Pemba from above, part 1

The dark clouds hanging over the airport worried us. The forecasts in the internet were not good, with chances of precipitation over Zanzibar estimated in the high 80% range. Our schedules did not allow us great flexibility though and moving our aerial survey to some other day was not an option. June was not supposed to be wet but weather in Africa, as in most parts of the world, is unpredictable and the May rains have been lingering in Tanzania up to the present time.


shifting sand bars in the south channel of Pemba island, Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa



seaweed farms in Kangani, south of Pemba island


The pilot assured us that rains come in patches but generally, most of Zanzibar would still be dry. The timing already was perfect- it was low tide that mid-morning and we should be able to see clearly the seaweed farms that we would be inspecting. Without much discussion, we decided to go ahead. All five of us needed to go to Pemba anyway and the air charter meant just paying for the entire 12 seats of the Cessna 208B grand caravan.


an isolated beach in one of the many islets in South Pemba



a shallow reef where two channels meet, South Pemba


To our delight, the drizzle went away upon our takeoff at 9AM and the sun came out. While clouds still hang low over most of our trip, the sun did not disappoint and we were treated with the glory that is Zanzibar.


a shoal that appears only during low tide, South Pemba



seaweed farms at the banks of the village of Chokocho, South Pemba


To go: Pemba is a large island north of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago that is part of Tanzania, East Africa. There are regular fast crafts and flights between Zanzibar and Pemba. Air charters can be arranged from various operators like the one we made with Tropical Air at +255 24 223 2511.