Chumbe Island: African Diving

Chumbe Island Coral Gardens

 A little known secret hides off the east coast of Africa. It is one of the most incredible coral reefs anywhere in the world...yet almost no one has heard of scuba diving in Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, or South Africa. In Africa, land animals tend to steal the show, leaving reefs uncrowded and perfect for underwater photography.
  A good place to start a diving excursion in East Africa is a small island within easy striking distance of the Tanzania mainland called Zanzibar. The name itself envokes mystical images of ancient seafarers and spice traders which is not too far off. The island inhabitants are almost 100% muslim descendants of these spice traders of old and the exotic architecture on the island match.
  This picture was taken off Chumbe Island, an even smaller island off of Zanzibar. It is still part of Tanzania which makes it a great side trip after an overland safari. The island and its surrounding coral gardens make up an award winning private nature reserve. And as you can it is not only worth protecting, but exploring as well. A day spent lazing in these waters will fill your expectations as well as your memory cards.

Inside an Underwater Cave

Sea Cave is an adventurous dive site on the south shore of Oahu. It is on the outside of the cinder cone which makes up Hanauma Bay. Layered rocks form a steep cliff which plummets 60ft down into the ocean. At the bottom of this underwater cliff lays the opening to a massive sea cave that houses turtles, sharks, and more. The ceiling opens up as you get farther back into the cave sending rays of light down to the huge boulders below.

Where to get your SCUBA certification

Descending like skydivers to 160ft.

  There are a few places around the world where scuba divers unite in island communities to form a kind of dive family. Kho Tao in Thailand is good for this but if you want to go a little closer to home then the island of Utila is your answer.
  Utila is one of the bay islands just off the Caribbean coast of Honduras. It is surrounded by dive sites and has many dive companies to choose from. Here you can find some of the cheapest diving and most inexpensive dive certification classes in the world. For a month in 2009 I stayed at Cross Creek Dive Center and dove over 60 times in order to get my PADI dive master certification. It cost me under $1000, lodging included.
   The sites are beautiful here and there is a chance to see some big game like whale sharks, dolphins, and rays but those occurrences are pretty sparse. The fish are all colors and small things like sea horses and flamingo tongues keep the search interesting.
  The island has dive sites all around it. Steep 100+ foot dropoffs on the north side, submerged sea mounts like Black Hills, underwater arches and caves, and shallow sandy spots which are great for classes. Other islands like Roatan are just a day trip away. And sometimes you can see the week long Agressor liveaboard hanging out in the protection of Utila's leeward bay. Even with the amazing diving, cheap living, and good eating (try balleadas and fresh cinnamon rolls), it is the other divers which really make the experience memorable. Diving by day and partying by night at bars built on rickety second hand wood out over the water. You can sip your beer and watch an octopus hunt through the conch garden and I haven't even gotten to the best part. Once you get your dive master certification...you can come back and dive for free, for life.

Whale Shark and Scuba Diver

  This scuba diver had to back out of the way when this massive whale shark, Rhincodon typus, came cruising through. The skin of the whale shark is comprised of dermal denticles, backwards facing skin teeth that channel the water improving hydrodynamics. If you ever get a chance to feel shark skin it is smooth one way and rough, like a cat's tongue the other. Whale sharks are so large that if they bump into you their dermal denticles will draw blood. I know from experience.

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