Pemba Island · Tanzania · Wall · Night
Scorpions Secret
Camouflaged fish on an easy 5–18 m slope, day or night
Area photo: James Heilman, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
A gently sloping wall two minutes by boat from The Manta Resort, running from 5 m down to 18 m. Clear water and gentle currents make it the dive centre's site for first-timers, snorkellers and night dives, and the camouflaged fish it is named for — scorpionfish, leaf fish, lionfish and a giant frogfish — reward a slow look.
Where it is and how deep
4.8790° S, 39.6740° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The crossing is two minutes, so the dive starts almost as soon as the boat leaves. The wall slopes gently from 5 m down to 18 m, which means there is no drop to commit to and you can hold whatever depth suits the group — deeper along the base for a longer look at the structure, or high on the slope where the light is good and air lasts. Currents are gentle and the visibility is clear, and that combination is why the centre puts Discover Scuba and open-water divers here.
The site is named for what hides on it, so the dive is a search rather than a tour. Scorpionfish are the speciality and they are properly camouflaged; leaf fish, lionfish and a giant frogfish sit on the same slope. Move slowly, look at the coral rather than past it, and check the same rock twice. It is also one of the resort's night dives, when the camouflaged animals are easier to pick out of a torch beam, and snorkellers work the shallow 5 m end of the same slope.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- Macro critters
| 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.
Questions divers ask
Is Scorpions Secret suitable for beginners?+
Yes. The slope runs from 5 m to 18 m with gentle currents and clear visibility, and Dive 360 Pemba uses it for Discover Scuba and open-water divers as well as for snorkellers and night dives.
Sources
- Exceptional Diving In Pemba At Manta Resort — The Manta Resort
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
Wall
The northbound current sweeps divers through the gap into the lagoon
Pinnacle
A coral mountain from 30 m to 16 m, slack water only
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
A drift along a 35 m wall over the 1887 wreck of the Ulysses
A coral bank to 15 m, dived by day and after dark
Sea stacks five minutes from port: a wall from 4 m to 20 m, an arch and a swim-through
A walk-in wall at 3–22 m used for courses and night dives