Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Coral garden · Pinnacle · Reef
Melissa's Garden
The area's most reliable tasselled wobbegong sightings
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
Melissa's Garden is built around three small islets sitting in a triangle - Batu Burung, or Bird Rocks - with two pinnacles rising from a shallow plateau of hard and soft coral. The sloping reef drops to 20 m and bottoms out on sand. It is the most dependable spot in the area for tasselled wobbegong, and the plateau above carries dense hard and soft coral.
Also known as Batu Burung, Bird Rocks, Melissa Point.
Where it is and how deep
0.5899° S, 130.3152° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The recommended way to run the dive is to start on the outside slope and work your way up to the top, in between the two pinnacles. The slope carries assorted hard and soft coral down to 20 m, where it bottoms out onto sand, so the deep part of the dive is short and the plateau above takes most of the bottom time rather than the other way round.
On top the reef is dense coral between the pinnacles and it repays going slowly. Tasselled wobbegongs are the site's signature - this is the best spot in the area for regular sightings of them, flat under coral rather than swimming - and one very large great barracuda is a fixture here. Manta rays pass over occasionally, though they are not the reason to book the site.
Marine life and season
- Wobbegongs
- Barracuda
- Manta rays
- Pristine corals
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Raja Ampat: October to April is the drier stretch and November to April the manta season at Manta Ridge; July to mid-September can bring strong winds and rough seas.
Dive videos
Melissa's Garden, Penemu, Raja Ampat · Maria Savanayana on YouTube
Raja Ampat's Garden of Eden. Scuba Dive at Melissa's Garden. · Reef Nomad on YouTube
Sources
- Melissa's Garden Dive Site | PADI — PADI
- Diving Sites Indonesia - Raja Ampat — Dive The World
- Raja Ampat diving guide — Divezone
More dive sites in Raja Ampat
Reef
Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current
Schooling jacks hunting silversides under the village jetty
Overhang at 28-35 m with the wall dropping past 50
Reef
Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m
House reef from the jetty at 2 m down to 20 m
Pinnacle
Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season
Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating
Wall
A drift from schooling fish on the point to macro on the slope
Similar dives elsewhere
Temple, cabbage and mushroom coral in 15 m of water
Fusiliers and damsels wearing colours you would not expect
A shallow coral canyon on the tip of a rocky islet
A coral plateau at 18 m, swarmed by fish and turtles