New Caledonia · France · Coral garden · Night · Lagoon
Sèche Croissant
An 8 m coral garden dived mainly after dark
Area photo: Jean Rerêve · CC BY-SA 4.0
A shallow shoal in the lagoon off Îlot Maître, in 8 m of water, with a coral garden that holds a lot of fish. There is no current, and its site listing rates it as an ideal spot for night dives out of Nouméa. Whitetip reef sharks work the coral after dark alongside nudibranchs, crustaceans, molluscs and crocodilefish, and turtles come ashore to sleep on the beach nearby.
Where it is and how deep
22.3308° S, 166.3760° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Everything here happens in 8 m of water. The shoal sits inside the lagoon off Îlot Maître, the coral garden covers the top of it, and with no current running there is nothing to plan around — you drop in, work the coral at your own pace and surface when you are done. That shallow, still profile is what makes it work after dark, and its site listing rates it as an ideal spot for night dives.
After dark the coral garden is the whole dive. Whitetip reef sharks move over the shoal, and the small life is what rewards a slow pass with a torch: nudibranchs, crustaceans, molluscs and crocodilefish sitting flat against the substrate where a beam picks them out. Fish are dense across the garden. On the beach alongside, turtles haul out to sleep through the night.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Sea turtles
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Questions divers ask
Is Sèche Croissant a good night dive?+
Its site listing rates it as an ideal spot for one. The site is 8 m deep with no current, which keeps a night dive simple, and the coral garden holds nudibranchs, crustaceans, molluscs, crocodilefish and whitetip reef sharks after dark.
How deep is Sèche Croissant?+
About 8 m. The whole site is the top of a shoal in the lagoon off Îlot Maître, so there is no deeper section to descend to and the profile stays flat.
Sources
- Sèche Croissant — Scubago
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