Mafia
is large island lying off the southern coast of Tanzania, near to Rufiji Delta.
It is 30 miles from north to south, and up to ten miles width. It thus about
half the size of Unguja (Zanzibar) island to north, and like Zanzibar, is a
raised portion of the continental shelf, not a coral island. The soil of Mafia
mostly sandy and the terrain very flat. On the eastern shores there is some
coral rock, making cultivation impossible.
Mafia
receives an average annual rainfall of 2,000mm (80inches). The island
experiences two main rainy season, the short rains November/December and long
rains from March to May. Over 80% of the rain occurs during the second phase.
The
temperature on the island is firmly stable rarely dropping below 20˚C rising
above 33˚C. June to September is the coolest period.
The
largest land based agricultural activity is the five coconut estates at
Ng’ombeni, Dundani, Chunguruma, Ras Mbizi and Minaki. These cover total areas
of 2,186 hectares with some 200,000 palms. In their heyday they were processing
6 million nuts a year into coconut oil and they herd of 650 Jersey dairy
cattle.
You’re
welcome to visit Mafia Island
Comments
Post a Comment