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| Dive Sites |
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The underwater world around Havelock has plenty to offer divers of all skill levels. In fact, much of the areas better diving is in water no deeper than 20 meters. Of late, however, newer and deeper sites are being discovered, and some of these locations are highly recommended. At Barefoot Scuba the safety of our divers is our foremost concern, and we adhere to the prescribed depth limits of diver certification. If you find that you wish to dive a site which is deeper than your experience and certification allows then please let us know. We will be happy to take you to these sites following the necessary procedures and under the supervision of our instructors. Here is a list of some of the more frequented the dive sites around Havelock, with dive depths, level of skill required and distance from the dive centre. Sites that are suitable for snorkelers have also been mentioned.
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• MV Mars: 8 - 15m. Easy. Distance: 20min.
 A small fishing boat that struck the reef and sank during a storm in April 2006. It came to rest on the sandy bottom just off the reef, in 15m of water. The boat stands upright, fully intact and tilting slightly to the port side, with the roof of the wheelhouse rising up to 7m. An easy dive, ideal for students and novices. |
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• Lighthouse: 6 - 20m. Easy. Distance: 20min.
 A dive site just off the little white lighthouse at the entrance of the channel that leads to Havelock’s jetty. The reef slopes gently from 1m down to the sand at 25m, with the better coral and fish life in the shallows. Peppered with the usual bannerfish, angelfish and schooling fusiliers, this site also has some interesting macro life. Suitable for snorkelers. |
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• The Wall: 10 - 55m. Intermediate. Distance: 25min.
 As the name suggests, the wall drops from 10m down to 55m where it tapers off onto the sand of the channel between Havelock and Peel Island. Dived at various depths, the wall is a challenging dive for beginners and an interesting one for more experienced divers. The currents that flow over the wall with the changing of the tides attract a large number of fish, with Napoleon wrasse, trevally and snapper swimming over a garden of purple soft coral. Octopuses, scorpionfish and a variety of nudibranchs add to the colour of this beautiful site. |
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• The Nursery: 6 - 12m. Easy. Distance: 30min.
 A shallow ledge of reef extending from the southern cliff-face of Nicholson Island. Ideal for beginners, this is an easy dive with lots of feather stars, anemone and other interesting macro life. Suitable for snorkelers. |
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• Elephant Beach: 6 - 25m. Easy. Distance: 45min.
 Named so for the occasional sightings of Havelock's elephants taking a walk in the area, Elephant Beach is a destination unto itself. Often regarded as a beginner's dive site because of its status as our training ground, the gently sloping sand and fringing reef off Elephant Beach actually have plenty to offer the discerning diver, including rare macro treats like the occasional sea-horse and fringe-lip flathead. The easy dive conditions make elephant beach a perfect site for macro photography. The stricken giant trees on the beach, victim to the effects of the tsunami, are a sculptural sight to behold. Suitable for snorkelers. |
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• Aquarium: 12 - 15m. Easy. Distance: 55min.
 The gently sloping reef, easily predictable currents and resident fish life make this dive like being in an aquarium. The fringing reef, home to the usual reef fish, moray eels, scorpionfish and nudibranchs, tapers gently to the sand where stingrays are sometimes spotted. |
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• Neil's Cove Reef: 12 - 18m. Easy. Distance: 60min.
 Lying between Aquarium and Neil's Cove, this off-shore reef gently tapers down to the sand. Inhabited by snapper, small grouper, morays and angelfish, the site also plays host to stingrays on the sand flats and the occasional mating cuttlefish couple. |
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• Anemone Reef: 6 - 9m. Easy. Distance: 1 hr 20min.
 Nestled in the middle of the gentle curve of Beach No. 7, Anemone Reef is, quite predictably, covered in anemone. This easy dive is perfect for beginners as well as photographers, and is home to schools of fusilier and snapper, a couple of turtles and well camouflaged ghost pipefish. Kuhl's and Jenkin's stingrays rest on the sand during the day. |
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• South Button: 6 - 25m. Easy - Intermediate - Advanced. Distance: 1 hr 30min.
 A beautiful little islet out of a fairytale, South Button emerges from the sea north of Ritchie's Archipelago. The western side of the island drops along a small wall down to 25m and is host to schooling snapper, surgeonfish, barracuda, big-eye trevally and Napoleon wrasse. The eastern side boasts a beautiful expanse of coral garden in less than 12m of water. Manta rays and devil rays sometimes visit the island with the occasional leopard shark. Other regular residents include octopuses, morays, lionfish, shrimp and nudibranchs of all shapes and colours. South Button has something for everyone and is suitable for snorkelers. |
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• Pilot Reef: 8 - 18m. Easy. Distance: 30min.
