerheads passed below at 40 metres, perhaps fifteen animals in loose formation. Giant grouper of truly impressive size sat motionless in wall cavities. Napoleon wrasse cruised with serene confidence. The shallower reef sections between 5 and 15 metres offered superb coral gardens with dense communities of anthias, butterflyfish, and parrotfish. Green and hawksbill turtles were common, gliding between feeding areas with unhurried strokes. What struck me most about Pemba was the solitude. Over three days of diving, I never saw another dive boat. In an era when popular dive destinations feel crowded, Pemba offers something increasingly rare: the feeling of being the first person to explore a reef.