Zanzibar – dolphin trips and any general tips/Pemba island flying fox
Dear all
As part of a longer trip to Tanzania, I will spending a few nights on Zanzibar and one (or more if necessary) on Pemba.
My first question is about dolphin trips. I am keen to try for Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins however the Rough Guide does not paint a great picture of the ethics of these trips? Anyone got any experience of this and/or recommendations for who to go with?
Any other general tips for Zanzibar welcome. The plan is, after a night recovering from the flight form the UK/sightseeing to have two nights and Jozani and then one somewhere else, possibly the dolphin place if I decide to do it. Sneaking in a bit of bird stuff I’m keen to see crab plover as well.
On Pemba Island we will be hiring a guide for the birds; I believe the flying fox is fairly easy to see. Am I correct? Any recommended sites in the north of the island?
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5 Comments
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hughlansdown
Hi Steve, I’m afraid I agree totally with Brett. I chose the most ‘dolphin friendly’ company and did exactly the same at Brett, telling my boat to stop and go back to shore because of the harassment of the dolphins encouranged by the dozens of young backpackers wanting videos of themselves ‘swimming with the dolphins’ for their social media. All the boats go out together at the same time and use mobile phones to keep in touch. As soon as one boat spots dolphins they all converge. There is currently no such thing as ethical dolphin watching on Zanzibar and I don’t believe any mammal watchers should be supporting the existing business. Sorry.
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Steve Babbs
Many thanks for the comments. Since writing this (and I am a pit confused as I wrote this several months ago and it seems to have just come up, I have done more background reading and the comments above support other comments on Facebook etc. I made the decision that there is no way I’d be able to look myself in the mirror if I chose to go on a dolphin trip and I will not be.
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Brett Hartl
The main area for dolphin watching in the far northeast part of Zanzibar near Muyuni is a nightmare – brutal and totally unregulated harassment of dolphins occurs every day. I went and told my boat driver to turn around because it was so outrageous I could not even stand it. If you can find an operator out of other areas of the island that seem somewhat more ethical, try there instead. Otherwise, I do not think it is something mammal watchers should support out of the main area near .