Dive Site: Veligandu
Location: South Male Atoll
Description: Reef / wall
Depth: 36 metres (118 feet)
Visibility: 20 metres (65 feet)
Veligandu is located on the outside of the reef. It is a nice, blue wall dive. As soon as we sank down the wall we saw a small white-tip shark. There are very large moray higher up, and clouds of small red-fang triggerfish. Also turtles, can be seen drifting over the reef.
Dive Site: Stage Reef
Location: South Male Atoll
Description: Reef
Depth: 62 metres + (203 feet)
Visibility: 15 metres (50 feet)
Headed down to 30 metres and saw a white-tip shark, before heading down to a great sandy slope at 62 metres. Back in the shallows is lots of purple tangs and lots of morays and a good spotted one. A good dive.
Dive Site: Shark Fin Reef
Location: Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbour, Vitu Levu
Description: Reef
Depth: 34 metres (112 feet)
Visibility: 25 metres (82 feet)
No sooner had immersed yourself a fast swarm of giant trevallys were circling me, many 1m in length. Descended, three grey reef sharks were already on the scene and a lemon shark, minutes later from the corner of my eye a big grey sluggish bull shark appeared in the distance and out of nowhere a 1.5m giant grouper was right in front of us, he was beautiful. Squealing down our regs and pointing stuff out. Then behind me another bull shark, and the other one was coming closer.
The dives at Shark Fin Reef were some of the most spectacular. Grey reef shark, whitetip reef shark and blacktip reef sharks were all present in huge numbers. The swirls of trevally and red snapper did block the view slightly. but nonetheless treated to great views of tawny nurse shark, sicklefin lemon shark and bull sharks feeding, with a large tiger shark showing up during o( Beqa Lagoon Pacific Harbour) Vitu Levu, trevallys, grey reef sharks, lemon sharks, bull shark, grouper, grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, red snapper, lemon sharks, nurse sharksur safety stop as the icing on a very sweet cake!
Dive Site: Sha’ab Saiman
Location: Safaga
Description: Reef
Depth: 7 – 40 metres + (23 – 130 feet)
Visibility: 20 metres (65 feet)
Sha’ab Saiman undoubtedly has some of the best hard coral of any site in the Red Sea. Located just to the east of the very northeastern tip of a large outcrop area of coastline, known as Ras Abu Soma, Sha’ab Saiman is an elongated piece of reef, separated from the main coastline reef. This creates a sand canyon between Sha’ab Saiman and the coastal reef which at it shallowest is only 7m from the surface and slopes away to over 40m to the west.
On the outside of Sha’ab Saiman is a 15m plateau, with coral heads and coral encrusted boulders, which slopes away to the north. It is here on the north side of the reef that the hard coral is simply stunning. Acropora table corals are layered one on top of the other. Cone coral, raspberry coral and patches of yellow weaver coral cover the slope and stretch well into the coral garden. Marine life is also in abundance with the usual colourful wrasse, antheas and parrotfish staying close to the coral whilst schools of yellowfin goatfish, bluelined snapper and sweetlips cruise around the plateau area and the canyon. Blue spotted rays stick to the sandy areas and eagle rays sometimes cruise the outside of the reef and a small lone white-tip shark here. There can be current here and if present it will normally sweep from north to south. If your dive boat has a zodiac or RIB it is best to get dropped to the north of the Sha’ab and head down to the east side of the plateau, round and through the canyon and then around to the plateau again. If using a zodiac or RIB you don’t have to worry about making your way back to the main dive boat, so getting lost amongst the hard coral formations is a must.
Dive Site: St John’s Wood
Location: St John’s Reef
Description: Reef
Depth: 26 metres (85 feet)
Visibility: 30 metres (100 feet)
The rib dropped us on the outside of the reef. Down into the sand and started to explore the ‘woods’ which you enter through two large habilis. It is called St John’s Wood because the coral clumps and bommies make a landscape like that of a wood. The coral here is both hard and soft and in good shape and there are also fire coral and sea fans. On the bottom we saw four white tip reefs sharks resting. However some other idiot from the ‘multicoloured lycra wetsuit’ dive boat decided to madly fin past me and make the poor shark totally irate so it disappeared. Another one who was resting and photographed it while a swarm of blue fusiliers went by.A big humphead wrasse on the top of a coral bommie which was covered in soft corals.
