At DIVEIndia, we are all about diving being fun, relaxing and enjoyable. As it happens, barring a few notable exceptions, most of the Good Stuff in Havelock is between 10 and 20m – and that is where most of our bottom time is spent. This makes for long, relaxing dives where we have time to explore the details and enjoy not just the big stuff, but also the wealth of detail and the myriad reef fish that every reef has to offer.
While we outgrew our “go deep just to go deep” phase quite a few years (and a lot less grey hair) ago, there are a few sites which have a lot of interesting stuff to offer at depth – and in those cases, we do go deeper.
The following is an alphabetical list of the dive sites that we visit regularly, as of late 2007. The more we explore the waters, the more new sites we find, so this list is expected to keep growing. Do note that access to off-shore sites, which typically have more big-fish action and clearer waters, depend on wind/sea conditions – if the seas are choppy (usually June-July and December), we may be unable to visit these sites.
Aquarium
Depth: 12-14m | Category: Beginner
A shallow fringe reef on the south-eastern side of Havelock, the Aquarium is a good spot for training dives, both for open water students and continuing education students. The highlight of the site is a chance to see dugongs, but lagoon rays, turtles, napoleons and groupers are also common. Keeneyed observers of details may also see the highly venomous stonefish, and several types of
nudibranches here.
Bob’s Backyard
Depth: 14-20m | Category: All
Part of the famous Minerva Ledge, this site was legendary for regular sightings of Bob, the 4m grumpy bullshark. Unfortunately, this season, Bob is nowhere to be found – most likely a victim of deplorable shark finning. However, the reef itself is a majestic spread of coral, with large schools of blue-and-gold fusiliers, snapper, sweetlips, triggerfish, groupers (including giant grouper), angelfish, Moorish idols, Indian bannerfish. Tuna, trevally, jacks, mackerel, white-tip sharps and black-tip sharks are also spotted regularly.
Barracuda City
Depth: 18-20m | Category: Intermediate/Advanced
This is an unusual site for us, in the sense that there is not a lot of coral on the bottom. Off the southeastern tip of the Havelock lie a bunch of rocks with some sporadic corals growing in and around them, making it a bit of a hit-or-miss site. However, when conditions are good, the fish life here can be magnificent: large napoleons, schools of lionfish, large stringrays, barracudas, trevally, tuna and snapper are sighted regularly.
DR J's Reef
Depth: 10-16m | Category: All
Located some distance from us, we discovered this reef during one of our Expedition Trips. It consists of a large expanse of spectacular coral with a wide variety of fish life. It is new, and we haven't dived it enough to really comment on what's there, but we plan to go there more often this year and will update this section soon.
Dixon Pinnacle
Depth: 18-36m | Category: Advanced
Dixon's Pinnacle, discovered by Dixon, one of our instructors, consists of 3 pinnacles, actually - a large pinnacle with the top at 18m, and 2 smaller pinnacles with their tops at around 25m. The pinnacles are encrusted with tube corals and large barrel sponges; hordes of schooling bannerfish make this site their home and groupers, napoleons, unicornfish, anemonefish and various shrimps and crabs can be seen here. Turtles and barracudas are the highlights of this spectacular site, and we do spot an occasional manta and shark here as well.
South Pilot Reef
Depth: 14-20m | Category: All
A new site discovered by Dixon, one of our instructors, this site is geographically an extension of the same topological contour that gives rise to Pilot Reef. However, it is deeper, and situated around the bend of Havelock island, resulting in more pelagic action - including nurse sharks as well as some of the biggest sting rays we have seen.
Dugong Dungeon
Depth: 10-14m | Category: All
Located not too far from the Neil Island pier, Dugong Dungeon is the best place for.. you got it, dugong sightings. While dugong sightings are not guaranteed, we have had good luck sighting this rare and reclusive marine mammal (which apparently and quite perpexingly gave rise to the myth of mermaids) at this site. Even if the dugongs play hard-to-spot, there is still an interesting, vibrant reef to explore.
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