ABOUT Kinasi Lodge

Kinasi Lodge is a boutique hotel on Mafia Island, approximately 100 km south of Dar es Salaam. A short ride across the island from the airport and the main town of Kilindoni, the lodge overlooks Chole Bay in Mafia Island Marine Park. This intimate and lovely resort, situated in an old cashew and coconut plantation, provides a luxury stay amidst stylish décor and magnificent natural surroundings of the protected marine park. The swimming pool is surrounded by verdant gardens with sunbeds and alfresco lunchtime seating on the pool terrace. To add refinement there is a wine cellar with a signature wine list and an outdoor pergola cocktail bar, a spa with expert Thai personnel providing aromatherapy, Thai massage and hydrotherapy and a host of leisure time options for those after-work periods. Everything about this elegant hotel - from design and furnishing to our food & beverage and staff service - is done with a passion for perfection.

kinasi is made of many a natural thing so it’s all completely self-sustaining coconut leaves, stone and sand, clay and pole and a lot of fun digging the swimming pool hole hammocks on wide verandahs and sun beds on the beach make sure that you fully relax and total bliss do reach the spa is there to take away all stress and aggravation and leave you in complete suspended animation most of all there is complete tranquility after exciting days out on the sea and relaxing evenings with our unique cocktails

kinasi is in the heart of the Mafia Island Marine Park so is ideally situated for all the diving, snorkelling and excursions you will want to take part in. And - best of all - these excursions and experiences are all right on your doorstep – no extra travel time or hassle and cost... Mafia Island offers so much so easily.

Dining Experiences at Kinasi

We Are Famous For Our Cooking

Our chefs have been with us for years and get refresher training each year from a restaurateur friend from England. Naturally we have lots of fresh seafood, fruit and vegetables but we cater for the meat-eaters and vegetarians just as well. We have created everything from kosher food to catering for cruise ships ! So just let us know while you are our guest and we’ll look after you.

SPECIAL OFFERS

special offers

Sanctuary
& Long - Stay Sabbatical

SPECIAL OFFERS

Stay & Play
on Mafia

SPECIAL OFFERS

Whale Shark
Special Offers

SPECIAL OFFERS

Honeymoons, Anniversaries
& Reunions on Mafia Island

SPECIAL OFFERS

Diving & Snorkeling
with Blue World

SPECIAL OFFERS

Improve your dive skills
and underwater interests

SPECIAL OFFERS

Coral Spawning
in Mafia Island Marine Park

SPECIAL OFFERS

Festive Season 2020
Special Invitation

SPECIAL OFFERS

PHOTO GALLERY

THE LODGE

UNDERWATER DIVING

BEACHES OF MAFIA

AROUND OF MAFIA

GETTING HERE

MAFIA ISLAND & KINASI LODGE

Mafia is 160 km south of Zanzibar and the same distance east of the Selous. The lodge is 15 km from the Mafia Airport at Kilindoni, our main town and district capital. The new bitumen road to Utende Beach and KInasi was completed in 2014.

NEWS Kinasi Lodge

one thousand and one nights!

Zanzibar thanks the health service professionals of the world The Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors, in conjunction with the public and private sectors in Zanzibar,

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Copyright © 2020 KINASI LODGE
All Rights Reserved

Opening:
Open all year long

Phone: +27 (0)72 293 – 0475
Email: stay@mafiaisland.com

Address: Utende, Marin Park Area. Mafia island, Tanzania

Made with by Felipe Nieto ( KAKA )

Sanctuary Long
Stay Sabbatical

Mafia Island is COVID-free and Kinasi Lodge has been approved as a Safer Travel destination beach resort. Tanzania has also been awarded the World Travel and Tourism Council Safe Travel seal of approval for its preparedness, its early implementation of comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures and very low impact of the pandemic. Mafia Island experienced only five confirmed cases in April, all safely treated and cured. There is a negligible risk of coronavirus in Mafia Island and with all its attractions it is an ideal “sanctuary destination for those who can work remotely or are simply in need of a long sabbatical.

Key words I have been hearing repeatedly as important for destinations in rebuilding their image include ‘outdoors’, ‘healthy choices’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘sustainable’, ‘salty fresh air’, ‘close to nature’, ‘healthy food and beverages’, ‘wellness ambassadors’ and ‘happiness’ (which can now be defined and measured http://www.fireitupwithcj.com and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljL_ixd_Qq8).

