
Poindimié & Hienghène · France · Pinnacle · Cave & cavern · Channel & pass
Just for Nous
A cave at 25 m with a resident moray on a pass pinnacle
Area photo: Unknown author · Public domain
A pinnacle hidden in the middle of the Ant Pass off Poindimié, with a cave at 25 m reached by a slalom between the gorgonians and guarded by a resident moray eel. Gorgonians on the pinnacle hold schools of anthias, and moray eels, kingfish, jacks and barracuda work the pass around it. The entry can be rough when the current is running.
Where it is and how deep
20.8886° S, 165.4789° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The pinnacle stands in the middle of the pass, so the dive starts with a prompt entry when the water is moving; the operator's own warning is that launching can be rock and roll depending on the current. Once down on the pinnacle the rock gives shelter from the pass, and the route leads down to a cave at 25 m. Getting to it means slaloming between the gorgonians, in the operator's words, to be able to pass.
The cave is the point of the dive. A moray eel lives at its mouth, the guardian of this temple in the operator's words, and the visit is a hello to madame moray before the dive works back up the pinnacle through the gorgonians. Schools of anthias hang in the fans there, and photographers need enough light to pick them out against the sea fans. Moray eels, kingfish, jacks and barracuda pass in the open water of the pass around the pinnacle.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Poindimié & Hienghène: Diveable year-round, weather permitting. Dec–Apr is cyclone season and Jan–Mar the wettest months; mid-Sep to mid-Nov is driest but the trades blow hardest then. Winter water can fall to 20°C.
Know before you go
- Entry in current: the boat drop can be rough when the pass is running, so gear up before arrival and descend promptly on the operator's signal.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Just for Nous?+
The cave sits at 25 m, which is the deepest figure the operator publishes for the site. The rest of the dive works back up the pinnacle through the gorgonians.
What will I see at Just for Nous?+
A resident moray eel at the cave mouth, other morays, kingfish, jacks and barracuda in the pass, and schools of anthias in the gorgonians on the pinnacle.
Sources
- Just for Nous — Scubago dive site — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Poindimié & Hienghène
Cave & cavern
A chimney and cavern that exit onto the trench ridge at 60 m
Wall
Gorgonians over 4 m long on a wall that drops past 120 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Up to 30 manta rays reported over one cleaning-station boulder
Four sunlit tunnels bored through a coral mountain
Sinularia soft coral bending in the current on one bommie
A 4 m coral top, soft coral at 15–25 m and almost no current



