Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Reef
New Reef (Dom Te Te)
Coral bommies from 5 to 40 m with schooling fish
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
Coral bommies running from 5 metres down to 40, about 15 minutes by boat from the Soul Scuba Divers centre. It is a fishy site with a lot of different schools working the reef, and the shallow top is colourful enough that most divers finish the dive up there rather than on the deeper ground.
Where it is and how deep
0.5417° S, 130.6916° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef starts at about 5 metres and carries on down to 40, built up as coral bommies rather than one continuous slope. That structure is what makes the dive: you move from head to head rather than following a single edge, and the deeper bommies are where a profile gets committed, so pick a working depth on the way down instead of drifting steadily lower through the dive.
Schools of fish are the reason to come. Different schools work the site, and holding still beside a bommie generally shows more than swimming through them does. Finish the dive on the top of the reef, where the corals are at their most colourful and the shallow water stretches out whatever bottom time the deeper part of the profile has left you. The boat run is only about 15 minutes each way from the dive centre, so the site fits easily into a normal day without the crossing eating the morning.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is New Reef (Dom Te Te)?+
The reef runs from about 5 metres down to 40. Most divers spend the bulk of the dive higher up and finish on the shallow top of the reef.
Sources
- New Reef (Dom Te Te) dive site — ScubaGo
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
Hard coral grown over lava that reached the sea in 1988.
Current-swept corner with a pinnacle at 21 m for watching pelagics
Drift the ledge in around 50 m of visibility
Large table corals with turtles and whitetips over them