Take part in this vital marine conservation internship project on the stunning Mafia Island in Tanzania.
Renowned for its kaleidoscopic coral reefs, excellent diving and fascinating culture, the beautiful destination of Mafia Island plays host to one of our most unique marine conservation projects.
Often labelled as the Zanzibar of 'thirty years ago', Mafia Island really is an intrepid traveller's dream – particularly given its white sandy beaches, dazzling aquamarine waters and lack of tourists. What's more, given the amount of astounding marine life here – including humpback whales, marine turtles and of course, whale sharks – the island really is a treasure trove and the perfect destination in which to get 'off the map'.
Whale sharks are the misunderstood gentle giants of the deep and face threats from habitat loss, which results in loss of prey, ocean pollution and irresponsible tourism activities. Seize the opportunity to reverse this trend and volunteer with whale sharks!
This exciting and varied programme provides a unique opportunity for you to interact with whale sharks on a daily basis while gaining valuable skills and experience in both marine conservation and the eco-tourism industry. This project supports important on-going marine conservation efforts and hosts research projects in an effort to learn more about whale sharks. You will contribute to the global spot-pattern photo identification project, which seeks to identify individuals and subsequently map the movements of whale sharks. Whale shark spot-patterns are like fingerprints and therefore enable one to add their location to a worldwide database. The attraction of this method is that it does not involve tagging or otherwise interfering with the animals. The project is also researching aspects related to the whale shark tourism, such as adherence to codes of conduct and the behaviour of whale sharks in encounters with tourists and fishermen. With the chance to help in integral marine conservation of these gentle giants, contribute to their overall study and also help out with local community initiatives - this project really is one of a kind.
This exciting and varied programme provides a unique opportunity to interact with magnificent whale sharks on a daily basis whilst gaining valuable skills and experience in both marine conservation and the responsible tourism industry. During the project, you will get the opportunity to take part in the following:
You can join this project for 3 to 12 weeks and will be split into working groups to ensure variety and equal opportunity when carrying out tasks and joining activities. Please note that itineraries are subject to change and therefore this is only a rough guideline. This is an example of a three week duration at the project, which then repeats depending on the length of your stay.
Please note that, while people of all ages are invited to take part in this conservation project (and indeed groups may consist of varying ages and ability), we do stress that you must be able to swim and you must also be both comfortable and confident in open water. Please refer to the section of this page titled 'fitness and skills' for further information
To secure a place on this project a deposit of £195 is required at the time of booking, with the remaining balance due any time up to 60 days prior to your start date.
Select a duration below to see the available start dates. All dates shown are currently available for you to join this project! Please note that this project does run every day of the week; if your preferred date is not shown, please feel free to get in touch with our travel team and they will be more than happy to assist.
Please note that it is possible to add extra nights to the durations shown if necessary!
This fantastic project supports important ongoing marine conservation efforts and hosts research projects in an effort to learn more about whale sharks. Recently, the project has hosted a team of researchers affiliated to the King Abdul University (KAUST) and the University of Queensland, funded by WWF, looking at oceanographic factors influencing the occurrence and distribution of whale sharks in the Mafia channel. In previous years, the project has supported other integral WWF-funded whale shark research in Mafia.
Through the volunteer programme, the project continues to contribute to the global spot-pattern photo identification project which seeks to map the migration of whale sharks. Whale shark spot-patterns are like individual fingerprints and therefore can be used to identify individual whale sharks. Their location can be added to a worldwide database, which can then be extrapolated and utilised to assess the health of the species within the area and their migration patterns.
The project is also designed to help research aspects related to the tourism surrounding these magnificent sharks, such as adherence to codes of conduct and the behaviour of whale sharks during encounters with tourists and fishermen.
Whale sharks are a listed endangered species, and one of the most misunderstood gentle giants of the deep blue sea. They face threats from their habitat and humans, but you can make a difference! Volunteer in Mafia Island with The Great Projects and aid whale shark conservation today, to give these animals a chance to thive for years to come.
If you book to volunteer with whale sharks on the Mafia Island Whale Shark Conservation Project in the month of August, then you have the opportunity to grab yourself a 33% discount! Swim with these gentle and misunderstood giants and help to aid their conservation!
Whale sharks are such curious creatures, gliding through the water in a docile manner. Could they be ever more curious than you once though? Take a closer look at our 7 most smoking facts about whale sharks and expand your knowledge!
The Magemani Camp is a stunning campsite situated amongst the trees of an old coconut, mango and cashew nut plantation on Mafia Island’s western shore. Traditional thatched houses of different sizes make up the camp which are shared, same-sex dorms that house three people, so volunteers must be willing to share space with their fellow interns if staying in this type of accommodation. Additionally, two double rooms are available for an additional fee. All dorms are equipped with amenities (including bed linen and mosquito nets). In true Bush style, the camp features dry, composting toilets and outside showers.
