Mafia Island · Tanzania · Wall · Reef
Chole Wall
A coral bank to 15 m, dived by day and after dark
Area photo: brittonpaul83 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Chole Wall is a bank reef about 800 m long inside Chole Bay, a steep bank of coral descending to 15 m and ending in coral rubble and sand. Visibility is usually excellent and the coral carries clouds of small fish, which makes the site one of the bay's standard night and introductory dives rather than anything demanding.
Where it is and how deep
7.9793° S, 39.7619° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wall runs north-east to south-west for about 800 m and joins the Kinasi Wall at one end. Dives start at the shallow top of the bank and work slowly down and along it. The bottom of the slope is at 15 m, where the coral gives way to rubble and sand, and that sand line serves as both the depth limit and a constant reference. It is part of why the site is used for introductory dives and for students: the profile stays shallow on its own, and there is nowhere here to get deep by accident.
Visibility is usually excellent, so the panorama is the point. The bank carries a dense tapestry of coral with clouds of tiny fish over it, damselfish, fusiliers, butterflyfish and angelfish. Slow down at the coral heads and the dive turns macro, with nudibranchs and flatworms to be found on the coral and down in the rubble at the base. The same shallow, sheltered profile makes it one of the bay's night dives.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| 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 deep is Chole Wall?+
The coral bank descends to 15 m, where it ends in coral rubble and sand. That is the maximum depth on the site.
Is Chole Wall good for new divers?+
Yes. It is a sheltered bank inside Chole Bay with 15 m of water under it and usually excellent visibility, and it is used for introductory dives as well as night dives.
Sources
- Diving | Mafia Island — Mafia Island (Kinasi Lodge group)
- OpenStreetMap: Chole Island — OpenStreetMap
- Mafia Island travel guide — Wikivoyage
More dive sites in Mafia Island
Reef
The north end of an 800 m reefbank, 5 m to sand at 17 m
Reef
Reef rays resting on the rubble at the foot of the reef
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
Two archways cut through the wall of a sunken bowl
A drop-off named for the dolphins that buoyed it
A second drop-off at 30 m hung with gorgonians
Two walls joined by a plateau, dived north to south