Pemba Island · Tanzania · Wall · Drift · Coral garden
Njao Gap
The northbound current sweeps divers through the gap into the lagoon
Area photo: James Heilman, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
Njao Gap is the channel between Njao island and the main island, 30 minutes by boat from the resort. Five dives share the gap - Coral Garden, North Wall, South Wall, Slip Stream and Jahazi Reef - covering everything from 5 m coral shallows to sheer wall at 40 m. The current is the reason to come and the reason to arrive ready for it.
Where it is and how deep
4.9829° S, 39.6652° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The gap separates Njao island from the main island, and five distinct dives sit inside it: Coral Garden, North Wall, South Wall, Slip Stream and Jahazi Reef. Between them they run from 5 m to 40 m over sheer walls, underwater mountains and coral gardens, with good visibility and a massive variety of hard and soft coral. The operator rates the sites as suitable for divers and snorkellers of all levels, but the current is what shapes the plan on the day.
On the north side the coral garden slopes gently from 5 m to 18 m and then plummets away into depths beyond diving. The current here can be strong, and the standard plan uses it: divers ride the north-bound flow through the gap and into the lagoon behind, which makes for a fast, low-effort dive as long as the group stays together and off the coral.
The south wall is entered from outside the gap and drifted northwards and in, along a vertical face broken by overhangs and hung with gorgonian sea fans. Eels, groupers and wrasse hold on the wall alongside other concentrations of fish; napoleon wrasse, green turtles, giant trevally, dogtooth tuna and titan triggerfish are all on the operator's list for the gap, and the deeper dives here have turned up white-tip reef sharks.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Napoleon wrasse
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Pemba Island: Oct–Mar is the main season with the calmest sea; the long rains in April and May close most operations on the island.
Dive videos
Getting A "Deep Cleaning" with Cleaner Shrimp · Seaunseen on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the diving at Njao Gap?+
The five dives inside the gap range from 5 m to 40 m. The northern coral garden slopes from 5 m to 18 m before dropping away into undiveable depth, and the south side is a vertical wall drifted from outside the gap northwards and in.
Is Njao Gap suitable for less experienced divers?+
The resort rates the sites as suitable for divers and snorkellers of all levels, but the current through the gap can be strong and the walls fall past recreational depth, so drift experience makes a real difference.
Sources
- Diving in Pemba — The Manta Resort
- Diving — Fundu Lagoon
- Njao, Wete District (island) — OpenStreetMap
In The Logbook
- How long does a tank of air last?Gear & kit · 9 min read
More dive sites in Pemba Island
Wall
The sand floor beside the wall drops away past 80 m
Reef
Coral bommies off the resort's own water entrance
Pinnacle
A summit 40 m long with the reef falling past 60 m
300 fish species on a reef that starts at the beach
Pinnacle
A coral mountain from 30 m to 16 m, slack water only
Wall
Camouflaged fish on an easy 5–18 m slope, day or night
Reef
A split in the wall opens into a sand valley at 12 m
Wall
500 m of sloping wall from 6 m down to 25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Wall
One Palm Reef (Mnazi Mmoja)
Kizimkazi & Menai Bay · Tanzania
A lone palm on the shore marks a steep drift wall
Wall
Groupers Grotto
Kizimkazi & Menai Bay · Tanzania
Massive groupers along a sloping wall
Corals crowning the rim of a drop-off beyond the barrier reef
A cracked deep wall under a shallow coral garden