Three meals of fresh local food are prepared by chefs daily here, including a lot of fruit and seafood such as fish, octopus and squid. Chicken and beef are also often served, and for vegetarians, there is plenty on offer.You will also be provided with tea, coffee and according to your preference, bottled or filtered water.
In terms of fitness, you must be able to swim confidently and must also be comfortable with the open ocean. We would recommend, therefore, that you are in reasonable health and have at least a moderate level of fitness. A health questionnaire must be completed on application to ensure that everyone meets the entry level requirements. Note that you will get fitter during the internship!
A dive qualification is not required for this project and almost all of the work is done whilst snorkelling and skin diving. SCUBA certification is offered at an extra cost for those who wish to learn or expand on their qualifications.
You must be comfortable working and socialising with people of all ages from 18+
The vaccinations required will depend on the individual medical history of the volunteer. We recommend that you consult your GP regarding your own immunisation needs. In conjunction with this, we would recommend that you check Fit for Travel’s website. Note that malaria and yellow fever is an issue here and the entire coast of Tanzania is a high-risk area.
This project runs from October through to February as their migration patterns direct them into the area, and this is the only time of year that whale sharks can be spotted in Mafia Island. October - December is usually the peak season for sightings of the biggest fish in the world.
January and February are less ideal for seeing whale sharks as days of rough weather during these times can make it impossible to go out to sea. The sharks can be difficult to spot for a few days, as following bad weather and choppy water conditions, they do not feed at the surface.
Having said that, January and February are the best months for SCUBA diving (with incredible visibility underwater) and so those extra days off are a great opportunity for going diving. We also have very favourable prices with Mafia Island Diving so a double dive with full equipment hire costs our volunteers just $70, instead of $130, and a PADI Open Water course costs just $420, instead of $580.
You should aim to arrive at Mafia Island on your chosen start date.
To do this, we recommend arriving in Dar Es Salaam (DAR) the same day then catching an internal flight to Mafia Island. We may be able to get you resident rate flights from Dar Es Salaam to Mafia Island and back at a cost of £60 each way. The timings for these flights are 9:00am to Mafia Island and coming back at 10:15am to Dar Es Salaam.
Please note - the internal flights depart from a different terminal (1.5kms away.) Please allow at least 2-3 hours between the internal and international flights to get through security and make your connecting flight.
Alternatively, you can arrive the day before, stay overnight in Dar Es Salaam and catch the 9:00am flight. We cannot guarantee that there will be resident rate flights available as they are subject to availability, however there are later flights available with other airlines. Please enquire for more information.
A member of the project team will be there to welcome you when you land at Mafia.
If you would like help booking your flights, please visit our flights page and fill out the form. A member of our team will get back in touch as soon as possible with a suitable quote.
Most nationalities can purchase an ordinary tourist visa for U$50 (though note that this is U$100 for US citizens) on arrival into Dar Es Salaam. Visa applications will be available on your flight or at the arrivals terminal. Your visa will be valid for up to 3 months, though you will need to make sure that your passport has at least three pages spare. Note that on this project, you will be classified as an intern so an ordinary tourist visa is all you will need to join.
Ideally, you should bring US dollars with you and exchange them for Tanzanian Shillings (TSH) once you have arrived into Dar Es Salaam. Always use a Bureau de Change (at the international terminal of the airport) when exchanging dollars. Do NOT exchange dollars on the street as you will most likely be thoroughly ripped off! Budget between U$5 – U$15 per day to allow for the occasional drink and any extra snacks you should wish to buy. For up to date exchange rates, please visit XE's website here - http://www.xe.com/.
If you have any questions about this project or would like help finding the perfect project for you then please feel free to give us a call or send us through your enquiry and we will be happy to help.
Nikita & team.
We got to spend over 30 mins in the water with two really chilled out whale sharks who kept circling around us. It was amazing to get that close and spend so much time with those amazing creatures! We were also lucky enough to spend an hour in the water with two curious wild dolphins - a completely unexpected bonus to one of our whale shark trips.
Janine Burrows, 2017
Jean, Anne and the whole team are the most inspirational people I have ever me. I was drawn to the project for the whale shark experience, but found myself immersed into their community project teaching local girls to swim. I gto so much more than I ever imagined. A life changing experience, with my favourite moment being when I was floating in the beautiful Indian Ocean with an 8m whale shark swimming right under me!
Katrina Neal, 2016
This is a great organization and I was very impressed about how responsibly they conduct both tourism and research encounters with the whale sharks. My favourite moment has to be when swimming with the whale sharks with a double-rainbow in the background!
Madalena Reimao Pinto, 2016
The camp manager, Loy, was very competent and kind. He handled every question and accommodated our every need. Swimming with whale sharks was all one might expect. Breathtaking and beautiful.
Jean Cumings, 2016
T: +44(0) 208 885 4987
