The Bali Resort, Zanzibar
The Bali Resort, Zanzibar
The Bali Resort, Zanzibar
Pingwe to Dongwe Road, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Coordinates in degrees decimal: -06.17953333 N, 39.52779167 E.
Visited in February 2024. Photographer: Nigel and Sylviane Thomas. Cameras: Olympus Tough T6 and Nikon Coolpix W300.
Website: https://thebaliresortzanzibar.com/
Please note that the nearest resort to the beach is called the Sultan’s Palace but it appears to be closed currently (as of March 2024). The Bali Resort is the next closest, with access through the Sultan’s Palace, and is new (as of April, 2024).
Introduction
The Bali Resort is located about halfway between the villages of Dongwe and Pingwe, just off the main road. It is not directly on the beach but has easy access to an extensive length of brilliant white sand. It is possible to visit several locations from this resort but the best, by far, is off the beach in front of the Sultan’s Palace. Other locations are generally accessible by boat. The snorkelling area off the beach starts out very shallow, with much of the inshore comprising intertidal sand and rock. It is best to snorkel at, or around, low water. Follow the concrete path out across the intertidal area to avoid the numerous urchins. You will be able to find outcrops of coral immediately, which eventually form a coherent reef that extends over 250m. The outer edge of the reef drops down to about 8m depth, in the area adjacent Dongwe Beach Restaurant (at the end of the jetty). The reef at this point is both shelving coral and vertical faces.
The Bali Resort is accessed via Zanzibar's main airport, Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, which is about 1.5 hours away, on the west coast. The road system is currently being upgraded so transit time will be much reduced in the future.
Factors affecting snorkelling
The air temperature on Zanzibar is quite stable with average highs of 33C in February. Mean daily lows are around 25C in August. Rainfall is strongly seasonal with the wettest period between April and May, with another wet period occuring in November.
The weather and water conditions that might affect snorkelling include:
- Seawater temperatures are warm all year, with temperatures during the period December and May, exceeding 28C. Lows of 25.5C occur during August and September.
- The strongest winds occur in both January and the period May to July. Lightest winds blow in the periods March and November. Strongest winds rarely exceed 17 knots (32kph), with most winds below 12knots (22kph).
- The prevailing winds are from the SE/SSE, which is the direction the strongest winds arise from. Occasional strong winds can arise from the NE. The sites described here are all behind a barrier reef that is located off the east coast of the island, so are protected, to some extent, from the effects of the wind on the wave hight.
- The tidal range at the resort can be considerable, with low waters close to chart datum, i.e. 0m and high water in the region of +4m. This can result in a long walk over the intertidal area to get to the sea.
- The large tidal range can create some strong currents in the area, which has a narrow entrance through the reef in the south, creating periodically strong currents parallel to shore. Be aware of your safe exit point, as much of the intertidal is difficult to cross. Best time to snorkel is either side of low water.
- One of the sites can only be safely visited by boat (Blue Lagoon), and there will be many boats there at the same time. Vessels pass through the other areas and the boatmen are aware of the snorkelling activity, but be aware at all times. Jet skis are banned (but were occassionally noted!).
Our visit, unfortunately, coincided with a large tidal range and strong onshore wind, that disturbed the sediment considerably, resulting in reduced visibility.
Ecology
The habitats that can be observed while snorkelling in the area include: shallow water reef formations; shelving coral reef formations; vertical coral faces; small coral outcrops with coral debris between; clean shallow sands, frequently with many echinoderms; and healthy seagrass beds made up of multiple species.
The reefs in the area supported a good diversity of corals and fish species. A total number of 129 species were identified during our 10 day trip, including 36 fish species and 42 hard and soft coral species. Associated species such as echinoderms were varied (13 species), however, most other groups were present in low species numbers.
If no map appears immediately below, please reboot the page and it should appear!
Three sites were visited in the area. A, The Starfish Area; B, The Blue Lagoon and C, Bali Resort. A and B can most easily be visited by boat, but you are largely at the mercy of the boatman on where you go. Area C in contrast is easily accessible from the shore. Find the Bali Resort on the main road and 50m to the right is a dirt track which leads down to the shore.
Area A may be approached from the shore but is most easily visited from a small boat. The area lives up to its name of Starfish Bay, with a good variety of colourful starfish and numerous sea urchins.
Very shallow water corals in area B, with plenty of associated fish species, but also many humans!!
Extensive and dense seagrass beds in area B.
