Diving Off
The so-called “dive off” are those that given more satisfaction, both for the opportunity to make exceptional encounters that to fully enjoy the wonders of the ocean, since the navigation allows prolonged enough to meet the creatures visible near the surface, such as dolphins, whale sharks and whales, depending on the season.
They are located at distances ranging from 10 to 18 kilometres from the coast of Nosy Be for us the first morning dive will almost always dive off.
GRAN BANCO ESTERNO (Minimum depth 16 meters , 30 meters maximum)
A plateau of coral about 16-17 meters deep that stretches for miles in separating the shallow waters of Nosy Be from the deeper channel of Mozambique. Falls with a vertical wall at times, sometimes gently sloping up to the sandy seabed at a depth of about 50 meters. Along this wall at a depth between 22 and 25 meters, it is easy to see large pelagic fishes (tazar, barracuda, trevally, tuna), but also napoleon fish, parrots rhinoceros, giant clouds of croaker and groups of small and timid white tip reef sharks. With the rising tide, in some certain times of the day, here you can meet good-sized gray reef sharks, hammerhead sharks mobulas and sporadically.
MANTA POINT (minimum depth of 18 meters, 25 meters maximum)
A flat and sandy expanse inhabited by thousands of timid sand eels, which develops entirely between 20 and 25 feet deep, and on which are scattered "potatoes" coral taken from fish of every size and breed sharks cleaning stations. Conformations of these reefs you can lose yourself in search of smaller organizations, all varieties of cleaners, small red grouper who abandon themselves to the work of ghost shrimp, fish, leafy surrounded by clouds of glass fish, pipefish dwarfs, while on the plateau sandy is not uncommon to encounter mobulas stingrays and eagle rays.
The presence of Mantas in the seas of Nosy Be is a mystery that fascinates and despair is all diving in the area. After several years of almost total absence from the waters of Nosy Be, the giant manta ray seems to have made a comeback, and you can meet with the particular conditions of tide and moon, in the winter season, from July to September. Despite the encounter with this huge filter feeder, however, remains far from regular, we believe it's always worthwhile done filling this immersion in the weekly program. To observe for several minutes a giant 4 or 5 meter wingspan circling lazily a few feet of you, not in a hurry to get away, it is something to try at least once in life.
ATNAM (minimum depth 16 meters, maximum 53 meters)
Certainly the most fascinating of our dives, but exclusively reserved for the more experienced divers, since the maximum depth is about 43 meters. A wall oriented parallel to the coast of Madagascar shatters into a group of towers that from a depth of about 55 meters rising up to 35 meters. By a mysterious game of currents over the full height of these towers have grown hundreds of giant fans that form a sort of "magic forest". Wandering in this wonderful landscape is a bit 'as "entering a fairy tale." We finish the dive on a coral plateau at 16-17 meters depth. While not dive full of fish, you can still see small white tip, groups of jacks, clouds of unicorns, giant stingrays and leopard shark resting comfortable plateau.
PHANTOM (minimum depth 14 meters, maximum 20 meters)
An immersion totally out of hand, but perhaps that is more full of surprises.
Since its development at a low depth, it can hardly be proposed as the first dive of the morning, but it is an interesting option as afternoon dive on his return from Iranja. A rich dried fish, macro, to get lost Grottine had to make a picture. Memorable huge bench Platax that surrounds you parked at the end of Immersion.
BANCO ROSARIO (minimum depth 14 meters, maximum 24 meters)
This dive, pleasant from the point of view of the environment, where huge pink sea fans were continued for hundreds of meters on a dry shallow and almost always characterized by calm waters, over the years has unfortunately impoverished to the point of fish.
The cyclone of 2004 put it to the test and since then the fishing carried out by local fishermen not made it possible for restocking. Despite being one of the most famous diving Nosy Be, also often mentioned in tourist guides, is not one of our favorite dive. However, it remains a point of reference with regard to the meeting with the Whale Shark, as it is particularly attracted by its calm waters and rich in plankton.
BANCO 5 METERS (minimum depth 10 meters, maximum 35 meters)
How to Banco Rosario this dive has lost interest after the passage of the devastating cyclone of 2004. What was once a beautiful wall of giant fans, where it was not uncommon to encounter the whale shark underwater, now is not that desolation and abandonment.
We mention this only because immersion mentioned by almost all guides and also because many diving the offer still among the best dives in our opinion without any reliability.
