Diving in the Quirimbas

Diving at Quilálea

Quilálea Private Island has one of the best dive sites right on its doorstep! Spectacular coral formations and plentiful marine life including dolphins, turtles (hatching in February), and seasonally migrating whales with their calves (July to December) make the diving and snorkelling unforgettable. The House Reef is simply teeming with life. You can literally see it all here from Guitar Fish and Ribbon Eels to Turtles and Flatworms of every describable colour and design, not to mention the dozens of monstrous Lobsters who have made this wonderful reef their home. It is a dive that everyone can do, day or night, you just walk right in. Other sites around the island can be reached quickly by motor boat; just around the corner is a very impressive dive site called the Canyon where the current attracts larger predatory fish. The other side of the Canyon is close to the neighbouring island of Mefunvo and is also worth a visit. The island of Sencar has an extremely colourful reef on the east side and is an excellent place to do a drift dive and if you are lucky, you might find yourself entertaining some curious dolphins that inhabit this area. Salaama Banks, as the name suggests is a large area of hard and soft corals just on the outskirts of the channel. The visibility here is often very good and there is plenty to keep divers occupied.

Diving at Ibo Island

Ibo Island has one of the prettiest dives in the area and should not be missed. The Ibo lighthouse is actually situated on a separate island on the north east point and it is here that you will come across schools of Snapper, Kingfish, Napolean Wrasse, and perhaps one of the resident reef sharks. Moray Eels and Mantis Shrimp can be found along the small wall (8m to 16m), which is covered in a rainbow of soft corals. Visibility is best on a high tide at this site. While there are no registered dive operators on Ibo Island itself, this is sure to change in the near future. Until then, this dive is best organised from Matemo Island Resort close by. Resting in just a few metres of water an old steam ship lies on the shoals between the islands of Ibo and Matemo. The hull is very broken up but it is easy to navigate along the ships length and see the ribs and other sub-structures. If you just want to snorkel then a visit is definitely worthwhile.

Diving at Matemo

Matemo Island Resort is in close proximity to Zala Banks, a steeply sloping ridge which drops down into the deeper waters of the Mozambique Channel. Hard coral formations create a perfect habitat for a wide range of reef fish and game fish can often be seen in the blue waters. One of the best sites here is called Rush Hour and is just off the north eastern edge of the island. Here you can expect large schools of Barracuda, Kingfish and Unicornfish at the southern end of the site. Small coral bommies and cleaner stations draw larger species such as the Honeycomb Moray Eels and Marbled Grouper to the reef which runs no deeper than 20m where it meets the sand. For a fast drift, try the Highway on the southern side of the island. You can effortlessly cover a large distance here on the incoming tides, cruise along with large groupers at the edge of the drop off and see plenty of blue spotted stingrays in the shallower waters along the top. Snorkelling is very good at the small island of Rolas just north of Matemo. As the chain of islands extends north towards Pangane, they carry a multitude of reefs and dive sites yet to be explored.

Diving at Medjumbe

Medjumbe Private Island has something to suit everybody from the most experienced dive veteran to those of you who are sufficiently intrigued to take the plunge for the very first time. To the northwest of the resort is Sambi Sambi, a locally named reef which reaches from 90m below to within a few feet of the surface. Encrusted with a wide variety of hard coral structures this very large reef can supply divers with many days worth of exploration; the shallower areas provide countless reef fish with protection and are also enjoyable if you are snorkelling while the drop off is a scene of sizeable lettuce leaf corals and giant gorgonians. Tuna and other game fish hang off the sloping wall and Napolean Wrasse may accompany you along the edge. A fringing reef surrounds Medjumbe on the south and east sides and stretches for almost 200 m from Joe's Ridge to Kobus' Korner. From where the reef breaks the surface at low tide to 18m below this site is jam-packed with hard corals and soft corals of every imaginable form and hue. Although larger snapper and sweetlips patrol this area, the dive is really all about the small and the subtle. If you have a keen eye, Nudibranchs, Flatworms, Crocodilefish, Pipefish and Paperfish can all be found here and it is fantastic for macro photography and snorkelling. If you have a few dives already under your belt, then make sure that you make at least one dive at the Wall. Plunging down from only 14m to well beyond the realms of recreational diving at 800m, this is not for the faint hearted! This dramatic drop is interspersed with coral filled ledges which provide a resting point for schools of sweetlips and solitary groupers and turtles. The wall itself is adorned with scores of giant gorgonian sea fans and sea whips and is also home to a giant grouper named Cliff, who is sometimes inquisitive enough to make a close inspection of his visitors! It's dramatic, it's impressive, and it just has to be done...

Diving at Guludo

Whether you are learning to dive in sheltered coral gardens or testing your existing skills on enormous drop-offs with strong currents, you will be diving on spectacular reefs that very few people have seen, in a marine park that shelters humpback whales and other cetaceans, turtles, huge game fish, and countless reef fish.

Diving Rolas Island: Surrounding Rolas’ southern sandy peninsular and westward rocky out crops are shallow coral gardens with beautiful sting rays, abundant reef fish and curious turtles. Rolas is perfect for beginners as well for photography and macro fauna.

Diving Matemo Channel: The diving around Matemo has gentle slopes and small ridges and is also home to the famous dive site "Rush Hour", so named for countless schools of large game fish that hang out over the reef.

Diving Zala Atoll: Zala is an underwater island due west of Guludo. Zala has dramatic topography with sheer drop offs disappearing into oblivion. Every inch of Zala is covered in pristine coral, hard and soft, rivalling anywhere in the world. In addition the coral is teaming with reef fish and home to several types of reef shark and turtle. (PADI Advanced divers only).