Plan Your Trip Diving - Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles - page 65

» Stella Maru This Japanese freighter, scuttled in 1987 and resting upright in 25m, is a not-to-be-missed wreck. Over
the years, it has become nicely encrusted and has attracted a host of colourful species, including moray eels, parrot fish
and leaf fish.
DIVING WITH A CONSCIENCE
Please consider the following tips when diving, to help preserve the ecology and beauty of reefs:
» Encourage dive operators to establish permanent moorings at appropriate dive sites.
» Practise and maintain proper buoyancy control.
» Avoid touching living marine organisms with your body and equipment.
» Take great care in underwater caves, as your air bubbles can damage fragile organisms.
» Minimise your disturbance of marine animals.
» Take home all your rubbish, and any litter you may find as well.
» Never stand on corals, even if they look solid and robust.
» Do not buy or collect seashells, or buy any seashell or turtleshell products.
» Dive with a local dive operator that follows high safety, ethical and professional standards.
The West
The Flic en Flac area ranks among the best in Mauritius when it comes to diving. Condi-
tions are optimal year-round - it's protected from the prevailing winds - and visibility is
usually excellent.
And the southwest coast? The area between Le Morne Peninsula and Black River
(Rivière Noire) has a few diving hot spots, but they lack the 'wow' factor. The weak
points are the average visibility and the fairly dull topography.
» Rempart Serpent (Snake Rampart) This is possibly the quirkiest dive in Mauritius. Located a 15-minute boat trip
from Flic en Flac, it takes its name from the sinuous rock lying about 25m below the surface, which attracts perhaps the
greatest concentration in the world of weird and wonderful scorpion fish, stonefish, moray eels and lionfish.
» La Cathédrale Be awed by a memorable seascape - think a warren of cavelets, stipples, passages and ledges. It's full
of reef species, including fusiliers, surgeonfish, groupers, snappers, angelfish and lobsters. One downside: it's so popular
that it's fairly congested.
» Couline Bambou Less crowded than La Cathédrale. This dive takes you through a kaleidoscope of changing scenery.
» Manioc A deep dive beloved by seasoned divers. It starts at -33m. Two massive rocky outcrops attract scores of reef
species. Very atmospheric.
» Kei Sei 113 Full of atmospheric wrecks, including the Kei Sei 113 , scuttled in the 1980s. Resting at about 35m, it's
accessible to seasoned divers only.