R.A.C. Point

The reef sits between 18 and 22 metres, a rocky bottom covered in coral mixed with stretches of sand. The current is strong, which is why the site is reserved for intermediate divers and up, but it is also the reason the animals are here, and the terrain gives you options: the rock formations are big enough to get behind and out of the flow.

That shelter is the point of the dive. R.A.C. Point is described as a playground for manta rays, and because you can hide behind rocks the encounters tend to be dramatic rather than a glimpse of something leaving. Small reef sharks, moray eels and big groupers work the same ground, so there is a reason to keep looking at the reef between passes.

On the reef itself the fish life is dense and easy to photograph in the shallow depth range: surgeonfish, sweetlips, butterflyfish, comet fish and clouds of fusiliers and damsels. Ascend from the shallow end of the profile rather than drifting off the shoal, and expect the current to dictate how long you can hold a given patch of rock.