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A rocky coral reef sloping into blue water, with a yellow fish in the centre and small orange fish swimming above — Paje & Jambiani.

Paje & Jambiani · Tanzania · Coral garden · Drift

Sau Inn Garden

A colourful patchwork of assorted corals rich in small life

Area photo: mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0

Sau Inn Garden is a coral garden on the outer reef of Zanzibar's south-east coast, a short boat ride beyond the barrier reef. Assorted corals in many colours spread across it, and small life and reef fish fill the garden, drifted with the prevailing north or south current.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Sau Inn Garden: typical dive 6–20 m (20–66 ft), deepest point 25 m (82 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m20 m25 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

6.3275° S, 39.5788° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The garden runs from 6 m to 20 m over assorted corals full of micro life, and leaf fish and ribbon eels hide among them. Sau Inn also has a deep dive on a small ledge, taking the site to 25 m, where Napoleon wrasse, giant kingfish and the occasional barracuda appear. Divers drift slowly over the coral heads and the boat follows overhead until the group surfaces.

Marine life and season

  • Macro critters
  • Reef fish swarms
  • Napoleon wrasse
  • Barracuda
Month-by-month season rating for Sau Inn Garden
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodFairFairFairGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodFairFair

Season follows Paje & Jambiani: No month stands out as a peak; March to May brings the main rains, and November and December a second, lesser wet spell.

Sources

  1. Explore our Dive Sites - Buccaneer Diving — Buccaneer Diving
  2. Dive Zanzibar - Buccaneer Diving — Buccaneer Diving
  3. Sau Inn Garden (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap contributors

More dive sites in Paje & Jambiani

Lagoon

Jambiani Lagoon

Seahorses on seagrass and harlequin shrimp on the Eastern reef

6–22 mintermediate

Lagoon

Lagoon Mounding

Nudibranchs, leaf fish and snake eels on a varied inner reef

6–22 mintermediate

Wall

Napoleon Wall

Corals crowning the rim of a drop-off beyond the barrier reef

12–35 madvanced

Reef

Powoni

Table corals crowded with sweetlips and unicornfish

9–30 mintermediate

Lagoon

Stingray City

Dozens of blue-spotted stingrays in the lagoon's main channel

6–22 mintermediate

Similar dives elsewhere

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Fundu Gap

Pemba Island · Tanzania

The sand floor beside the wall drops away past 80 m

5–40 m · max 80 madvanced

Coral garden

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A brain coral and a rare red anemone at 12 to 20 m

12–20 madvanced

Coral garden

Coral Islands

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Three coral patches divided by bright sand channels

9–17 mintermediate

Coral garden

Cepar Cepor

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Bommie-hopping along a granite channel off Kepayang Island

5–25 mintermediate