Kinasi is a small, private lodge situated in a coconut and cashew plantation facing Chole Bay on Mafia Island. It provides a comfortable standard of accommodation in only 15 bungalows (one is a family unit with two bedrooms), each with a large veranda and en suite bathroom. The bungalows have been constructed in rendered concrete blocks, with palm-leaf (makuti) roofs, and concrete foundations and floors. There is all-day mains electricity supply, hot and cold water supplied from three permanent wells on the property.

Accommodation:

• a suite with upstairs double bedroom and downstairs bunk-settees, stereo, mini-bar and lounge, verandas and terraces
• a family bungalow with two double bedrooms sharing a bathroom (also suitable for triple or two singles)
• two twin-bedded cottages with extra-large single beds
• ten cottages with very large double beds

Facilities & Features:
The design and style of Kinasi is eclectic and individual, with influences from the Swahili Coast, African craftsmen, Morocco and Italy. The atmosphere is informal and homely, intentionally unpretentious. There are beautiful antiques, fabrics and rugs as Kinasi is the pride and home to its owners. All cottages have en-suite bathrooms and covered verandas furnished with hammocks, chairs and table, plenty of hanging space and shelves, desk and chair, bedside lights and reading lights. The cottages have fans situated within walk-in mosquito nets that cover both beds, and have been designed for through-ventilation and coolness in all seasons. Lighting is mains electricity with 24-hour service, 220-240V (three-pin square plugs). Water is provided from the on-site wells and is chlorinated and filtered automatically; safe drinking water is provided in all rooms in cold Thermos jugs.

The catering is based upon local seafood: fresh fish, prawns, crab, lobster, octopus and calamari, with fresh vegetables and fruit flown from the mainland. Breads, rolls, pizzas and variety of yoghurt, preserves and sauces - all home-made from traditional recipes. Seafood barbecues and Swahili cuisine are established Kinasi customs.

Most of all there is tranquillity and privacy in beautiful, natural surroundings. The friendly staff will do their best to look after you, service to your rooms, provide morning tea and coffee with fresh biscuits and cakes, sundowners and cocktails, delicious food and attend to any requests you may have. Kinasi started as a private home - and that is how the owners wish the guests to feel - as if you are in a private home. So enjoy Mafia and this little retreat with all its activities, the swimming pool, gardens and beach, and the relaxed atmosphere and good company. A section of the beach has been cleared of mangroves giving clients the opportunity to relax on the day beds and under makuti umbrellas.

Mafia Island is, in the true sense, an island retreat for the active beachcomber who is serious about enjoying the sea and islands, adventure divers, game fishermen, bird-watchers or just for simple feet-up relaxation.

Please note:

• Our prices include the Marine Park fee of USD 10 / EUR 7 per person per day.
• Kinasi is closed from 01APR to 31MAY 2009
• Credit cards are not accepted but will charge 5% commission on traveller's cheques.

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Itinerary Kinasi Lodge: 7 nights

• DAY 1: Fly from Johannesburg to Dar Es Salaam. Proceed through customs and immigration and check in for your flight to Mafia Island.
  Kinasi has its own light aircraft, a Cessna 6-seater and a 14-seater Caravan. Kinasi also charters additional aircrafts as required to ensure guest can fly directly from Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar or the Selous to Mafia Island. Duration of the flight from Dar Es Salaam to Mafia Island is approximately 40 minutes.
  From Mafia airport the transfer is by boat (15 km) to Kinasi Lodge where you will be staying for 7 nights on a full board basis.
• DAY 8: Transfer to the airport and check in for your return flight to Dar Es Salaam. Check in for your international flight to Johannesburg.

Price includes:

International flights (departure from Johannesburg), domestic flights from Dar Es Salaam to Mafia Island with Kinasi's aircraft, 7 nights hotel accommodation on full board basis, all airport-hotel transfers and marine park fees.

Not included:

Meals not indicated, drinks, tips, personal expenses, any visa fees, internet access, travel insurance and airport taxes.

Below is an approximate price per person sharing (October 2008) :

• EUR 1838

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- Security:
Night-time security patrols the grounds. One can leave ones windows and doors open day and night. If you prefer to lock away your passports and wallets please hand them in to the manager for safe-keeping. The wooden trunk in ones room is intended for use as a secure storage for cameras, handbags, etc.; the key is on your key-ring.

