Ifaty & Mangily

Diving here is done from boats launched off Mangily-Ifaty beach. The shallow lagoon reserves are a short boat ride from shore, and the deeper sites lie on the barrier reef, on its outer slope and in its two passes. Dives go in the morning because the afternoons can turn windy, with one or two dives and the surface interval on board. North pass dives wait for a calm day, and Cathedral also for a small tidal change. Several-day trips north along the coast to Morombe also leave from Mangily Ifaty.

The Bay of Ranobe lies between the mouths of the Manombolo and Fiherenana rivers, with mangroves at each end, a reef more than 40 km long, two main passes and many smaller cuts. Inside the 33 km lagoon, local fishermen have set aside four reserves, and the shallow lagoon sites hold schools of goatfish, snapper and bigeyes. The North pass brings caves and swim-throughs with schools of emperors, sweetlips and trevally, and at Akio in the south pass divers drift on a strong incoming current back into the lagoon.

The split suits mixed groups: newly certified divers stay in the lagoon reserves while experienced divers take the passes and the outer reef to 26 m. Cathedral is only 16 m deep but asks for advanced skills, and the South pass drift is kept for experienced divers on days when conditions are right. Divers hoping for sharks should look elsewhere: Akio was known for the grey reef sharks in the south pass until they were fished for their fins. The coast carries malaria, especially in the rainy season.