姆纳拉尼海龟保护池位于桑给巴尔岛北端的努格维角,门票价格大约为10美元或等值的2.5万先令。这里自1993年成立以来,已经救助并放归了成千上万只误捕受伤的海龟。游客不仅能看到巨大的绿海龟在天然潮汐池中巡游,还能亲手用海藻喂食这些长寿的海洋生物,是一个兼具公益性质与科普教育的旅行目的地。
姆纳拉尼(Mnarani)在斯瓦希里语里意为灯塔所在地。这个项目最早能追溯到1993年,当时努格维村的村民和当地渔民意识到,因为误捕和栖息地破坏,印度洋里的海龟数量正急剧减少。为了改变这一现状,大家在努格维灯塔脚下的一处天然岩石区域建立了这个保护基地。这并不是一家为了盈利的商业水族馆,而是一个社区驱动的非营利组织,每一张门票的收入都会直接用于海龟的日常饲养、伤病治疗以及海洋生态意识的推广教育。
保护池的地理位置选得非常精妙。它利用了海岸线自然形成的珊瑚礁凹陷,通过岩石缝隙与外海相通。这意味着池内的海水不是人工泵入的,而是随着印度洋每天的潮汐自然涨落。清晨涨潮时,池水清澈且水位较高,是观察海龟游动姿态的最佳时机。这种半开放式的环境最大程度模拟了海龟的真实生存状态,让它们在被放回深海之前,依然能感知海洋的律动与温度变化。
池子里的主角主要是绿海龟(Green Turtles)和玳瑁(Hawksbills)。入园后,向导会递给你一把绿油油的海藻。当你蹲在池边把海藻探入水面,那些体型硕大的海龟会慢慢浮上来,张开嘴从你手中叼走食物。虽然它们看起来慢吞吞的,但抢食的时候动作非常敏捷。你可以观察到海龟背甲上细腻的纹理,玳瑁那像鹰嘴一样的上颚特征在这里一目了然。不过要记得,千万不要尝试去触摸海龟的头部,这对它们来说是一种惊扰。
如果你的旅行计划刚好在二月下旬,那你极有可能撞见一年一度的盛事。每年的2月20日左右,保护中心会举办隆重的海龟放生仪式。这一天,全村的男女老少会聚在一起,甚至还有当地鼓乐队伴奏。经过一年救助康复的海龟,会被志愿者送入波澜壮阔的印度洋。看着这些在大池子里休养许久的小家伙划动四肢冲向浪花,那种生命回归自然的震撼力远超过普通的拍照打卡。错过了二月也没关系,平时池子里也有专门孵化小海龟的育苗池,那些只有手掌心大的幼龟同样充满生命力。
目前进入保护池的成人票价大约在10美元左右,如果你支付当地货币坦桑尼亚先令,通常按2.5万先令收取。买完票后,票根最好保留一下。这里的讲解员大多是当地志愿者,他们会用非常地道的东非英语讲解海龟的生命周期。虽然有人觉得门票比一些商业景点贵,但考虑到这些钱要支撑起海龟的救助网络和周边社区的清洁项目,这笔花销其实是为东非海洋生态做了一次微型捐赠。建议在上午十点左右到达,这时候光线充足,海水颜色透亮,拍照效果最理想。
很多游客会把姆纳拉尼海龟保护池和几百米外的巴拉卡水族馆(Baraka Aquarium)搞混。巴拉卡主打的是和海龟一起下水游泳拍照,偏向娱乐体验;而姆纳拉尼更倾向于生态保护和知识讲解。从努格维的主沙滩区出发,沿着海岸线向北走约15分钟就能看到灯塔,姆纳拉尼就在灯塔正下方。如果赶上退潮,你甚至可以直接从沙滩走过去。建议穿一双好走路的凉鞋,因为进入池边的岩石区域可能会有些湿滑或是有碎石。
这里原则上不提供和海龟同游的娱乐项目,主要目的是通过喂食和观察让游客了解海龟。这种规定是为了减少人类细菌对伤病海龟的影响,确保它们能顺利康复并回归自然。如果你追求那种在水里被海龟包围的社交媒体大片,通常需要去往南边一点的巴拉卡池,但那里的环境不如这里宽敞且公益属性较弱。
每一张10美元的门票都会被拆分为几个部分使用,其中超过一半用于购买海龟所需的医疗药品和补充饲料。剩下的资金会发放给当地渔民,作为补偿让他们在渔网误捕海龟后主动送往保护中心而非私自处理。这种补偿机制在过去30多年里成功让数千只海龟幸免于难。
虽然保护中心全年开放,但看小海龟的最佳窗口通常在二月放生仪式之前。一月和二月初,育苗池里的幼龟数量最为集中,这时候你能近距离观察到刚孵化不久、背壳还没变硬的袖珍海龟。放生节过后,大池子里的小家伙会减少,但常年居住在这里进行康复训练的老海龟依然有很多。
Michał Gradkowski Cannot really recommend. Turtles had really bad conditions, water was dirty and the “baby” turtle was kept in small dirty bowl. Land tortoise had also bad conditions. It takes only 10 minutes to complete the tour. Do not recommend. It’s way better to go visit Kilosas Nungwi Zoo instead, which is 400 meters from this aquarium. Same price but the animals had better conditions, the guide was knowledgeable and explained everything.
Lasse Post Møller A quick and fun experience, but it is more of a business than a sanctuary. 10$ entry fee +5$ for a pair of goggles. The turtles were swimming all around you, but the water stank of their poo. You could shower after, but they requested an additional fee to see the rest of the park.
CAPATINA ROXANA 2024.02// It was a pleasant experience; we choose to visit the turtle sanctuary in the middle of the day and the whole visit lasts 30 minutes, no more than that; it was not crowded; we choose not to get into the water with the turtles, we just feed them. They were preparing a turtle release day and it was very nice that we could participate in their turtle release day activity.
Ummeayman Chopra it’s such an amazing sanctuary built for turtles where visitors can experience a live interaction by feeding the turtles and swimming with them though you have to be careful as the turtles bite. if you are faint hearted like me then be careful as navigating between the efforts to get in the water with the turtles and the fear of them biting you may make you slip and fall as i did which in turn turned out to be so hilarious and i carried a beautiful memories of purses some bruises along the way 🤣 it’s a must visit place when you are in zanzibar. the staff over there are very welcoming and friendly.
Zayn Gothey Entry is 20k tsh, €10, $10. Included in the fee is seaweed to feed the turtles and a thorough brief by the workers on how the place is run. There is a separate tiled pool built for hatchlings and a big natural cove-like pool for the adult turtles who you can swim with. A lot of fish in it too. There's also the remains of a blue whale that has been there for as long as I remember. I've been visiting this place since I was a kid in school. It has largely stayed the same. Worth the visit.