All of these - and many more of similar meaning - apply to our accommodation and services here in Mafia Island, because we are essentially ‘old-fashioned’ in our design, layout and construction. Mafia has a very low-volume, low-impact, ‘gentle footprint’ type of tourism by default, location, logistics and conscience. We are here because of this, rather than hectic, built-up and intense destinations. This is the place for ‘slow tourism’ where the location controls the pace and time and we guide and show off our nature, our culture, archaeology and history, and hospitality, fresh food and beverages to instil a greater depth of experience for our guests.

At Kinasi Lodge we have a full range of scuba diving, snorkeling, whale shark and turtle-hatching excursions, with picnics on islets and sand banks, road excursions to see more of Mafia Island’s beauty and experience the culture and way of life, historic ruins and bird-watching

Stay & Play
on Mafia

STAY & PLAY ON MAFIA ISLAND ENJOY THE ISLAND LIFE OUR WAY

At Kinasi Lodge we have a full range of scuba diving, snorkeling, whale shark and turtle-hatching excursions, with picnics on islets and sand banks, road excursions to see more of Mafia Island’s beauty and experience the culture and way of life, historic ruins and bird-watching… and kayaks and bicycles for fun from Kinasi,,,, it’s all yours for as long as you wish. And the services of our beautiful Isis Spa await you. Chole Bay and its environs is an amazing playground.

If you want to have the best an island experience can offer Mafia is Tanzania’s Indian Ocean jewel with so much to do and all in easy reach, right on our doorstep at Kinasi Lodge. No extra travelling down-time and cost… just do it ! We have a number of specials running right through to the end of the season in March 2021 for all tastes and budgets so please contact us now for the details and your special requirements.

Whale Shark
Excursions

Swim with Whale Sharks with
Blue World Diving & Watersports

Kinasi operates its own whale shark excursions for guests, in order to ensure an unforgettable experience with best practice protocols of swimming with whale sharks with minimal impact on their behavior. This is not always easy with excited visitors experiencing this amazing adventure for the first time and boat captains who wish to please them; in the past has led to situations with too many swimmers in the water at the same time (especially when there are few sharks around and there are several boat-loads of people from different hotels. There are currently five registered and licensed operators with a total of seven boats, so careful management is required.

The excursion takes place near Kilindoni, our District Center. The diagramme below illustrates the main feeding area of ​​the sharks. Whale sharks are the worldʼs largest fish and an iconic species for marine tourism. They aggregate at a small number of coastal locations around the world. Mafia Island is perhaps the most reliable spot to see whale sharks in Africa. The Marine Megafauna Foundation, together with Tanzanian and international collaborators, has been conducting research studies of whale sharks at Mafia Island since 2012 (Source: Rohner & amp; Peierce Marine Megafauna Foundation Report 2019).

The whale shark encounter includes maintaining a boat distance of 30m from any whale shark and if more than two boats are present others must wait (at 300m distance) their turn to enter this “control area". In this situation swimmers will be allowed 30 minutes with the sharks and then must withdraw to allow another boat to enter and give their passengers a chance to enter the water with the sharks. Our captain will obey these protocols. Ace most operators go before 8 am we will depart later to avoid the "rush hour" and waiting time.

Honeymoons, Anniversaries
& Reunions on Mafia Island

WEDDINGS, HONEYMOONS & REUNIONS ON MAFIA ISLAND, TANZANIA’S VERY SPECIAL TROPICAL ISLAND

We are making 2020-21 the year to share our beautiful lodge and island with couples, old or young who consider themselves “honeymooners” (this is a state of mind not a legal definition); it’s the year for enjoying Tanzania’s best location for friends and lovers…. and families and friends who wish to holiday together after the recent disruption to our lives… come and share with us what we call our “HONEMOONERS” Special.

Mafia offers everything for our honeymooners and “besties”: beautiful islets and sand banks for barbecue picnics and snorkeling, long isolated beaches to explore, scuba diving for the adventurous, historic sites and cultural walks in traditional villages, turtle hatchings and snorkeling with whale sharks. Sunset cruises on our traditional sailing dhow….and road trips to explore the island and experience the traditional way of life.

And when the activities are done we have our Isis Spa with Oei, our Thai therapist, excellent cuisine and an extensive wine cellar. And our barfolk Rashid and Janet are very popular for their tropical cocktails.

