Page 374 - Melanesia
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KATHLEEN: A deep sea mound located in Mele Harbor, Kathleen’s top                 reef and boulder coral formations to explore. Unusual rocks and bommies
is situated 18 meters beneath the surface. Named for the wreck of the             are scattered all over this dive site and are home to some great anemones,
Kathleen, which can be seen at a depth of 30 meters and beyond, the site          shrimp, nudibranchs, clams, Christmas tree worms and various other small
is an excellent place to encounter schooling barracuda, brilliant blue and        critters. Angelfish, butterflyfish and damsels are also found playing amongst
yellow fusiliers, and shoaling longfin bannerfish, among others. Macro life is    the small selection of plate corals. Max Depth: 20 meters
abundant here as well, with nudibranchs, mantis shrimp, and scorpion fish
in abundance. Due to depth, the site is suitable for experienced divers only.     MELE REEF: An extensive reef that rises up in the middle of Mele Bay to
                                                                                  around 6 meters from the surface. There are lots of dives around here – a
KONANDA: A 45 meter ship, formerly an island trader, was badly damaged            good one is along a vertical wall to a shallow reef to finish. It’s a marine
by Cyclone Uma in 1987. Later the Konanda was sunk as a dive wreck. An ex-        sanctuary surrounding Hideaway Island so the wildlife is protected and
cellent wreck for your first wreck dive or for the wreck addict. Sitting upright  abundant.
on a sandy bottom in 26 meters, still intact, the Konanda is a wreck divers
delight. Safe penetration is possible in the holds, cabin and bridge areas,       MV KONANDA WRECK: The Konanda sits on a flat, sandy bottom at 26
making it a fun dive.                                                             meters with her derricks and rigging reaching up to within 10 meters of the
                                                                                  surface. She is an Island Trader, 45 meters long, which was damaged in a cy-
LACKSANDS REEF AND CAVES: Discover interlocking caves and swim                    clone in 1987 and deliberately sunk for scuba divers. She has been carefully
through tunnels that honeycomb the reef with a variety of fish and rays on        prepared so penetration into the cabins and holds is totally safe. It’s an ideal
the sandy bottom. Depth is 8 to 14 meters.                                        introduction to the fun of wreck diving.

LIONS DEN: This dive is situated on the North Eastern side of Hideaway            MV SEMLE FEDERSEN: This is a cargo-carrying trading vessel that was sunk
Island. A very relaxing sandy bottomed dive with some great little walls to       along the Pango Coast in Mele Bay in 1985. Now home to lots of plants and
explore and a fantastic selection of wildlife. Be prepared to encounter big       animals, the stern, cabins and wheelhouse can be dived within 40 meters.
bull rays, a host of different nudibranchs, butterflyfish, batfish, a beautiful   The visibility here is outstanding (60 meters) and the whole ship can be
array of soft corals and of course, lionfish, lionfish and more lionfish Max      seen at a glance while descending the mooring line. It’s a valuable dive as a
Depth: 20 meters.                                                                 build-up for divers wanting to take on the ‘President Coolidge’ in Santo (for
                                                                                  experienced divers comfortable with decompression diving).
MALO TUKU - An interesting shallow dive with lots of sandy fingers, rocky
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