Kichwani
Mnemba Atoll · Tanzania
Sloping coral wall on the southeast face of Mnemba Atoll, starting around 4m and dropping into the channel toward 30m and beyond. The protected reef inside Mnemba Island Marine Conservation Area carries dense table and staghorn coral, schooling snappers and goatfish, and a steady cast of green and hawksbill turtles. Bottlenose dolphins regularly pass through the surface waters; whitetip reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse appear along the deeper sections, and macro hunters work the wall for scorpionfish, leaf fish, and nudibranchs.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 30 m
Open water and up
Current
Can be moderate
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
15 to 25 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
24 to 30°C
Tropical wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Vis (m) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Green turtle
Last confirmed Mar 15, 2026 · 130 records
Almost always
Nearly every dive
Bottlenose dolphin
Last confirmed Jul 3, 2026 · 13 records
Very likely
Most dives
Whitetip reef shark
Last confirmed Oct 29, 2024 · 2 records
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Napoleon wrasse
Last confirmed Nov 1, 2024 · 2 records
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Bluefin trevally
Last confirmed Nov 1, 2024 · 4 records
Rare
Now and then
Hawksbill turtle
Expected
Known here, not yet in recent logs
Scorpionfish
Expected
Known here, not yet in recent logs
Whale shark
Expected
Known here, not yet in recent logs
Gear
Basic kit
For this site
- Reef hook · Channel drift along the southeast wall picks up on outgoing tides; a hook lets you hold position when the current accelerates.
- SMB · Most dives are run as drifts and boats pick up downcurrent; a deployed SMB is standard for surfacing.↗