Scuba diving in the pristine waters of New Caledonia
- Scuba diving in New Caledonia
Ever wanted to go scuba diving in a huge lagoon filled with corals? Than New Caledonia is the place to be! It has a lagoon of 24,000 sq km, which is, in fact, the largest lagoon on earth. New Caledonia has a 1,600 km long barrier reef that borders a sea environment of exceptional beauty and it's inhabited by an abundance of fish.
This huge reef is the home to nearly 2,000 different varieties of fish including 200 unknown species. These days, there are still new species to be discovered. This is the result of the archipelago’s location in between the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. The water temperature ranges from 21°C to 28°C providing ideal conditions in which coral and fish thrive. It's also a very nice temperature to make some dives!
Marine life
- Nautilus macromphalus
In the Whale season (July-September) you can see whales in the bay. All year round, one can see underwater caves dotted with madrepores, unusually shaped sea sponges and fluorescent corals. The hundreds of species of fish and heaps of invertebrates makes New Caledonia a great place for scuba diving. On rare occasions, the fascinating Nautilus (macromphalus) may rise from the depth. This mollusc is also known as 'living fossil' and usually lives at depths of 150 meter to 600 meter.
There are so many colours in the lagoon from all the corals, sponges and animals that you definately want to come back to see and experience it all again.
Marine reserve
The New Caledonian Authorities have created marine reserves on several islets to protect the marine life around the islands. Within these marine reserves there are some ships deliberately sunken to create artificial reefs.
Discover the Amédée Lighthouse Reserve and the Ténia Horn near Boulouparis. There's also the “Fault” near Poé, the underwater slopes on the ocean side of the huge reef and the Prony Needle. Explore the Gorgonia Valley and the freshwater caves of the Isle of Pines. These are just a few of the many dive sites around the islands.
There are heaps of scuba dive schools and clubs that are approved by PADI, SSI and CMAS. Intro dives and dive courses are available at these schools and they also have equipment on hire if you haven't got your own gear or haven't brought it with you. These scuba dive centers all have licenses to operate and they are checked annually.
New Caledonia has established its own regulations regarding scuba diving (dated 27 August 2002) with the objective of conforming to the international courses and qualifications (PADI, ANMP, FFESSM, CMAS, SSI).
There are lots of hotels on the islands of New Caledonia ranging from 2 stars to 5 stars. There's always something in a price range that suits you best.
Nouvelle-Calédonie Plongée
The Nouvelle-Calédonie Plongée association (New Caledonia Diving) contains 11 dive centres. Throughout the archipelago there are 15 scuba dive centers)
The Association produces and sells the Carte Plongée (diving card). This card gives divers access to the magnificent dive sites of New Caledonia.
Since June 2004 there's a Comex 1800 decompression chamber available in case of any diver emergency. This decompression chamber is located near the main hospital of Nouméa and is very good accessible.
How to get there
Quantas and Aircalin fly to New Caledonia from Brisbane and Sydney. Flights from Sydney depart every day of the week and there are seven flight per week. From Brisbane flights depart on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and there are three flight a week.
Air fares are subject to change every day, but it's possible to fly to Nouméa from around $650 return incl. tax.
www.qantas.com.au
www.aircalin.com