Dive Site: Midway Reef
Location: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
Description: Reef / drift
Depth: 3 – 30 metres (10 – 100 feet)
Visibility: 25 metres + (80 feet)
Midway Reef is an elongated underwater seamount or shoal located between the coastline of Rabaul and Watom Island rising from 600 metres to within 3 metres of the surface. At the north side of the reef the wall drops away vertically and as the currents here can be strong and it is better to head in the easterly direction with the current which makes for a tough initial swim to the wall but an excellent and fast drift dive. The viz is poor in the shallows, but once below 20 metres it opens up to a good 25 metres +. Midway reef is a fantastic dive with turtles and a great chance of seeing grey reef sharks, white-tip sharks and other pelagics. There are schooling barracuda, jacks and black trevellays off the reef wall. One can find shoals of lunar fusiliers and also tuna, hunting near the prolific hard coral formations which cover the upper slopes.
The north and south sides are the vertical drops with shallower plateaus on the east and west tips which are great areas to either finish your dive or to hang over the vertical drops-offs and watch for pelagics. Remaining stationary at these drop-offs pays dividends as one has a chance of seeing a number of grey reef sharks near the limit of visibility. This dive had some of the largest barrel sponges, some with diametres of over 1.5 metres. The viz is still poor in the top 6 metres; however the sheer proliferation of small fish life and colourful coral is staggering.
Dive Site: Coral Garden
Location: Sipadan Island
Description: Reef / wall
Depth: 30 metres (100 feet)
Visibility: 30 metres (100 feet)
Our last dive in Sipadan and It could hardly believe how fast the time here had gone. Undeniably the most exciting diving in terms of marine life, however diving here was done – for now anyway. Coral Garden continues the trend of deep wall diving with a sheer wall dropping away into the depths. I swam out into the blue in search of a final glimpse of the Sipadan manta rays and as I looked back at my buddy against the vertical reef wall several white-tip sharks cruised around her. No mantas this time, but we ascended to say a final farewell to the Sipadan turtles.
Dive Site: Jack’s Place
Location: Rainbow Reef, Taveuni, Fiji
Description: Reef
Depth: 7 – 28 metres (23 – 92 feet)
Visibility: 10 – 25 metres (30 – 80 feet)
Situated on the Rainbow Reef, this dive site offers an immense coral bommie covered with vibrant colours of soft coral and plenty of fish. It is a haven for Spanish dancers, boxfish and white tipped reef sharks. With strong currents, this is a dive for intermediate to experienced divers.
Dive Site: Garden Eel
Location: Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia
Description: Wreck
Depth: 6 – 33 metres (20 – 110 feet)
Visibility: 15 – 30 metres (50 – 100 feet)
Reached by boat, this dive is at the most northwestern tip of Menjangan Island. Follow the wall west of the Anchor around the tip of the island and almost into the channel between Menjangan and the Bali mainland. In the channel is perhaps the richest and healthiest wall on Menjangan Island. The dive ends in a shallow area full of garden eels, also known for sightings of white tip reef sharks, barracudas, turtles and napoleon fish.
Dive Site: Gamet Bay
Location: Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia
Description: Reef
Depth: 6 – 25 metres (20 – 80 feet)
Visibility: 15 – 25 metres (50 – 80 feet)
This bay located on the northwest of Nusa Penida, off Toyapakeh Strait, between Toyapakeh and Crystal Bay. Gamet bay is the only good site on Nusa Penida that is not a drift dive. The shallow depths here are exceptionally rich with colourful soft coral, hard corals, gorgonians, bommies and many reef fish. You may want to stay for your whole dive as the colour of Gamet’s shallow reef simply glows. Following the slope into 10 to 20 metres of water, a series of large bommies provide some protection from the current and are probably the nicest part of the reef. Sharks are common, especially at a depth of 20 – 25 metres where there is a cave which almost always has white tip reef sharks hiding in it. At 18 metres, there are two caves where you will often find green turtles, occasionally seen in Gamet Bay itself.
Scubster 