Nuku Hiva · French Polynesia · Pelagic & blue water
La Sentinelle aux Marteaux
Scalloped hammerheads circling the islet that guards Taiohae Bay
Photo: Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
A small island standing like a sentinel at the eastern entrance of Taiohae Bay, on Nuku Hiva's sheltered south coast. Divers come for its namesake, scalloped hammerhead sharks, with a 70% chance of an encounter, and manta rays and stingrays are also seen.
Also known as Sentinelle aux Marteaux, Sentinelle de l'Est.
Where it is and how deep
8.9335° S, 140.0945° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive runs between 20 and 40 m off the islet at the eastern mouth of the bay, watching the blue for manta rays, stingrays and above all scalloped hammerheads. Plankton can leave the water murky, and hammerheads have come close enough for photographs in the clearer water at 15 m.
Marine life and season
- Hammerheads
- Manta rays
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Nuku Hiva: Boats run all year in 27–28 °C water; January and February bring melon-headed whales, July and August the rain.
Know before you go
- Plankton from the Equatorial upwelling cuts visibility, especially in the deeper part of the dive.
Photos from La Sentinelle aux Marteaux
Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
Sources
- La Sentinelle Aux Marteaux - Tahiti Tourisme — Tahiti Tourisme
- Diving the Marquesas (Divernet) — Divernet
Photo credits
- A dark moray eel with yellow-green speckles opens its mouth from a crevice in red-encrusted rock by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A single dark, almost black surgeonfish swims over pink and green encrusted rocks in blue water by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Similar dives elsewhere
Grey reef sharks at the mouth, then a drift into the lagoon
Tethered in open ocean at night as deep-water animals rise to the surface
A lit hang-bar at 16 m, GPS-marked over a trench more than 7,000 metres deep
Seamount
E-6
Bligh Water & Vatu-i-Ra · Fiji
A pinnacle climbing 900 m to within a metre of the surface