Kervan Saray Beach
Description:
In the far north of Pemba, Kervan Saray Beach and Swahili Divers have created a destination for adventure and hospitality. This idyllic spot on the beach close to the village of Makangale is the perfect base to relax and explore.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in the area, the lodge houses Swahili Divers, the most experienced and long standing recognized dive center in Pemba, yet does not limit itself to diving.
Kayak, bike, bird watch, walk in the forest, visit coastal Swahili villages or do nothing if you so wish.
Located on a beautiful green, forested, coral paradise in the Indian Ocean, Kervan Saray Beach is simple affair, with superb food and service. It is an environmentally friendly eco-lodge, well entrenched in the local community, drawing employees from the local area and donating a portion of their profits to the community.
Accommodation:
Kervan Saray Beach is an adventurers’ lodge. It is an unpretentious dive resort where non divers are made very welcome. Each room has a double bed and a single bed and an attached washroom.
Rooms are exceptionally simple, built using only local materials with thatched roofs. The mattresses are imported from Kenya, the bed sheets and mosquito nets are the finest Indian cotton.
Each room has a shower that provides lukewarm water that is solar heated using an African Village system. On cloudy days the water is cool.
The resort is so remote that it is off the National Power Grid. Electricity is provided by generator from 6pm to 6 am in the rooms, and in the office during the day. Guests are very welcome to use a large bank of plugs to recharge laptops, satellite phones and digital cameras.
Diving:
Swahili Divers has always been about diving. They started operations in Pemba in 1999, and were the first PADI 5* dive center on the island. Owner managed, Swahili Divers has been continuously diving and training in Pemba ever since and are now a PADI 5* Gold Palm Resort. No one knows Pemba like Swahili Divers.
Dive coral covered walls, coral strewn reef slopes, and enormous, healthy bommies and fans that are surrounded by reef fish.
The local fishing community is generally and happily inept. This means that you see schools of chevron barracuda, yellow fin tuna, Jacks and snapper. Giant groupers sit territorially on reefs and most sites have a resident Maori wrasse.
These dive sites are simply stunning. Ribbon eels, fire dartfish and leaf-fish can be found on many reefs. Nudibranches are a specialty, seen on every dive, and often spotted is the famous Spanish dancer.