 A cluster of coral outcrops located just off the entrance to the shipping channel north-east of Havelock. Large stands of coral and rocks provide shelter to a variety of butterfly fish, angelfish and bannerfish. Fusilier and surgeonfish colour the water column and small clusters of anemone sway in the gentle current. |
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• Minerva ledge: 10 - 18m. Easy - Intermediate. Distance: 1 hr 10min.
 A vast, shallow ledge of rock and coral north-east of Havelock island. Minerva Ledge is too large to take in on one dive, and so there are three locations on the ledge that we take our guests out to. Flat coral gardens stretch out into the blue inhabited by the ubiquitous schools of fusilier, surgeonfish and snapper. The occasional moray eel and giant grouper take refuge under rocky outcrops. The edge of Minerva Ledge tapers down into deeper waters towards the east, and is frequented by pelagic denizens like Tuna, Barracuda and Stingrays. |
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• Johnny's Gorge: 25 - 30m. Advanced. Distance: 1 hr 20min.
 Johnny's Gorge is a bed of low-lying rocky outcrops emerging from the bottom at 30m. Surrounded by sand in every direction, these rocks have become an oasis of security, and food, for everything from small angelfish and anemone fish to spectacular schools of mackerel, barracuda, trevally, surgeonfish and snapper. And if this isn't enough, this world class dive site is also home to reef sharks, giant grouper, large stingrays and visiting manta and eagle rays. There is very rarely a quite moment on Johnny's Gorge. Dolphins are often spotted on the surface. |
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• Jackson's Bar: 25 - 30m. Advanced. Distance: 1 hr 30min.
 A large strip of rock protruding from the bottom at 30m. The location of this site, and the invariably strong currents that flow over it, have attracted most of the large pelagic species that the area has to offer. Tuna and barracuda cruise by in mid-water while large groupers take refuge along the bottom. Stingrays, eagle rays and sharks sometimes stop by to be cleaned by the smaller residents on the site. |
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• Jacob's Table: 14 -18m. Easy - Intermediate. Distance: 1 hr 20min.
 Named for the enormous table coral that vie for space on this site, Jacob's Table has the largest collection of table coral in the area, making it a unique and beautiful dive site. Aside from the fusiliers and surgeonfish that fill the water column, glassfish hover in clouds along the bottom and turtles occasionally swim up for a closer look at the divers. |
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• Dixon's Pinnacle: 18 -40m. Advanced. Distance: 1 hr 30min.
 Giant rock pinnacles emerge from the shadowy bottom, covered in colourful coral and large barrel sponges. Barracuda hover in mid-water, sometimes joined by batfish and trevally. Stingrays and Napoleon wrasse cruise along the bottom amidst schools of snapper. The top of the pinnacles is a cleaning station buzzing with constant activity. Turtles, moray eels, manta rays and white-tip reef sharks visit the site to avail of the cleaning service. |
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• Inket Wreck: 6 -18m. Easy. Distance: 1 hr 45min.
 An inter-island cargo vessel which struck the bottom and sank at the mouth of the inlet near Duncan Island. The generally lower visibility gives the wreck an air of mystery. The bow rests on its starboard side with the hatches and cargo hold clearly visible. An enormous propeller is the star attraction at the stern, which sits upright in 18m of water. The centre of the ship has crumbled in places, but parts of the boilers and engine room are intact along with a second, spare propeller. Anemone and coral encrust the skips skeleton and solitary giant grouper and great barracuda sometimes emerge from the shadows. The wreck is covered in scorpionfish, cleaner shrimp and patches of soft coral. Dolphins often play with the boats on the ride to the dive site. |
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• Mystery Mountains: 6 -20m. Easy. Distance: 1 hr 40min.
 An outcrop of rocks that break the surface of the water just off the shore of Baratang. Due to the proximity of the mangroves and surrounding silt flats, visibility tends to be lower here. Fan corals carpet the bottom between 16 - 20m and provide shelter to well camouflaged ornate ghost pipefish. Coral outcrops give way to large rock formations that rise from 18m up to the surface. Moral eels, angelfish couples, scorpionfish and fusiliers are regular fare on this site. Dolphins often play with the boats on the ride to the dive site. |
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• Whitehouse Rock: 6 -30m. Easy - Intermediate - Advanced. Distance: 1 hr 30min.
 Discovered in his early days as a fisherman, this site was shown to us by Godu, now one of our dive leaders. A large stand of rock rising from the bottom at 30m almost all the way to the surface. The parts of this new site that have been explored boast steep sides of rock and coral playing host to fusiliers and surgeonfish. Carpets of fan coral skirt the bottom of the formation which is peppered with anemone and feather stars. |
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