New Caledonia · France · Wall · Cave & cavern
Ever Propérity
Passages and arches at 10 m above a wall that falls to 70 m
Area photo: Jean Rerêve · CC BY-SA 4.0
The dive is at the foot of the barrier reef below a wreck stranded on top of it — the wreck itself is out of the water and no part of the dive. What you get instead is a plateau at 10 m cut with passages, arches and caves, and a drop-off below it that falls away to 70 m. The site is very sensitive to swell.
Where it is and how deep
22.4561° S, 166.3667° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
There is a wreck stranded on the reef above the site, but it sits out of the water and is no part of the dive: the diving is entirely below it, at the foot of the barrier. The plateau starts at around 10 m and is the part worth the time — it is broken up by passages, arches and caves, and the natural way to dive it is to work that structure at plateau depth while gas and no-stop time are still generous.
From the plateau the ground gives way into a drop-off that runs down to 70 m, far past any recreational plan, so this is a wall to look along rather than to descend. Pick a depth on the upper section, keep the reef on one shoulder, then come back up onto the plateau for the shallow end of the dive and the ascent. The site is very sensitive to swell, and the arches are the last place you want to be when the water is moving.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows New Caledonia: Sep–Dec is warmest and clearest before the wet season; Jan–Mar is cyclone season, and winter water drops to about 21°C.
Know before you go
- The site is very sensitive to swell, and passages and arches are poor places to be in moving water — check the forecast and expect the crew to move the dive.
- The drop-off runs to 70 m with nothing to stop a descent, so set a maximum depth before you drop and dive the plateau rather than the wall.
Sources
- Ever Propérity — SSI/Scubago
More dive sites in New Caledonia
A manta cleaning station on a 13 m plateau in the Boulari pass
Wreck
A broken-up 50 m wreck on a 12 m bottom
Wreck
A well-preserved fishing boat leaning to starboard at 20 m
Lagoon
Sand and coral heads at 3–6 m, sheltered from the trade winds
Drift
A gentle drift slope from 6 m to 50 m with a diver's memorial
Wreck
A wooden minesweeper reduced to her metal ribs
Reef
Reported as the densest fish concentration near Nouméa
Wall
A school of about 70 grey reef sharks on a drifting wall
Similar dives elsewhere
White coral from 15 m down to 65 m on one vertical face
Lava caves down a drifted wall to 43 m
The outer rim's face drops 91 m into open ocean
A chimney through the wall, 18 m in and 8 m out