We believe we have covered everything but then there is Mafia itself, its wonderfully kind and friendly people, peace and quiet and tranquility to create the most enjoyable atmosphere for the ideal getaway..

Blue World Diving
is our in-house PADI Five-Star Resort dive centre, established in 1995.

We are making 2020-21 the year to share our beautiful lodge and island with couples, old or young who consider themselves “honeymooners” (this is a state of mind not a legal definition); it’s the year for enjoying Tanzania’s best location for friends and lovers…. and families and friends who wish to holiday together after the recent disruption to our lives… come and share with us what we call our “HONEMOONERS” Special.

Scuba Diving

Be one of the first to discover Tanzania’s
best marine ecotourism destination

Snorkeling

Mafia Island Marine Park is a snorkeler’s paradise with the Coral Gardens, Kinasi Pass Islets, Darusi & Miewe Island, Mange Reef, Kitutia, Jibondo Pass, Chole Chan nel and Reef, North Side of Kinasi Pass

New Diving Center

We have just moved into our completely redesigned and re-built dive centre with its new deck for apres sea drinks and socialising, with its own drinks refrigerator and snack grill.

Improve your dive skills and underwater interests

Don’t waste a minute
enjoy our upskill special offers

Upskilling is our mantra this season at Kinasi Lodge, while we have the gift of time and the ability to concentrate on expanding our repertoire of services and using our abilities to the maximum to take care of our guests. We have made it our mission to prove that 2020 is not a “lost year”

Why don’t you join us in improving your dive skills and getting more out of your passion for the ocean.

PADI Specialty Courses – now available on eLearning – each offer unique new skill sets that are sure to benefit any diver. If you’re looking to enhance your underwater comfort and capability and get more from your explorations, and grow your diving knowledge, you’ll definitely want to consider one of these top courses..

With the option of eLearning, you can first complete the online portion of the course at your own pace through our easy-to-use interactive program. With the added flexibility that eLearning offers, and the diving opportunities available in a location like Mafia Island Marine Park right now, these specialty courses allow you to add enjoyment as you become more competent and have a wonderful weekend.

Emergency First Responder (EFR)
Night Diver
Search and Recovery Diver
Drift Diver
Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver

Coral Spawning
in Mafia Island Marine Park

CORAL SPAWNING IN MAFIA ISLAND MARINE PARK 2020 AN OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS NATURE’S CORAL REEF PHENOMENON

This year the peak of the extraordinary event of coral spawning is expected to peak 14 th and 17 th November. (Keith SA et al. 2016 Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20160011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0011). Here is an interesting extract from this study:

‘Reef-forming corals generate some of the most spectacular mass reproductive events in the world. During the annual ‘mass spawn’, defined by Willis et al. [16] as ‘the synchronous release of gametes by many species of corals, in one evening between dusk and midnight’ on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR; [17]), up to 30 species release gametes within hours on a single reef [16] and over 130 species spawn in the week following the full moon in October or November [16,18]. Individual colonies usually spawn only once each year on a seasonal cycle, and gamete maturity is often synchronous within colonies [18]. Seasonality of spawning appears to be strong, even in the equatorial tropics where annual variation in environmental conditions is traditionally considered to be relatively stable [19]. Despite three decades of study, the proximate cues to initiate coral spawning remain controversial. A wide range of environmental factors might play a role in reproductive timing and these may act at both a proximate and an ultimate (or mechanistic) level [14,16]. The most common hypothesis for corals states that environmental cues work at progressively finer scales to regulate: (i) the month of spawning, (ii) night of spawning (lunar cues, [20]) and (iii) the time of spawning (sunset) [21,22].’

Different species of corals and other invertebrates spawn around the calendar but there are the peaks as described and in the Mafia Island case it should be in mid-November.

Festive Season
2020 Special Invitation

Special plans for the Festive Season

We have also planned a wonderful festive season over a full weeks from 24 th December to 31 st culminating with the New Year on Marimbani Sandbank in Chole Bay, as the low tide will be midnight ! We plan to live share this adventure digitally on our social media with all friends and families…. Please join us and share.

Special offers running wild

We have designed a host of all-inclusive specials with the pandemic and travel restrictions in mind, to enable those visitors who can travel to Tanzania for safari and to Mafia Island for the best beach holiday possible, offering East Africa’s best diving and snorkeling, whale shark excursions (it’s the season !), stunning dry weather with light breezes, clear water with great visibility, beach picnics, all manner of excursions and much more.