Mnemba Island is a single small island located about 3 km off the northeast coast of

Unguja Unguja (also referred to as "Zanzibar Island" or simply "Zanzibar", in grc, Μενουθιάς, Menuthias – as mentioned in The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'') is the largest and most populated island of the Zanzibar archipelago, in Tanza ...

, the largest island of the

Zanzibar Archipelago The Zanzibar Archipelago ( ar, أرخبيل زنجبار, sw, Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar) consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa south of the Somali sea. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are four ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, opposite Muyuni Beach. It is roughly triangular in shape, about in diameter and about in circumference. It is surrounded by an oval reef seven by four kilometres in extent. These reefs have been declared a

marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is in ...

area. Mnemba Island and its reef are sometimes called

Mnemba Atoll Mnemba Island is a single small island located about 3 km off the northeast coast of Unguja, the largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania, opposite Muyuni Beach. It is roughly triangular in shape, about in diameter and about in c ...

which is incorrect because an atoll is an island that encircles a lagoon, which is not the case for Mnemba Island. Mnemba

Mnemba Island is a popular

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

site, with a wide variety of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s and associated species, as well as occasional sightings of larger species such as

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

s and

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

. Calm conditions are most frequent in November and March, with maximum visibility. The island itself is privately owned and can be visited only as a guest at a price of US$1155 to US$1600 per person per night (2015 rates). As Mnemba is a private island, non-guests are not permitted to land on the island. The island has a 200-meter exclusion zone around the island within which non-guests are not permitted. Mnemba Island is a 90-minute drive from

Stone Town Stonetown of Zanzibar ( ar, مدينة زنجبار الحجرية), also known as Mji Mkongwe ( Swahili for "old town"), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo ...

across the main

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

Island, before a twenty-minute boat crossing. The marine reserve comprises four distinct habitats which are home to a diverse array of Indian Ocean wildlife: * Nesting place of threatened

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s (monitoring and protection project has been underway since 1996) *

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...

s (July to September) * Three species of dolphin *

Whale sharks The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...

(the world's largest fish) * Migratory and resident shore birds feed and roost on the Island * Approximately 600 species of coral reef fish.

Green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s can be seen laying their eggs on the beaches between February and September.

References

* Finke, J. (2006) ''The Rough Guide to Zanzibar (2nd edition).'' New York: Rough Guides.

External links

Government of Zanzibar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanzibar Zanzibar Archipelago Uninhabited islands of Tanzania Private islands of Africa