The islands of the Bazaruto are a diverse
home for both land and marine creatures including red duiker, bushbuck, samango
monkey, as well as the elegant manta rays, whalesharks and the mermaids of the
sea, the dugongs.
The islands habitats include formidable sand dunes, freshwater lakes, and
patches of natural forest, but it really is the unspoilt white beaches, warm
azure water and pristine coral reef that draws people to the coastline. Below
the water an immense variety of hard and soft corals flourish providing a
diverse and productive ecosystem. Marine life includes many brightly coloured
tropical
fish, sea horses, triggerfish, wrass, many species of gamefish, sharks and rays.
Two-Mile Reef
It is neither 2 miles long
nor 2 miles away
from Vilanculos, but it is the name that has been given to the reef lying
outside Benguerra Island and Bazaruto. 2 Mile is also our most popular dive
location. The site is actually a long barrier reef that breaks the water at low
tide and can be dived at various depths down to around 20 meters. Due to its
length there are numerous dive locations offering many different environments,
swim throughs and coral outcrops. There is a great chance of seeing one of the 5
species of turtle that live in the area along with
a friendly reef shark or skulking nurse shark. There is a wide abundance of reef
fish, such as long tail banners, Surgeon, Moorish Idols, Parrot, Angel and
Butterfly fish to name but a few. Game fish and Devil rays regularly swim in
from the blue and there is always a chance of seeing that elusive Dugong.
The Aquarium:
1m - 9m. Top snorkeling site, ideal training ground or a place to just take it
easy and watch life on the reef pass you by. Best encountered at low tide
it offers a complete cross section of reef life from fields of staghorn coral in
the shallows to the curious octopus deeper down.
The Surgery:
9m - 21m. Named after the abundance of Surgeon fish that reside between the
large corals and rocky outcrops. There is a good chance of seeing Honeycomb
Morays, Devil Rays cruising by and huge Potato and Camouflage Grouper keeping a
watchful eye over a myriad of reef fish.
The Powder Box:
6m - 16m. For variety and colourful coral this site has it all. Expansive table
tops, towering whip coral and vibrant soft corals all inundated with Powder Blue
Tangs. It is here that clown fish make their home in the many swaying anenomes
and often hidden on the sea floor you will spot a crocodile fish or two. Explore
the many channels with a large abundance of macro life clinging to its encrusted walls.
Coral Gardens:
8m - 19m. On the boundary between the sandy bottom where the blue spotted rays
live and the reef, there are many coral heads with masses of green branching
coral full of Damsel fish, Bat and King fish swimming overhead along with the
occasional reef shark out on patrol.
Stingray Alley:
12m - 20m. The sandy floor of the reef is home to many large stingray which are
more than happy to pose for the cameras. Should the stingrays be away on
vacation, you can always head back to the reef for more fish and coral activity.
South Point Reef
This is a shallow rocky reef on the southern tip of Bazaruto which is usually a
snorkelling site and also ideal for resort courses. The rocky recesses are
famous for being home to moray eels.
Deep Reef
This is an adventurous dive of 30 metres to a flat coral reef in the gap between
Bazaruto and Benguerra. It's a gathering point for large gamefish such as
ignobilis kingfish. However, the area can be dangerous during strong currents so
only for the experienced diver.
Cabo Sao Sebastian
For the more adventurous diver there is always a trip south through the surf
down to Cabo Sao Sebastian. As if the boat ride out was not enough, there is
always the chance of seeing breaching whales defy gravity, even a close
encounter with a meandering whale shark before you reach the dive site. At
present we drop in along one site that we have split into 2 dives. There is a
main pinnacle where we regularly see Mantas feeding before descending onto a
long finger that stretches down to around 30m. Here we have seen many sharks
including
Hammerheads and various reef sharks. On the second dive you will explore various
swim throughs, before dropping off the top wall of a large crescent shaped reef,
dodging the giant groupers along the way. The whole site is covered in many
schools of fish from top to bottom. Due to the exposed nature of the site,
conditions can change quickly and so diving here very much depends on the
weather.
Baluba Reef:
8m - 15m. This is a rocky hump shaped reef with many hiding holes for Morays,
crustacean and is an ideal location for scorpion fish. There is a good chance of
seeing one or more species of turtle that reside in the Bazaruto Archipelago.
Tubarao Point:
12m - 24m. Located behind Helm's Deep this site has the same exciting
challenges. Along with swim throughs and ledges to explore there is a good
chance of seeing Mantas and sharks.
Helm's Deep:
12m - 40m. This site has it all from large pelagics down to colourful
nudibranchs all set amongst pristine corals. What is the catch? The currents can
rage so you need to be a confident diver for these sites.
The Colleseum:
16m - 40m. Sweeping semi-circle rock walls provide the backdrop for big sharks,
including hammerheads, King fish and schooling barracuda. This can be a fast and
furious dive.
Magaruque Island - The
Lobster Pot
A great place to check out a whole variety of reef life, however the main
attraction is all to tempting to food lovers, as the name suggests! This reef
runs along the north side of Magaruque Island and can be seen from the surface
at low tide. It is a steep slope down to 25m with coral boulders in which an
array of marine life can be found, including blue spotted rays, torpedo rays,
honeycomb moray eels, octopus, lionfish and the well camouflaged stonefish…oh
and of course the searching antennas of the huge lobsters…
