Scuba Diving at Mnemba Atoll

I got up for another early start after a very hot night was made more bearable by the air conditioning in our room. We had a quick breakfast of eggs on toast and set off for the 'Fun Dive' diving centre in a taxi. Once at the centre we put on our wetsuits, chose our flippers and walked across the beach of pure white sands and waded into aquamarine waters to climb into a large dinghy with two outboard motors. Three older Italian women and a Swedish couple were joining myself and Lauren on our dive. One of the diving guides pulled our boat a long way out into deeper water, as the tide was out, until the water was deep enough for the outboard motors. Then the driver of the boat tore off at speed across the water. The boat bounced up and down through the waves and I hunkered down in the boat as I was worried I would get flipped off the side. We hurtled across the water for about 25 minutes passing a classic small desert island with palm trees, and stopped at a big coral reef on the other side. It was time for my first ever scuba dive and I was looking forward to it, but also had the slight apprehension of going into the unknown. We put on our diving equipment which we had helpfully practiced with the day before, and were then asked by the guide to flip backwards off the boat into the water which was a definite leap of faith! Lauren went first and then I leaned back to land in the water and roll back up to the boat. Then the guide led us to the reef where we let some air out to slowly descend into a wonderland of multi-coloured fish all around us. We began to work our way along the reef seeing many fish through the clear blue water. The guide pointed out a black and white sea snake passing lithely through the coral. Lauren began to have some difficulties with water getting into her mask and we needed to surface to help sort out the issue. We then returned down to the coral and were able to reach about 10 metres under water before we rose back to stabilise at about 8 metres. We then gently worked our way along the reef and I saw a small ray fish dart under some coral. There were fish all around us in all shapes and the brightest and most vivid blues, reds and yellows. There were long pencil thin fish floating vertically in the water and some larger shoals of fish. All to soon, it was time to end our underwater safari and return to the boat. We took off all our weights and equipment and hauled ourselves back into the boat. Both Lauren and I were very exhilarated by what we had seen and Lauren had used her Go Pro to get some wonderful video footage of our experiences. We both decided very quickly that we wanted to do a second dive. We had some samosas and fruit for lunch, drank some water and then put our diving equipment back on for a second dive into the wonderland of nature below us. We flipped back into the azure blue sea and were soon back down with the fish. This second time we were both more comfortable and relaxed after the confidence gained by the first dive and I was able to fully relax and really enjoy and take time to view all the fish surrounding us. On the second dive there were a lot more fish to see. A huge shoal of quite large silver-grey fish passed us on one side as a large shoal of small bright yellow fish passed us on the other side. I looked up and below to see that we were completely engulfed by hundreds of fish of all colours. This was a mesmerising and unforgettable moment. We continued on past so many fish, some coming so close that I could reach out to almost touch them. I took in as much as I could of the wondrous experience and Lauren was still filming it on her Go Pro so that we could relive the experience afterwards. At last, it was time, reluctantly, to return to the boat, but we were all excited by how many fish we had seen on the second dive. Even the guide said that there were a lot of fish on that dive. We climbed back onto the boat and raced back across the calmer waves so that I could balance better on the sides and enjoy the ride in the sunshine.
After a shower and a change of clothes I was quickly back out for the planned sunset 'booze' cruise. The cruise was on an older wooden boat with a big sail. Climbing onto it was a challenge as we had to wade out into the water to get on it and all got our clothes wet. There was a small band of local men playing African songs on drums at the front of the boat which later became the focus of the partying. There were a lot of alcoholic spirits on board with no measures and all for free, which was going to ensure that everyone drinking was going to get very drunk. I started with a sensible amount of rum in coke, but then got my glass filled with rum by one of the sailors on the boat and therefore quickly descended into an alcoholic haze of dancing and partying, joined by everyone else who was doing the same. We all had a great time dancing, and copying the local men dancing to the African rhythms, as the boat cruised along the beautiful coast and the sun slowly set on the horizon. Some people started diving into the sea and having a go at playing the drums. We took some funny photos and videos including a hilarious video of myself and Lauren singing our alternate version of "I'm dreaming of a white sand Christmas!". We returned to the shore and found a local restaurant for a meal. The drinking and partying continued as we gate crashed another restaurant and danced to their live music, much to the staff's delight, and they tried to persuade us to stay as we had brought the party to them, but our mobile party had to roll on. On the way back, we saw someone swimming in a pool in their Christmas Santa bobble hat, and we then realized that this was Steph, one of our fellow travellers and partiers We continued to dance to Christmas songs at our hotel with Steph managing the playlist. We eventually all went to bed after a Christmas eve in Zanzibar to remember, and what would be a hangover on Christmas day to contend with.Read more