Whale sharks feeding at the surface off Kilindoni through the northern monsoon, often several at once and in water shallow…Whale sharks feeding at the surface off Kilindoni through the northern monsoon, often several at once and in water shallow enough to snorkel, plus the coral gardens inside Chole Bay and the ruins of Kua on Juani island, a Shirazi town abandoned in the nineteenth century. Mafia was a Shirazi and then Omani trading island long before Zanzibar took the traffic. Its whale sharks are unusual in that many are resident rather than migratory, which is why the season is so reliable, and it is one of the few places they are studied year after year on the same individuals. Anchorage: Chole Bay is one of the best natural harbours on the East African coast, and Mafia is a standard stop on the Tanzania-Comoros-Madagascar run. Hazards: The tide runs hard through the mouth of Chole Bay, so dives there are planned on slack water. Altro