Manta Point
Murphy's Law would suggest that Manta Point, North Pemba, would be the last place to go diving for its namesake, but it is infact a fine location. As many as eight of the beasts have been seen here on a single dive. Like storm clouds, they gather above the seamount, then sweep down over the sandy gullies, their shadows passing silently across the reef. Manta point is essentially a chain of three seamounts, topped by gardens of purple anemones. In the sandy rubble between the coral heads have been seen fat red frogfish and a delicate blue and yellow ribbon eel withdrawing into its hole as shoals of black snapper pass overhead.

Mesali Island
Mesali Island, South Pemba, is named after the Swahili Msala, meaning a prayer mat, because it points towards Mecca. The island makes the archetypal tropical paradise with its palm trees, azure water and white sandy beaches where turtles nest. Leaf fish live on this very reef. They live nested at the centre of small concave table coral, purple in colour and waving gently in the swell. Beneath the table, staring up at it, lives its yellow partner. This reef does not run out of surprises. You can add stonefish, green turtles, and the olive-ridley turtle to the list!

Emerald Reef/Ras Miungani
At the southernmost point of Pemba Island is Emerald Reef. Washed by the cooler southerly currents, it has a different mix of plants and corals. Among them is the lurid green 'grape weed' that lends the reef its colour. A steep cleft in the reef at 45 m is home to literally dozens of pig-sized groupers, including the potato cod, malahar marbled and giant varieties. Fat and lethargic, they peer from their holes. In the clear water above, vast schools of blackfin barracuda and horse-eye jacks like to patrol. Rainbow runners and spanish mackerel also cruise by. On the shallow reef shelter schools of humpbacked and bluelined snappers, oriental sweetlips and yet more fat, docile groupers. This site is visited as a day trip. We do not anchor overnight.

S S Paraportiani
Inside a neighbouring lagoon lies the wreck of the Paraportiani, sunk in a storm in 1967. Over 100 m long, she lies broken on the shallow seabed. The stern is intact, its phosphor-bronze propeller still clearly visible above the white sand. A large helm is still in place on the aft deck, giving her the appearance of a much older ship. To say this wreck is well-colonised is an understatement. Every surface is encrusted in sponges, corals and weeds. Every nook is crawling with shrimps or crabs and oozing with flatworms and neudibranches. There are the inevitable glassfish that colonize every tropical wreck and great herds of bumphead parrotfish grazing algae from the hull. Like any reef in Pemba, there are also large schools of moorish idols.

Mtangani and Mchengazi
Mtangani and Mchengazi on the east coast of Pemba have the steep walls and strong oceanic currents which are ideal for pelagic life and the diving here focuses on looking for pelagic fish. Strings of hammerhead and reef sharks, trevally, tuna and barracuda are common. Diving on the east coast is dependant upon the weather and sea conditions and is only recommended for those with PADI Advanced or equivalent.