Kevin Carlisle
Contributor
Those pics are great.. I dont know where you are but what a gorgeous place.
Pics from Reunion Island - C&C welcome
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CheddarChick
Contributor
Beautiful....I think I'll run away from home and come there......
OP
penti
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Thank you very much Fastmarc, Hetland, Kevin and CheddarChick.
Let me introduce my small island to you :
Reunion Island (locally called "Ile de la Réunion" or "La Réunion") is 250km (150 miles) South-West of Mauritius, it is about the same size and 800,000 people live in this overseas part of France.
It was formed rather recently (1,5 million years ago) by 2 volcanoes, one of which is still active (it erupted 2 weeks ago). It is very mountainous so it's a paradise for hikers and paragliders. Most of the beaches, lagoons and coral reefs are on the western coast of the island, which is protected from the wind and rough sea, so that's where most of the diving takes place.
We mostly dive on the outer slopes of the reef barriers, most sites are in a 5-30 meters range. For those into deep diving there are deep sites as well, including walls and 4 wrecks who lie respectively at 42, 45, 53 and 55 meters (137, 147, 173, 180 feet) .
There isn't a lot of plankton, the good thing with that is that the water is clear, visibility varies between 15 and 60 meters (50-200 feet) , the drawback is that there isn't the same density of fish as in other places, Madagascar, Seychelles or South Africa for example.
We can see the usual Indian Ocean reef species, turtles, eagle and stingrays, dolphins, and occasionally the pelagic passer-by such as hammerheads, manta rays, sailfish, marlins, and even a whale shark last month. Sharks are not frequently seen, you would typically see one in 50 dives, whitetips, gray, bull and tiger sharks do frequent our waters but tend to be very shy as there is no feeding done.
During the winter months (June to October) humpback whales come from the Antarctic to mate and breed and if you're lucky you'll be able to see some underwater, diving or snorkelling from the boat...
Let me introduce my small island to you :
Reunion Island (locally called "Ile de la Réunion" or "La Réunion") is 250km (150 miles) South-West of Mauritius, it is about the same size and 800,000 people live in this overseas part of France.
It was formed rather recently (1,5 million years ago) by 2 volcanoes, one of which is still active (it erupted 2 weeks ago). It is very mountainous so it's a paradise for hikers and paragliders. Most of the beaches, lagoons and coral reefs are on the western coast of the island, which is protected from the wind and rough sea, so that's where most of the diving takes place.
We mostly dive on the outer slopes of the reef barriers, most sites are in a 5-30 meters range. For those into deep diving there are deep sites as well, including walls and 4 wrecks who lie respectively at 42, 45, 53 and 55 meters (137, 147, 173, 180 feet) .
There isn't a lot of plankton, the good thing with that is that the water is clear, visibility varies between 15 and 60 meters (50-200 feet) , the drawback is that there isn't the same density of fish as in other places, Madagascar, Seychelles or South Africa for example.
We can see the usual Indian Ocean reef species, turtles, eagle and stingrays, dolphins, and occasionally the pelagic passer-by such as hammerheads, manta rays, sailfish, marlins, and even a whale shark last month. Sharks are not frequently seen, you would typically see one in 50 dives, whitetips, gray, bull and tiger sharks do frequent our waters but tend to be very shy as there is no feeding done.
During the winter months (June to October) humpback whales come from the Antarctic to mate and breed and if you're lucky you'll be able to see some underwater, diving or snorkelling from the boat...
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CheddarChick
Contributor
Tell us how to get there, are there dive resorts? What about lodging? Any Shore diving???
You make me very curious.....
You make me very curious.....
OP
penti
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Well, there are daily flights from France and Mauritius and 3 or four flights a week from Madagascar and South Africa (Durban, Jo'burg, Cape Town) and 1 flight/week from Bangkok and Australia (Perth).
There aren't any dive resort in the Borneo Divers / Roatan Anthony's Key Resort style (places where you would stay and dive with) but there are about 20 dive-ops.
You can stay in hotels or smaller B&B or rent flats or bungalows.
Shore diving isn't very common here but there are a few good shore dives (one of which is one my my favouriste sites), if you know about them (you have to go with a local for the first time) it's quite easy to rent a cylinder or even a full diving gear kit, a very flexible and cheap way of diving.
Most international tourists would visit Reunion as a combo with Mauritius, spending the first part of their stay on the hiking trails here and the second part of their stay in a luxurious Mauritius hotel.
There was an article in the South African magazine Divestyle : http://www.divestyle.co.za/content/view/244/19/ (the link doesn't seem to want to work but if you copy/paste it in your address bar that'll do)
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OP
penti
Contributor
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Thank you so much for sharing your photos. They are absolutely fantastic. So you have a Canon A620 which I assume is quite similar to mine A720IS ?? That makes me realize I have a lot to learn
.
The corals looks so healthy and the visibility looks great. Tell me, is it like this on Mauritius as well?
Mauritius is on "my list".
. The corals looks so healthy and the visibility looks great. Tell me, is it like this on Mauritius as well?
Mauritius is on "my list".
OP
penti
Contributor
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Thank you so much for sharing your photos. They are absolutely fantastic. So you have a Canon A620 which I assume is quite similar to mine A720IS ?? That makes me realize I have a lot to learn
The corals looks so healthy and the visibility looks great. Tell me, is it like this on Mauritius as well?
Mauritius is on "my list".
Thank you Maggy.
Yes, the A620 is quite similar to the A720is, I think my A710is was even slightly better than the 620... But I didn't know how to use it as well as I do now... Having a strobe helps a lot, it just changes your way of taking pictures as you can really take advantage of the manual mode with it.
Yes, the viz in Mauritius is as good as here and the corals are nice in the North-West, in the Grand Baie- Trou aux Biches area, my favourite part of the "sister island" to dive. If you have any questions about Mauritius I'd be pleased to help...
If you're interested, you'll find Mauritius pics in my Picasa web albums (link in my signature).
Looked in your album. Your pictures are great. Loved them. Lots of stinging fishes there. But beautiful. Are the Titan triggers aggressive all the time, or just when they guard a nest?
You are right about the strobe. That would probably enhance the pictures big time. I might look into that.
. But beautiful. Are the Titan triggers aggressive all the time, or just when they guard a nest?You are right about the strobe. That would probably enhance the pictures big time. I might look into that.
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