Wildlife Event · October to February
Whale Shark Season, Mafia Island
Swim alongside the largest fish in the ocean, on its own terms.
Kilindoni Bay, Mafia IslandPeak: November to January
The event
Between October and February juvenile whale sharks feed in the shallow plankton-rich water off Mafia. Snorkelling is from small boats with researcher-set rules — no touching, no chasing, no scuba.
Mafia is one of very few places on earth where whale sharks feed year after year in water shallow enough to snorkel and calm enough for small boats. The animals here are mostly juveniles, six to eight metres, and they surface-feed on plankton in Kilindoni Bay — which means encounters happen in a few metres of water rather than on a deep drift.
Operations follow the code of conduct developed with the researchers who tag these individuals: a limited number of swimmers in the water, no touching, no blocking the animal's path, no scuba, and the boat off the throttle. Encounters are on the shark's terms and are better for it.
Mafia is also a marine park with genuinely intact reef, so the days around the whale-shark mornings are worth having: reef snorkelling, dhow sailing, and a coast with almost nobody on it.
What you actually get
- Snorkelling with juvenile whale sharks in shallow bay water
- Researcher-approved code of conduct, small groups
- Mafia Island Marine Park reef and dhow sailing
- Green turtles nesting on the same coast
- Pairs with a southern-circuit safari via Nyerere
Timed to this event
Journeys built around it
These itineraries run in or overlap the October to February window. Dates flex to your flights — tell us your arrival and we route backwards from it.
Elsewhere on the calendar
See all events →June to October
The Great Migration
Between June and October roughly two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle push north through the Serengeti and pile up at the Mara River. We camp where the herds actually are and move as they move.
- Season
- June to October
- Where
- Serengeti
- Journeys
- 4 built around it
January to March
Calving Season on the Ndutu Plains
On the short-grass plains around Ndutu the wildebeest drop nearly half a million calves inside a few weeks. It is the most concentrated wildlife spectacle in Africa and the best big-cat action of the year.
- Season
- January to March
- Where
- Southern Serengeti & Ndutu, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Journeys
- 4 built around it
Hold your place for Whale Shark Season, Mafia Island
October to February fills earliest. Tell us your window and we will confirm what is still open.