- Lounge, Bar and Dining:
The Cocktail Bar will open at 6 pm after afternoon tea has been served. There is an excellent selection of classic alcoholic cocktails and refreshing fruit cocktails. Various games are available and there are two full cabinets of technical reference books, novels and magazines. Visitors may exchange one of the novels in the library for one of theirs. The Kinasi library has detailed information on birds, butterflies, animals, shells, anthropology and history, as well as a superb collection of texts on underwater life. Each week we will present slide shows in the evenings. There is an extensive collection of tapes and CDs. There is a toilet behind the bar.

- The Pavilion:
This is also our reception and the location of the hospitality and excursions desk, where you can discuss any housekeeping matters or arrange activities and excursions. The pavilion also houses an antique billiard table and board games such as chess, drafts, monopoly, bao, etc. There is also satellite television and internet access available.

- Bicycles:
We have four mountain bikes for the use of our guests free-of-charge. Ask at our activities desk for directions for interesting routes, or if you wish for someone to accompany one.
- Pool Bar and Grill:
A separate Pool Bar and Grill complete with an Italian pizza oven serves the swimming pool and beach from 10 am. It is a superb location for al fresco buffet luncheon from 1 pm to 2:30 pm each day, weather permitting. Afternoon tea is also served here from 4:30 to 6 pm with home-made biscuits and cakes.

- Dress code:
Dress is informal but guests are requested to dress appropriately for meals in the Dining Room (no swimming costumes). It is very important that ladies and gents dress modestly when visiting villages and other places outside Kinasi; this involves ladies wearing a dress or khanga and a conservative top (at least a t-shirt). Immodest dress will cause considerable offence in this predominantly Muslim area.

- Meals:
Breakfast is in the main Dining Room or at the Pool Bar and Grill. Lunch is served as a buffet at the Pool Bar and Grill with freshly-cooked seafood and barbecue off the charcoal grill. Dinner is in the Dining Room on a table d'hote basis or at the pool on a barbecue buffet or theme night. Special dietary requirements - please advise the Food and Beverage Manager of your.

Meal hours are - breakfast 7:30 to 9:30 am; lunch - 1 to 2:30 pm; dinner - from 7:30 pm.
In the evening the waiters will take your order for morning tea/coffee service in your rooms. Coffee and tea are available in the Dining Room or Pool Bar at all other hours on a self-service basis.
Lemon grass for the herb-tea drinkers (citrone); milky masala tea or Swahili coffee with cardamom and ginger are specialities.

- Swimming Pool:
The swimming pool has an even depth of 1.5m (5 feet). Please do not leave children unattended (responsible adult must be present) at the swimming pool, as we do not always have staff at the pool. For safety reasons children are not permitted to use the pool before 8 am or after 6 pm. Please do not dive, run or push others or anything that might lead to an accident at the pool.

- Bar Bills and other payments:
The bar operates on a tab system; you will be billed with an itemised account at the end of your stay. If you would like drinks sent to your room in the evening please advise the maitre'd and he will send a runner. Activities that are billed to guests will be recorded on a daily basis and an itemised invoice provided at the end of your stay.

- Shopping:
There is a small gift shop that is open from 10 am to 1:30 pm and 3:30-6 pm. It is well-stocked with clothes, ethnic and fine jewellery, bags of various kinds, books, and other gift ideas and various useful toiletries. Please do not buy any marine curios such as shells and coral in Mafia, as this is a marine park and we strongly support conservation and do not allow them on our premises.

- Conference hosting:
Mini-conference and work group facilities are possible; Flip charts, a lap-top computer, large-screen video, overhead and slide projectors are available.

WATER SPORTS & SEA EXCURSIONS

Activities are arranged each evening for the next day and details will be posted on the notice board near the Cocktail Bar. Our Manager and the Dive Master will circulate and discuss activities with guests on arrival and each evening. Please be on time for all excursion departures in order to avoid inconveniencing fellow guests.

