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migrating Humpback Whales and the mythical Dugong. The list is
endless, the colours of the pristine reefs, beyond description and we are still
discovering uncharted reefs.
We have two
completely different diving environments for your diving pleasure: We have 16 different reefs out to sea,
that range in depth from 7 – 40 metres, and our very own Barra Lagoon near the
mangrove swamps, which has its own unique eco-system. (Please see the DIVE SITE DESCRIPTIONS file for specific info on our various
sites)
Water temperatures
range from 29 degrees celcius in our summer months to 22 degrees celcius in
winter. Visibility ranges from 8m
to 40m, depending on how much plankton there is in the water.
Our dive centre is
located right on the beach and all our diving in the ocean is enjoyed from semi
rigid diving boats. Our Divemasters carry a buoy line, and no anchors are
dropped on our reefs.
We also offer Snorkelling and Ocean Safari Trips. The Ocean safari is a two hour trip,
where we search for anything on the surface from Dolphins and Whalesharks to
Humpback Whales and pelagic fish feeding and hunting. Depending on the
season, any of the marine creatures featured below can be spotted.
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Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus) |
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Nothing
quite prepares you for an encounter with this gentle giant that wanders the
ocean. It is the biggest fish in
the sea and it looks like a shark but is the size of a whale (maybe that’s how
it got it’s name!) |
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They can reach up to
12m in length and can weigh around 20 tons! Here at Barra we are lucky to be on
their migratory route and the best time to see them is between November and May
when sightings are pretty much guaranteed, the rest of the year they are still
present, just fewer in number.
The
thrill of swimming with a Whale Shark is an unforgettable experience. Something
in your soul goes incredibly quiet, and the feeling of being so close to such a
big and gentle creature is something so privileged it will never leave you.
There are specific guidelines on how to interact with these creatures that we
will brief you on and we also offer the PADI Whale Shark Awareness speciality
course for snorkellers and divers that would like to know more about this
beautiful beast. |
Dolphins |
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Swimming with dolphins is an experience that every child and adult
dreams of, lifting your heart and humbling your soul.
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Bottlenose
and Humpback dolphins are the most commonly sighted species along our stretch of
coastline. They can be incredibly
playful and often surf the bow waves of our diving boat. Depending on what mood they are in, they
sometimes allow us the opportunity to get into the water with
them. |
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Manta Rays (Manta
birostris) |
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These
huge, flying creatures are almost a guaranteed sighting off this part of the
Mozambique
coastline because of the abundance of Manta cleaning stations in this area. We
have cleaning stations at Manta reef,
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Office
and Giants
Castle,
and sometimes on clear sunny days they can be seen feeding on the surface when
the plankton rises in the afternoon. Diving with them has specific guidelines to
ensure that they are not frightened, teased or harmed in anyway. But once at the
cleaning stations your patience will be rewarded when vast numbers of Manta’s
form a holding pattern over the stations, while waiting to be cleaned by small
fish. They hover and swoop and come as close as 30cm to divers. Here at Barra we have a PADI Manta
Awareness Distinctive speciality course divers can enrol on if they would like
to know more about these gentle animals. |
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Humpback Whales (Megaptera
novaeangliae) |
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These
massive creatures can be spotted off our shores, on their migratory route from,
June until November. Covering a
distance of 16000km, it is the longest known migration on
earth.
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We
look for the tell tale sign of water spouting from their blowhole, and the huge
splashing from their acrobatics. These mammals can launch themselves completely
out of the water (breaching), and engage in fluke (tail) and flipper slapping.
We also listen out for their haunting song while we dive, which can be heard
from a distance of 2km away, each song usually lasts between 10 and 20 minutes,
and is repeated continuously for hours. It is the males that sing and it is
thought to be part of the mating ritual. To show these creatures all due respect
we try and keep a respectable distance between them and our boats, especially as
the females, who are with their calves and are the larger of the sexes, can
reach lengths of over 15m (almost twice as big as our boats!) They also weigh in
quite heavily at between 25-40 tons! You can get close but not too close to
these magnificent mammals, on one of our ocean safaris, that go out for two
hours at a time, looking and listening for Whales in season. |
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