Mafia Island · Tanzania · Pinnacle · Reef
Milimani South
Coral towers rising from 18 m to just under the surface
Area photo: brittonpaul83 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Milimani means the place of mountains in Kiswahili, and this site earns the name: hard-coral formations tower up from 18 m and reach to just below the surface in places. The dive is worked around those structures rather than along a slope, with the full depth range available inside a single tank.
Where it is and how deep
7.9469° S, 39.7901° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is built vertically. Hard-coral formations rise from a base at around 18 m and carry all the way up to just below the surface in places, so instead of following a contour you circle and climb structure. Drop down one flank to the base, get your bearings at the deepest point, then start working the formations upward, keeping the coral on one shoulder so you do not lose track of which tower you are on.
Because the coral tops out so shallow, the ascent is built into the route rather than tacked on at the end. Gas and no-stop time are spent low, then given back gradually as you spiral up the formations, and the last part of the dive runs across coral heads only a few metres down. That shallow finish is where the light is best and where the safety stop passes over reef, and it is the reason the site takes a full tank without ever feeling deep.
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
What does Milimani mean?+
Milimani is Kiswahili for the place of mountains, a fair description of a site whose hard-coral formations tower up from 18 m to just below the surface.
Sources
- Milimani South - Scubago — Scubago
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
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Three pinnacles reached on a short swim from the beach
A manta cleaning station beside a coral-covered Admiralty anchor
Granite pinnacle at 12 m (40 ft) with a vertical wall on its offshore face
A rock formation named for a sunken ship that isn't there