- Snorkelling & diving:
The well-equipped water sports centre can handle twenty divers and thirty snorkellers. There is excellent snorkelling and diving within the Bay, especially at the outer islets near Kinasi Pass - the entrance to Chole Bay. It is a short boat ride to reach the coral gardens. All snorkelling and diving activities inside the Bay are tide-dependent. For the diver there is a range of 'bommie', wall, shelf, drift and night dives. The lodge s dive staff specialise in novice and sport diving and have excellent facilities, boats, equipment and experienced staff to take care of one. Training is offered in all PADI specialties as well as introductory diving if you would like to try for the first time. There is exciting and challenging diving on the walls outside Chole Bay, and full-day or overnight trips can be arranged to remoter dive sites, such as Ras Mkumbi (the Lighthouse), Kifinge (Forbes Bay), the Jibondo Gap and Okuza Island.

- Sailing:
There are three wind-surfer boards and five kayaks available to guests free-of-charge. Please advise if you have not had previous experience with boats, as these are fragile and costly to repair and any damage may be charged to you.

- Fishing:
They offer light sport fishing (trolling or casting) from their two dhows. These are equipped with 25 hp outboard engines. Also, night and day-time bottom fishing trips can be arranged as well as trips accompanying local fishermen on their boats.

PICNICS, LAND EXCURSIONS & WALKS

The excursions programme depends on tides and weather. See the notice board near the Cocktail Bar for details.

- Tours around Mafia:
The tidal reef in front of Kinasi is an excellent subject for the amateur naturalist. In the pools left by the receding tide one may find live cowries, small moray eels and juvenile fish, as well as a myriad of starfish. Fish Eagle and Palm-nut Vultures stalk the pools on the flats along with many waders and scavengers, and four species of mangroves grow side-by-side. On the outer edge a sandy beach gives way to the channel at low tide.

Kua Channel has many little bays and beaches and a feature is the Blue Lagoon, a coral grotto fed by the sea. El Nino will also often go to the Marimbani Sandbank, which stretches across Chole Bay and provides a completely private beach. Other lovely secluded picnic spots abound in Chole Bay: Miewe Island with its secluded beach and baobab trees; beaches on Juani and Jibondo Islands (by boat), Didimiza (at the end of the Nature Trail, by walking).

The Kua Ruins, across the Bay from Kinasi, is an archaeological site from the 12th Century, established by settlers from Kilwa. The principal mosque, with its superb mihrab and the Great House are interesting features. There are many giant baobab trees throughout the area. All over the ruins you can readily dig up pottery sherds, some dating hundreds of years to Chinese and Persian origins.

Guided excursions are also arranged to the islands and village communities of Chole and Jibondo. The boat building on both these islands is justly famous throughout East Africa. All traditional methods are used, with hand tools and hand-forged nails to create the jahazis, dhows, mashuas and ngalawas you will see in Mafia. Ropes are hand-woven from coir (coconut fibre) and sails sewn from rough cotton sheeting (madrouf). There are also ruins of early settlement on Chole, which was the 'capital' of Mafia until the early Twentieth Century.

On Chole Island and at the mosque near Kinasi the giant flying fox (Pteropus) can be seen at its roosts.

At Kisimani Mafia an old town has been submerged. This was fully excavated in the 1970s and details can be found in our library, along with a description of Kuwa Ruins and the reports on the archaeology of Kilwa. Kisimani Mafia is at the far south-western tip of Mafia and is an all-day excursion.

Road trips to other areas of Mafia complement the visitor's experience and understanding of traditional village life: Kirongwe village famous for its clay pots, Jimbo for its ukili mats, Mrora Forest, Ras Mbizi coconut plantation and Kitoni.

Please discuss all excursions with the Manager and Guest Services staff at the reception Pavilion.

- Bird-watching:
The Mafia group of islands lie 25 km off mainland Tanzania. They are made-up of the main island and a number of much smaller islands and islets. They are essentially all coral rock islands with some of the smaller ones nothing more than a sandbank at low tide. The coastal bush vegetation has been largely replaced by coconut plantations and small-scale agriculture. The vegetation was heavily degraded as long ago as the 1940s and only small patches of coastal forest remain. The islands have at least 154 species of bird and are particularly important for Crab Plover, Terek Sandpiper, Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper. The local breeding population of Goliath Heron on coastal islets is a race endemic to Zanzibar and the Mafia islands.

- Photographs:
There is no restriction on taking photographs in Mafia but if you wish to take photos that will include local people please ask their permission first. Some people may refuse, so please accept their desire for privacy.

Files:

Kinasi_Activity_List_2008_2009.pdf