KEY POINTS:
In recent years, I've lost more friends to scuba diving than to any other sport, holiday or hobby. They disappear with passports and suitcases and return fully qualified fanatics, quivering with proselytising zeal.
Caught in the headlights of their bright-eyed passion, I could only resist for so long. I wanted the best baptism possible. So, where to go?
Wanting a pristine diving paradise, I headed to Zanzibar island off the coast of Tanzania, with its tantalising history of pirates, battles and danger.
Any fear I might return home a sceptic evaporated the moment I saw the surf crashing over the enormous curve of the beautiful barrier reef. Caressed by the south equatorial currents of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, some of the world's finest coral reef systems hug the southeast coast of the island.
Here, too, is the "turtle garden", where the graceful creatures glide past guitar sharks, eagle rays and stingrays populating the ocean floor.
Zanzibar doesn't claim to be an undiscovered island paradise - the north coast around Nungwi is a favoured destination on the round-the-world circuit - but the south-east side of the island has a raffish, rough-around-the-edges feel. With ancient mosques, primeval forests, mangroves and deserted beaches, you're more likely to see fishermen, women harvesting seaweed and children playing with battered footballs than you are tourists.
We found the peaceful Breezes Beach Club and the Rising Sun diving centre; the only Professional Association of Diving Instructors (Padi) National Geographic dive centre in east Africa.
While not an eco-lodge in the strictest sense of the word, the family-owned-and-run resort is as close to a five-star, environmentally friendly idyll as it's possible to find on the island.
Fifteen years ago, the Raguz family began transforming Bwejuu beach (this year ranked in the world's top 20 island beaches by Conde Nast Traveller) and, today, the resort is a tribute to Zanzibar's bygone era of luxury.
It was nominated as one of Africa's top five resorts last year.
The Raguz family defend their 1.2km stretch of beach with steely determination. They recently fought off an ill-conceived and damaging coastal development plan.
While other resorts seek to entice guests to remain within their walls, Breezes encourages visitors to explore neighbouring villages. As well as organising trips to Stone Town, Jozani forest and dolphin-watching adventures, the hotel has set up numerous community projects. Locals show visitors around their villages, and Breezes has shown local farmers how to develop, run and profit from their own spice tours.
As far as the diving goes, it's quality over quantity all the way. Rising Sun inducts no more than eight novices at a time and takes up to four divers out on any trip. They use only mooring buoys or drift diving techniques, rather than the anchors that can damage reefs, and try to ensure guests never see another diver other than those in their own group - preserving that sense of discovery and adventure.
"Anyone diving this coast can consider themselves among the luckiest divers in the world," says Rising Sun manager Paul Shephard. "I've lived here five years, and spent virtually every day exploring the reef, and I still dream of the wondrous sights and creatures still out there waiting to be discovered."
Further info: Breezes Beach Club and Spa breezes-zanzibar.com ; Rising Sun Dive Centre risingsun-zanzibar.com
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