Scuba Diving at Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park Trip. A Diani diving holiday would not be complete without a day dive safari in nearby Kisite-Mpunguti National Marine Park. The park is a protected marine sanctuary. You will have excellent chances to spot more elusive marine life such as dolphins, which are regularly encountered on our trips. The day out is also an excellent trip for non-divers, offering a boat ride on a traditional dhow and great snorkelling opportunities.
Coral reefs are some of the world’s most popular dive sites and the reefs in Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park are some of the best on the planet, whether you are taking your first dive or your thousandth. The gentle sloping wall of the reef at Kisite extends from 2 to 32 meters below the surface and almost every nook and cranny is filled with marine life living within the hard corals and constantly darting about are schools of vibrant fish, such as spadefish, blue-lined snapper, fusiliers, surgeonfish and many others.
Also vying for your attention are parrotfish, moorish idol, giant sweet lip, several types of butterflyfish, a variety of angelfish, turtle starfish, octopus, just to name only a few of the 360 species that you may see! Dolphin encounters frequently happen as there are several pods of these curious aquatic mammals in the park. Choose from seven dive sites with minimal current ranging in depth from six feet to more than one hundred feet (two to thirty-two meters).
Scuba Diving at Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park Itineray
We depart from Diani at around 7:30 am headed down to the port of Shimoni. Shimoni is infamous in history as the loading point for slaves bound for the markets of Zanzibar. From Shimoni we ride on a traditional African dhow around Wasini Island out to the marine park sanctuary of Kisite-Mpunguti.
After equipment assembly and a dive brief, it’s time for a dive. Dives typically last between 40-50 minutes with a PADI Divemaster+ as a guide. The boat is moored while divers are down, so snorkellers can also enjoy the Kisite Reef.
During the surface interval, you can chill in the sun, or have a snorkel and play before another dive brief and back into the water.
Once both dives have been completed we take a leisurely cruise around Wasini Island back to Shimoni for lunch before the transfer back to your hotel in Diani.
Commonly encountered bigger animals at Kisite include dolphins and green turtles, in addition to the common coral reef fish inhabiting the area.
