"Adventure learning" tour for KIDS and adults in Tanzania.
The aim of the 7-day trip is for the kids and their parents to gain experience, and knowledge about saving the Indian Ocean wildlife by actively participating in a coral conservation project, planting mangrove trees, and swimming with whale sharks.
Dates:
Tour 1: 18-25 October 2024
Tour 2: 27 October – 3 November 2024 – during the school autumn holidays
Location: Tanzania, Mafia Island – Kitu Kiblu Beach Houses and Chole Mjini Treehouses
Meals: breakfast-lunch-dinner
Travel: by plane – Dar es Salaam – Mafia Island
Kitu Kiblu Beach Houses and Chole Mjini Treehouses
The Kitu Kiblu Beach Houses and Chole Mjini Treehouses. The two campsites are located on
different islands, Mafia Island and Chole. The two accommodations are about 30 km apart.
The houses will be located in jungle and baobab trees. The houses are located directly on the beach. It will be comfortable and truly wild as we will be staying with monkeys, toads, birds and other exotic animals.
Pictures – KITU KIBLU Beach Houses
Pictures – CHOLE MJINI Treehouses
Both accommodations operate in the spirit of sustainability.
Program
The focus of our trip is environmental protection, including getting to know and protecting marine life. The
local fishermen get food and livelihood by blast fishing. This means that they fish with dynamite, which kills not only the fish they catch, but also all other creatures in the sea.
This way the coral reef is completely destroyed!
coral propagation
On the island, you can join Professor Jean de Villiers’ coral rescue project. The damaged corals are collected by the divers of our team. On the boat, the corals are broken into small pieces and then attached to a rope made of coconut fiber by the local women. Then we take these small pieces of coral to the coral nurseries.
Those who do not dive with a tank are swimming on the surface (with a snorkel), so you can watch the process. Corals are growing in the protected section of the national park until the specialists put them in their final place. This creates new, healthy coral reefs that provide habitat for other marine species.
Young people are tasked with planting as many corals as possible. During our stay, Jean will teach the youngsters how to free dive, as the coral nursery is 2-3 meters deep. The youngsters will learn about different reef-building coral species and methods of coral planting.
Professional presentations
We want to enrich the knowledge of the young people, so they can listen to a professional lecture by the project’s marine biologists (coral reef ecology, oceanography, mangrove ecology, climate protection)
Other activities:
Snorkelling with whalesharks
The whaleshark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the world, over 20 meters long. Despite their spectacular size, they are very
tame and do not harm humans.
Depending on the migration season, sharks can be seen in the western part of Mafia Island.
You can learn interesting information about their biology and conservation.
Juani island and Blue lagoon tour
We approach Juani island by sailing a dhow
(classic Arab sailing ship)where hides a small lake, near the “Blue lagoon” bay.
The lake is home to “upside down” jellyfish.
They’re completely harmless – we’ll go with them
to swim in the lake.
Beach cleaning
We will collect the plastic waste washed up on the beach during a short walk.
Diving or snorkeling in Chole Bay
Mangrove planting
The mangrove ecosystems in coastal areas – which we also call “blue carbon” – naturally reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thus reducing the greenhouse effect. These coastal systems, although much smaller than our planet’s forests, are much more efficient at sequestering carbon and storing it for millennia.
Ras Kisimani beach picnic
On the tiny island, we beach and have lunch until the island disappears from us… 🙂
Chole Island - walking in the village
The island of Chole used to be a prison island, and you can visit the remaining parts of the island, which are just a few minutes’ walk from our accommodation.
We can learn from a local woman how she makes rope from coconut fiber, which we use for the coral nursery. We get to know the local residents.
Hama-Hama
You will have the opportunity to get a glimpse into the life of the local villagers, we will weave a rope from coconut fibre and string corals on it. The women will show you how to prepare Tanzanian food.
