Page 492 - Melanesia

SANDFLY PASSAGE: There are several sites in
this area around Sandfly. At the south eastern
entrance there is a wall drift with many fans with down to 50m. The top of the reef is covered with
quite a few exceeding 3 meters in diameter.
On the southern side approaching the passage
is Robert’s Point or Barracuda Point. There are
Barracuda here and you will find them in the
shallows (2-3 meters deep). The rest of the reef
is a kaleidoscope of color as there is good water
movement over the reef. Inside Sandfly passage
there is also the Tulagi Switzer - a small island
about half way through the passage. At most of
the spots around Sandfly there is a current to aid groins covered with sea fans, clouds of baitfish
you to drift along - be careful at the entrances,
though, as currents can run at several knots.
TASSAFARONGA POINT: Here the local reef ex-
tends out from a headland catching the current
resulting in prime schooling locations for eagle
rays, pygmy mantas, turtles and reef sharks. A
great drift dive. Depth Range: 5 meters – 30
meters.
THE TEASE: is a reef about 500 meters long and
100 meters wide standing out in the prevailing
current stream to the south of Tulagi. One edge
of this reef is a sheer wall dropping from 8m
anemones, and a colorful coral garden. At the
point, near the mooring, there is a great place to
see some sharks up close, the direction of cur-
rent does matter for this to occur though.
THE ‘T’ SPOT: This dive starts at 8m at the top
of the reef. Dropping over the edge leads to a
gentle sloping bottom at 32m. Drifting along
the reef’s edge, you navigate around several
and game fish. At the deepest part of this dive
you will find a landing craft left at the end of the elly, Spanish Mackerel and Barracuda are often
war. On top of the reef you will find shells of the
marine variety, particularly spider shells. Manta
rays are also seen sometimes so don’t forget to
look up every now and then.
TURTLE BEACH: In Season, Green sea turtles
climb the sandy slope to lay their eggs. The dive
is made around a coral point extending out from
the beach and it is not uncommon to spot a
number of turtles along with eagle rays and reef
sharks as you drift along the reef’s edge. Depth
Range: 5 meters – 30 meters.
TWIN TUNNELS: close to Tulagi, is a coral bombie
approximately 120 meters in diameter. The top
of reef is in 12 -16 meters and features two tun-
nels eroded in the edge of the reef descending
down to a common cavern exiting to the wall at
35 – 40 meters. The top of the reef is spectacular
in its own right and there is no need to go down
to the cave. Many divers enjoy the thrill of going
down one or other of the tunnels though. Due
to the currents that pass over this reef it attracts
many pelagic fish, Dog Tooth Tuna, Blue Fin Trav-
seen here along with the usual suspects the Grey
Reef shark, the White Tip reef Shark and the Black
Tip reef Shark. Strong currents are often present,
so stay on or near the bottom. At the end of the
dive come back to the center area of the reef to
move out of the current, here you find lots of
macros to delight.