General information
Introduction
While Zanzibar has become a popular tourist resort, Mafia Island lying only 160 km south, remains virtually unknown. Previously poor communications with the mainland and being much lesser known than Zanzibar have kept Mafia 'original', although a steady trickle of visitors are unanimous in singing its praise. Mafia is one of the safest places in the Indian Ocean and there are no hustlers to spoil a holiday.
The Mafia Archipelago is scattered over the Indian Ocean 21 km off the Rufiji River Delta in central Tanzania. The largest of a score of islands, atolls and tidal sandbars, Mafia itself is approximately 50 km long by 15km across, and is surrounded by a barrier reef teeming with marine life. Almost half the coastline of Mafia, some 822kmē, has been gazetted a marine park by the Government. To date over 50 genera of corals, more than 460 species of fish and five different species of turtles have been recorded in the waters around Chole Bay.
Natural vegetation on Mafia ranges from tidal mangrove thickets and scrubby coastal moorlands to palm-wooden grassland and lowland rainforest. Magnificent baobabs are prominent along with the native Albizia. Patches of coastal high forest remain in localities all over Mafia; one of the most picturesque, the Chunguruma Forest, is a dense tree canopy interlaced with palms, lianes and epiphytes and has an abundant floor covering of ferns.
A series of reed-lined lakes in central Mafia are probably the remnants of an old lagoon which was cut off from the ocean thousands of years ago. Here live a number of small hippo which may have crossed from the mainland or were washed to the island by floods of the Rufiji River system. They have been on Mafia many years, since Dr Baumann records their presence in 1895.
Other island fauna includes a colony of flying foxes, several species of bushbabies, a type of pygmy shrew and a monitor lizard known as kenge. Monkeys and squirrels are common.
An official bird list kept by Kinasi Lodge records sightings of more than 120 different species, including five different types of sunbird, living in and around the hotel gardens. There are also thought to be at least five endemic species of butterfly on the island.
While Mafia makes an ideal holiday for people interested in nature and outdoor activities, its big attraction for many visitors is that it remains locked in a time warp of the early 20th Century.
The population of the archipelago is approximately 40,000 living in 24 villages scattered throughout the main island, Jibondo, Juani and Chole islands. The people live in rustic fishing communities and farming villages. The majority are Muslim but there are many Christians. Traditional religion also manifests itself in ritual dances linked to the lunar cycle.
Travel around Mafia
The main town is located on the north-east side of the island. The airport now dissects the town, Kilindoni, which is the district 'capital'. Mafia is a district of the Coast Province, which is one of the provinces of mainland Tanzania. It is also an electorate with its own member of Parliament.
The island infrastructure is basic. None of the villages are connected to mains water or electricity and there are no tarmac roads. There are two main roads: from Kilindoni north to Ras Mkumbi (with side roads to the villages in the north) and Kilindoni to Utende, the centre of the tourism area on Chole Bay. A third arterial road connects the south-east of the island, centred on Kitoni.
The road to Utende is quite rough (occasionally it is graded) and it can take at least 30 minutes to tarvel the 15 km distance. Elsewhere roads are sandy tracks or paths.
At present there is little public transport on Mafia (a daily bus to the north), which has only about 35 vehicles, mainly Land Rover pick-ups and 4x4s belonging to the hotels, UNICEF, government and to the fish processing factory. Hitch-hiking is an accepted means of getting about, but usually means a long wait. Islanders also use jahazis, widely referred to in English as dhows, to commute between Kilindoni and outlying villages on Mafia, and for inter-island travel.
Getting to Mafia
Getting to Mafia used to be a difficult exercise, but not any longer, as there are quite a number of scheduled flights flying into and out of Mafia every day. Coastal Aviation, ZanAir, Precision Air and - if you are our guest - Kinasi's private airplanes - which do not operate on a scheduled basis but can fly at any time except after 1830 and before 0630 hrs. We meet our guests directly from their incoming aircraft connection or collect them from Zanzibar or the Selous direct to Mafia; and we usually deliver our guests right to the door of their internatiional flight in dar es Salaam when leaving, even if it is a very early departure.
Kinasi Lodge transfers clients from Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and the Selous Game Reserve. The flight by Cessna takes only 45 minutes from Dar es Salaam and one hour from Zanzibar or the Selous.
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