As I floated 25 metres down in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean I marvelled at the abundance of marine life around me – Parrot fish, Morays, Lizardfish, Trumpetfish, Lionfish, Scorpionfish and a multitude of other reef fish.  But the fish life on the reef was not the main reason we were diving Manta Reef, the name of this particular site close to Inhambane. Manta reef is a cleaning station for Mantas that circle overhead to be cleaned by Goldies, Cleaner Wrasse and Butterfly fish and it is one of the only dive sites in Mozambique where you can be almost guaranteed of seeing Manta Rays. The visibility on this particular day was amazing and there were at least ten Mantas circling overhead. I cannot tell you how in awe I was of these giant creatures that blocked out the sunlight as they swum above me. We watched for almost 30 minutes before we had to ascend!

Diving with Manta Rays is only one of the many highlights of diving off the Inhambane coastline in Southern Mozambique. Other highlights of diving in this area include the chance to see whale sharks, dolphin and humpback whales.  In fact, this area has the best chance of seeing Whale Sharks while diving than any other in Mozambique as it is in the path of the Whale Sharks migration route! Further up the Mozambique coastline, a few hundred kilometres north, there are also some incredible dive sites.  Two-Mile Reef, one of the most popular dive sites in the archipelago just off the coast of the Bazaruto islands, is one of these. It’s relatively shallow depth makes it good for diving and snorkelling. Two Mile is a barrier reef protecting a narrow channel between the high sand dunes on the south of Bazaruto Island and the long, white beaches of the north point of Benguerra Island.  The reef has a colourful diversity of hard and soft corals, anemone fish hide in their swaying homes and there are numerous schools of brightly coloured reef fish such as coachman, fusilier, snapper and surgeon. Schools of large pelagic and reef fish also frequent the area and you may encounter potato bass; kingfish; barracuda; guitar fish; devil, manta, turtles and honeycomb rays.  Large moray eels lurk in their rocky hideouts and black tip reef sharks often put in an appearance. Shy dugongs are in the area and are sometimes seen from the boat, and if you are very lucky they can be seen whilst diving. Two Mile Reef is an excellent dive site for all levels of divers.

Much further in northern Mozambique, close to the border of Tanzania, lies the Quirimbas archipelago. This island chain offers some of the best diving in the world with untouched coral reefs and an astounding diversity of marine species. A dazzling array of fish, from Moray Eels and Stingrays to Barracuda, Kingfish and other pelagic gamefish can be seen whilst diving here in tropical waters that seldom drop below 26°C. Dolphins are frequently encountered here whilst Humpback Whales can be sighted between August and October. Leatherback, Loggerhead and Green Turtles are often seen in the water.  Some of the know dive sites in the archipelago take in fringing reefs, coral banks and vertical and sloping reef walls. On shallower dives (8-15 metres) you are likely to see resident reef fish such as Sweetlips, Pufferfish, Angelfish and Triggerfish. On deeper wall dives (up to 40 metres) you will encounter species such as Napolean Wrasse, Groupers, Black-and White-Tip Reef Sharks, Snappers and Unicorn Fish. As these waters are so little explored, there are always new diving sites to discover and one thing you will be guaranteed on any dive in this area is that not very many people have ever dived here before you.

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