Rodrigues · Mauritius · Pelagic & blue water · Reef
Coco Fesse
A blue descent with no reference onto a shelf at 25 m
Area photo: Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
An offshore site three miles out from the barrier reef, dived as a blue-water descent: 25 m down with no reference of any kind, then arrival on a coral shelf with excellent visibility. Big snappers, barracuda, tuna and groupers work the shelf, and blacktip reef sharks come close enough to see properly.
Where it is and how deep
19.7550° S, 63.4700° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Coco Fesse lies about three miles outside the barrier reef, so the dive starts with a boat run into open water. You then go down through 25 m of blue with no reference of any kind — no wall, no line of reef, nothing to judge yourself against — until the shelf appears underneath you. The operator flags that descent as the character of the dive.
The shelf itself is a flat coral platform, and the visibility over it is what the operator singles out. Big snappers and barracuda hold above the ground, tuna pass through higher in the water, and groupers sit down in the coral. Blacktip reef sharks are the regular chance here rather than a certainty, and they come close enough to see well.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Tuna
- Groupers
- Reef sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
Season follows Rodrigues: May–Jul and Oct–Nov are the calmest windows; Jan–Mar brings cyclone risk and August can be windy.
Know before you go
- Descending through open blue with no visual reference makes depth control harder than it looks; follow the line or the guide and watch your gauge the whole way down.
Sources
- Les sites de plongée de Bouba Diving — Bouba Diving Center
- Top 8 des plus beaux sites de plongée de l'île Rodrigues — Tropicalement Vôtre
More dive sites in Rodrigues
Drift
A kilometre of channel drifted on the outgoing tide
Cave & cavern
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
Reef
A gentle slope to 34 m with arches and overhangs
Drift
A natural aquarium at 10 m, or a 50-minute tidal drift
Pinnacle
An offshore coral seamount with turtles in the tunnels
Reef
Named after a grouper that changes colour on the spot
Cave & cavern
Chimneys through the barrier reef that flood with daylight
Reef
Coral totems and valleys between two reef blocks
Similar dives elsewhere
An early-morning drop into the blue for hammerheads
Pelagic & blue water
Baixa do Amigo
Azores · Portugal
Almaco jacks and barracuda hunting clouds of blue jack mackerel
One of the few places whale sharks stay all year
.jpg){kind=link}
Sea fans and a cave at 40 m under a reef top anyone can dive