Page 424 - Melanesia
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THE GAP - A river of sand sloping progressively downwards to a steep AVANA DROP OFF - You can either dive the outside of this sandy
drop off with coral nooks and crannies either side. A great place for passage or dive through the passage into the lagoon. The passage itself
seeing sharks in caves along the drop-off, or a beautifully scenic site to is a good place for finding lion fish and eels. On the outskirts of the
just sit and play with the ever-curious reef fish. Swimming across the passage there are nice rock formations that can give you a feeling of
river above the sand gives the closest feeling to weightlessness you’ll being in an underwater ancient ruin. Depth: 10 to 15 meters.
get this side of space. Depth: 14 to 30 meters. TA’AKOKA – no description available
NORTHERN REEF - The northern reef stretches all along from ‚Ed- DEAD MAN’S GULCH - A small natural passage that makes it pos-
na’s Anchor’ in front of Trader Jacks to the‚ MV Mataora’ close to sible to dive into the lagoon. A dive for the more experienced diver
Tamarind House. It includes dive sites like Ngatipa, (Paradise Inn) because of tidal currents. whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, eagle rays,
and Pue. You can literally dive anywhere along that stretch and find grey reef sharks, trevallies, pufferfish, giant moray eels. Depth: 12 -25
similar conditions. Big hard coral structures, usually no current and meters.
friendly fish make this a favorite dive spot on Rarotonga for introduc- THE ABYSS - A long sandriver that ends at a steep drop off at around
tion dives as well as a relaxing reef dive for qualified divers. You can 25m of depth and disappears into the abyss. Hard coral reef on both
literally dive anywhere along that stretch and find similar conditions. sides of the sandriver. Sometimes the current can be strong. whitetip
Big hard coral structures, usually no current and friendly fish make reef sharks, sea turtles, eagle rays, trevallies, tunas, crayfish. Depth:
this a favorite dive spot on Rarotonga for introduction dives as well as 12 – 40 meters.
a relaxing reef dive for qualified divers. Depth: 10 – 28 meters. PAPUA PASAGE - A natural passage in the reef, with a maximum
MATAVERA WALL - Short Vertical wall that starts at 18 meters and depth of 18 meters. You swim from outside the reef trough a canyon
drops into the deep blue with exeptionally good visibility. Whitetip into the lagoon - excellent marine life. An amazing dive for the begin-
reef sharks, turtles, moray eels. Depth: 12 -35 meters ner to highly experienced divers alike. The shallowest and shortest of
NGATANGIIA SCHOOL - A beautifully scenic dive with lots of coral the south-coast passages is also the prettiest. This site is usually the
bommies creating interesting formations to swim around and explore. best place for turtles, and whitetip reef sharks are the norm. The giant
The site also as a drop-off. Depth: 18 to 30 meters. resident star puffer fish seem to have fallen for this site too. Shallow,
SUNRISE - Opening up from the pretty Avana lagoon, this site is a light indulged caverns and amazing marine life make this a very spe-
broad sandy passage with large coral formations and plenty of marine cial dive. Fish life is often improved by strong currents, which can
life. Ending in a steep drop-off, it’s great for the more experienced make it a bit more challenging at the same time Sea turtles, whitetip
diver too. There are several channels to explore and some deep blue reef sharks, eagle rays, moray eels, big pufferfish, schools of reef fish,
water to gaze into and hope for passing sharks. Depth: 12 – 20 meters. scorpion fish. Depth 12 – 18 meters.