Area C is easily accessible from the shore by following the concrete path that extends from the front of the Sultans Palace resort (currently closed, 2024). This is best crossed at low water and it brings you to the broken coral area (1). Heading south will take you over a coherent reef feature (2) that extends into relatively deep water (8m). To the north the reef edge is more broken and consists of multiple coral heads (3).
View from the top of the shore in area C. Note the long jetty (private) to the right, which finishes at the southern edge of the reef feature.
Concrete path from the front of the Sultan’s Palace. Try to make sure you come back to this point when leaving the area as the intertidal is populated by numerous sea urchins.
A patch of urchins, which occur all over the intertidal area.
Extensive and impressive plate corals cover the top of the reef, particularly to the south of the entry point.
Many Acropora coral and other branching species occur over the reef edge and on the reef face, down to 7m.
A pair of Indian Redfin Butterflyfish. Chaetodontidae. Chaetodon trifasciatus. Noted in areas B and C.
Chevroned Butterflyfish. Chaetodontidae. Chaetodon trifascialis. Noted over coral in area C.
Small group of Moorish Idol. Zanclidae. Zanchlus cornutus. Area C.
Convict Surgeonfish. Acanthuridae. Acanthurus triostegus. Noted in area B and C.
A little fuzzy but distinctive form and colour of the Brushtail Tang. Acanthuridae. Zebrasoma scopas. Area B.
Powderblue Surgeonfish. Acanthuridae. Acanthurus leucosternon. Noted amongst reef area C.
Bit fuzzy but distinctive form of the Indian Sailfish Tang. Acanthuridae. Zebrasoma desjardinii. Area C.
Probably the Skunk Anemonefish. Pomacentridae. Amphiprion akallopsis. Noted in Magnificent Anemones, area B.
Lack of stipe on head on the Skunk Anemonefish, suggests variant. Pomacentridae. Amphiprion akallopsis.
A pair of Clark’s Anemonefish. Pomacentridae. Noted in area A and C.
A variant of the Jewel Damsel or, less likely, the Whitetail Damsel. Pomacentridae. Noted in Area B.
Jewel Damsel. Pomacentridae. Plectoglyphidodon lacrymatus. Noted in area C.
Juvenile of the Onespot Damsel. Pomacentridae. Chrysiptera unimaculata. In the company of indeterminate Cardinalfish. Area C.
Pale Damselfish. Pomacentridae. Amblyglyphidodon indicus. Noted amongst coral formations. Area C.
Sulphur Damsel. Pomacentridae. Pomacentrus sulphureus. Noted amongst coral in area B.
Dusky Gregory. Pomacentridae. Stegastes nigricans. Area B and C.
This image illustrates the algal “farm” where a group of Dusky Gregory. Pomacentridae. Stegastes nigricans, vigorously protect their cultivated algae.
Black and white fish are juveniles of the Three Spot Dascyllus. Pomacentridae. Dascyllus trimaculatus. Found near anemone in area B.
Small group of Humbug Dascyllus. Pomacentridae. Dascyllus aruanus. Area B and C.
A shoal of Blue Green Chromis. Pomacentridae. Chromis viridis. Noted area C.
Juvenile of the Black Snapper. Lutjanidae. Macolor niger. Noted near to the reef edge, area C.
Thumbprint Emperor. Lethrinidae. Lethrinus harak. Small groups, area C.
Typical pose, on the top of a coral outcrop, for the Freckled Hawkfish. Cirrhitidae. Paracirrhites fosteri. Area B and C.
Honeycomb Grouper. Serranidae. Epinephelus merra. Between coral outcrops, area C.
Blackspotted Sweetlips. Haemulidae. Plectorhinchus gaterinus. Noted off the edge of the reef, area C.
Two Parrotfish to the left are Intermediate Phase Swarthy Parrotfish. Scaridae. Scarus niger. Area C.
Top species with beak is a Bird Wrasse. Labridae. Gomphosus caeruleus. Species behind and to left is probably a Lined Bristletooth. Acanthuridae. Ctenochaetus striatus. Area C.
Goldbar Wrasse. Labridae. Thalassoma hebraicum. Noted over the reef top area C.
Doublebar Cardinalfish. Apogonidae. Apogon psuedotaeniatus. Noted beside the causeway in area C.
Speckled Sandperch. Pinguipedidae. Parapercis hexophtalma. Noted area A.
Clearfin Lizardfish. Synodontidae. Synodus dermatogenys. Noted over rock and sand in area A.
Slender Lizardfish. Synodontidae. Saurida gracilis. Noted on silt covered rock, area C.
Tailspot Goby. Gobidae. Amblygobius albimaculatus. Noted next to its burrow, in shallow water sandy areas, area C.