Butiama Beach - Whale Shark Safari

Arriving Butiama Beach - February 8th

We fly via 2 air strips in Selous to Dar Es Salaam and from there we take another plane to Mafia Island. In no time we arrive at Butiama Beach. Yes, this is going to be a relaxed 2nd part of our holiday. Super! Cheese & bacon beefburger with french fries and a coke for lunch. Jummy.

Lala Day - February 9th

Before we arrived we already decided to have a relaxing day today. It will therefore be a "Lala Day". We start the day with a refreshing dive in the pool, just before breakfast. A slow walk along the beach. Seeing the Dhow's pass by on the sun beds at the beach. Slowly .. slowly ... slowly ..... soo wonderfull.

Whale Shark - February 10th

Today we are going to look for the Whale Shark - the biggest fish on the planet. The 3 Indian kids from Dar/Kenia (?) are joining us. Before we go we are told there are 61 (!) different animals identified here. The 1st boat we see is the "tag" boat from the American Research Team. We sail a little further and see that next to us another 3 boats are "hunting" for the Whale Sharks. They are already "dressed up" (fins and mask on) for the action on the side of the boat .... but, where are they then?

It takes quite some time before we find them. But once we do the party starts! We can snorkel with one after the other .. 6 in total we see.

3 hours after we depart we are - tired and fulfilled - back at Butiama for lunch.

Redo yesterday - February 11th

Yesterday was too much fun, so during dinner we tell Moez we want to go again. Another thing is that Moez told us he had 21 divers ... maybe too many to have a nice diving day. This time we were accompanied by Italians and Germans.

The Whale Sharks were more difficult to see than yesterday, as there seemed to be more plankton (green pee soup). The where swimming quicker. And dove more often into the deep. Nevertheless it was a lot of fun. Snorkling with Whale Sharks is simply fantastic!

During dinner we were offered a private table at the beach and the food was - again - delicious!

Chole Bay - February 12th

The plan is to make 2 dives today. At 09:15 we depart per Land Rover to the other side of the island. It takes close to 30 minutes to get at the Dive Shop. We are welcomed by Daniel. Moez is also there. After we had fitted our gear, and waited at the restaurant next door for about 15 minutes, we head for our boat.

Moez is our guide - an nice surprise - and only other diver - a Romanian girl - accompanies us on our Dhow*. The 1st dive is okay. We see many nice things and lots of fish. Unfortunately the viz was quite bad. Quite some sediment and also lots of plankton. Moez explains that with incoming tide the viz in the bay is very good. Today the incoming tide is too late to wait for.

After enjoying our lunch on the Dhow we head for the 2nd dive site of the day. This one is outside the bay (Chole Bay that is). While sailing there we can see the water clearing up. Underwater the difference in viz is quite big. This is goood! A big Napoleon Wrasse says high while we cruise a beautiful reef.

No wind on the way back, so the sails stay down ... . And it gets quite hot on the Dhow.

// * So 21 divers, doesn't mean 21 divers on a boat. It just means more boats. Good to know for a next time! //

44 - February 13th

At the moment I wake up I remember: "it's my birthday". My 44th one. Petra also remembers and congratulates me before opening her eyes even :-).

Birthdays is not really my thing, but it's nice getting all the best wishes sms'.

Before breakfast we head for the pool for a nice refreshing swim. At breakfast Maura - with her little boy on her arm - comes to our table to wish me a nice birthday.

Back in the room we try to call my dad. It's his birthday as well. At first we don't succeed, but after selecting the 'better' provider we get through to The Netherlands. The connection is bad, but I am sure he appreciated it a lot.

From there we fill the day with a long stroll along the beach (it's spring tide, so during low tide the beach is really wide!). A delicious lunch at our room. And relaxing massage at the small Spa - on Butiama's Beach.

// Maura finds us during the day to confirm we can keep our room until we leave this Friday, no need to clear it earlier. Great! //

At night a private table is reserved for us at the beach. Luckily the wind had died down. During the afternoon one was sandblasted sitting here. The bottle of White we ordered is on the house (what a nice gesture). The food, shrimp cocktail for starters, squid for mains and crême brulée for desert is so good. The food is just getting better and better.

What a wonderful day!

Valentines Day - February 14th

It's still early when we wake up. We both have dreamed a lot. Was it last nights wine? The wind? After a 'jummy' breakfast we pack our snorkel gear to go for our 3dr Whale Shark Snorkel Safari! This time we are accompanied by 2 Italian couples (from outside Butiama Beach) and an Austrian couple (staying with us at Butiama Beach). The Austrian couple was already traveling a month through Africa. They had been at Bwindi NP in Uganda. Hard work, 6 hours walk through dens rain forest under growth along steep mountains at 40°C and high humidity following the ranger who cuts the path with a manchetta. But once they saw the Mountain Gorilla's it all had been worth it.

The snorkel trip was account worth the swimming. The Whale Sharks were found pretty quick this time by our snorkeling guide (we had the "Olympic Champion  again .... he could keep up with the Whale Sharks while snorkeling!). The viz was quite improved to last time. Man what a beauties they are and what fun it is snorkeling with them.

Pity the camera fogged up ... .One more time we jumped in to say goodbye to the last Whale Shark of our holiday.

The final morning - February 15th

We start the morning with half an hour swim in the pool. There was quite some wind last night, so the pool water had cooled down quite a bit. The sky is overcast, so no sun heat either.

After a long, delicious and rich breakfast we have a relaxing morning. We snooze a bit on the sunbeds. The sun still didn't break through, so little chances for a sunburn.

Our last lunch (same as the 1st day) was again really good. We pack the final items, have a shower and than it is time to leave this beautiful place.

Hmmm ... the bill is a lot less than expected. After checking we see some items are missed. We decide to be honest about it and tell Maura. "The 3rd Whale Shark Safari was a birthday present". Very very kind ... but than we still miss 2 spa treatments on the bill (?). Maura corrects the bill. Petra pays.

We arrive quite early at the "airport" The woman at security looks through Petra's stuff for cigarettes. As she doesn't smoke she offers her some mints. We also run into the Romanian girl again. The dive the next day - same site - wasn't that good. Way too much current. They had been moving far too fast to really see the fish. On the plus side, they sailed back.

After a short flight with a Chessna C404 we arrive at Dar. Hmmm .. nobody waiting for us?! I ask the guy from Leopard Tours whether the had seen someone from Hippo Tours. No. One of them is so kind to call Hippo Tours "No transfer pre-booked for Mr de Bakker". Okay, thanks. So get a cab to bring us to the international side of the airport ($7).

Despite it being still very early, we decide to pass security. Maybe not the best of choices as there is nothing there and Swiss isn't starting to check in for a long time.

// When we return to Tanzania next time we really have to make better arrangements for this final part. Especially when we are flying KLM who leaves even 2 hrs later at 24:00 //

Home - February 16th

The trip back went very smooth. Even the connection in Zürich was flawless and we had plenty of time. At 10:20 we are already home.