Réunion · France · Reef · Wall · Cave & cavern
Cap La Houssaye
A shore entry in the marine reserve, 4 m to a small drop-off
Area photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cap La Houssaye is a shore dive on the west coast, inside the Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion, over coral-covered rock and sand between 4 and 18 m. A small drop-off, a seagrass bed with resident turtles and a cave occupied by spiny lobsters give it more variety than the depth suggests, and it is the site operators use for introductory dives.
Where it is and how deep
21.0179° S, 55.2352° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You walk in from the shore at the cape and follow coral-covered rock lying on sand, the reef running out to a small drop-off. The site starts at 4 m and the deepest ground is 18 m, so the profile is unhurried and the dive is spent working across the different pieces of terrain rather than pushing depth. All of it sits inside the Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion.
East of the entry is a seagrass bed where the resident turtles are usually found, and it is worth budgeting time for. The other set piece is a cave that spiny lobsters have made their home. Across the coral the reef fish are varied, catfish work the sand and shoals of juveniles pass through. The directory rates the same ground for a night dive as well.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Réunion: May–Oct is the dry season with the calmest water and humpbacks Jul–Oct; Jan–Mar is cyclone season.
Questions divers ask
Can beginners dive Cap La Houssaye?+
Yes. The site runs from 4 to 18 m and is one of the sites Réunion operators use for baptêmes and introductory dives, so any entry-level certification covers it.
Is Cap La Houssaye a shore dive?+
It is. The site is reached from the bank at the cape rather than by boat, and it lies inside the Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion.
Sources
- Cap La Houssaye — Carte de La Réunion
- Plongée — Côtoyer les fonds marins à La Réunion — Île de La Réunion Tourisme
More dive sites in Réunion
Wreck
A 1999 scuttling on her port side, holds full of soldierfish
Cave & cavern
A ten-metre arch cresting at 20 m, its feet on the bottom at 42 m
A coral flat to 20 m, then a wall from 20 down to 40 m
Cave & cavern
A collapsed reef cavern with easy galleries at 3 to 17 m
Pinnacle
Two basalt organ pipes 25 m tall, one pierced by a cave
Wall
Black sand to scree at 40 m, and a shy grouper at 50 m
A stepped wall dropping in two stages from 40 m to 70 m
Wreck
Depth figures for this scuttled lobster boat disagree by 34 metres
Similar dives elsewhere
A protected colony of endangered grey nurse sharks
Walk-in shore diving with a sheer wall and a garden-eel flat
A swim-through cave at 12 m beside the mooring
Coral drop-offs at 21 m under a ceiling of fusiliers