Mafia Island · Tanzania · Reef
Chole Reef North
The north end of an 800 m reefbank, 5 m to sand at 17 m
Area photo: brittonpaul83 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Chole Reef is a reefbank around 800 m long, lying northeast to southwest, and its northern end is dived as its own site. The reef starts at about 5 m and descends to 17 m, finishing in sand and coral rubble, which makes for a simple dive along one structure with a continuous reference from the reef top to the sand.
Where it is and how deep
7.9561° S, 39.7843° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reefbank runs northeast to southwest for about 800 m and this is its northern section, so the dive has one obvious axis: get on the reef and follow it. You drop onto the top at around 5 m, where the coral is shallow enough to be brightly lit, and then pick your side of the bank depending on which way the water is moving on the day.
From the reef top the structure descends to 17 m and stops, ending in sand and coral rubble that marks the outer edge of the site. That rubble line is the natural turn: run it in one direction for the deeper half of the dive, then climb back onto the reef top and return along the shallows. Finishing high on the bank keeps the safety stop over structure and leaves plenty of time on the brightest part of the reef.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Mafia Island: Whale shark season peaks October-March; the March-May long rains bring rougher seas and reduced visibility.
Questions divers ask
How big is Chole Reef?+
The reefbank is about 800 m long and lies northeast to southwest; its northern and southern halves are dived as two separate sites, each running from around 5 m down to 17 m.
Sources
- Chole Reef North - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Mafia Island
Reef
Reef rays resting on the rubble at the foot of the reef
Wall
A coral bank to 15 m, dived by day and after dark
Coral garden
Three coral patches divided by bright sand channels
Wall
An archway in the rock wall, ringed by reef fish
Wall
A vertical face with shallow caverns, 8 m to 26 m
Reef
Pink and purple corals down a seaward reef slope to 26 m
Channel & pass
The channel through the centre of Chole Bay, dived as a drift
Drift
A drift along a coloured coral slope to 25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Bass, basslets and garden eels on a 20 m reef
Ragged-tooth sharks in the gullies, minutes from the beach
A massive brain coral formation at 15-18 m beside the buoy line
Granite ridges and gullies in about 18 m