Southeastern Tanzania - Tanzania - page 569

(ECO2; 0784-855833; www.eco2tz.com ; r without/with bathroom Tsh30,000/75,000;
) A good budget travellers' base, with four refurbished rooms - all with large beds, all
sharing bathroom, plus bay views and deck chairs up on the roof. Next door are a handful
of new, lovely, self-contained rooms, and there's a restaurant-bar (meals from Tsh12,000)
under a shady, thatched banda with a TV. ECO2 ( www.eco2tz.com ) is based here, and is
the best contact for arranging diving in Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park.
INFORMATION
The closest banking facilities are in Mtwara.
The Old Boma has a tourist information office and an internet connection. Walking tours
of towns and local excursions can be organised here and at Ten Degrees South.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Mikindani is 10km from Mtwara along a sealed road. Minibuses (Tsh400) run between the
two towns throughout the day. Taxis from Mtwara charge from about Tsh10,000.
Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park
This struggling marine park encompasses a narrow sliver of coastline extending from
Msangamkuu Peninsula (just north and east of Mtwara) in the north to the Mozambique
border in the south. In addition to about 5000 people, it provides home to over 400 marine
species. The plan is for the park to become the core of a conservation area extending as
far south as Pemba (Mozambique), although conservation and enforcement measures are
currently sadly lacking.
The heart of the planned conservation area is Msimbati Peninsula , together with the
bordering Mnazi Bay. Most visitors head straight to the tiny village of Ruvula , which is
about 7km beyond Msimbati village along a sandy track (or along the beach at low tide)
with a decent stretch of sand, although the views have been marred in recent times by
the rigs set up at one end in connection with exploitation of offshore gas fields found in
Mnazi Bay. In addition to its beach (one of the few on the mainland offering sunset views)
Ruvula is notable as the spot where British eccentric Latham Leslie-Moore built his house
and lived until 1967 when he was deported after agitating for independence for the Msim-
bati Peninsula. His story is chronicled in John Heminway's No Man's Land, and in Africa
Passion, a documentary film. Today, Leslie-Moore's house stands in ruins; the property is
privately owned.
Msangamkuu Peninsula , at the northern edge of the marine park and best visited from
Mtwara, boasts a fishing village, a beach and snorkelling (bring your own equipment).