Rodrigues · Mauritius · Reef
Deux Maisons
Coral totems and valleys between two reef blocks
Area photo: Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
Two coral masses rising off the bottom like sculpted blocks give the site its name, with mounds, valleys and totem-like columns filling the ground between them. Guides put the site at about 28 m and treat it as one for confirmed divers, though visiting groups have dived it shallower, at around 20 m.
Where it is and how deep
19.6970° S, 63.5020° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is named for two coral formations that rise from the seabed like immense blocks sculpted by the ocean. Between and around them the ground breaks up into mounds, valleys and totem-like columns, so the dive is a wander through a coral maze of passages and short drop-offs rather than a straight line along a reef edge.
Published depth is about 28 m, and the guides giving that figure describe it as a site aimed mainly at confirmed divers. A first-hand report of a dive here with the Jacky centre records 20 m, fixed fauna and fine coral, so the site is evidently dived well above its maximum too, on a longer and easier profile.
Reef fish are spread right through the structure, with moray eels in the cracks, lionfish under the overhangs and rays in among the coral. The relief is what makes it: the surfaces carry dense fixed life, so the slower you go and the closer you look, the more the site gives back.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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.
Sources
- Les sites de plongée de Rodrigues — Spots d'Évasion
- Top 8 des plus beaux sites de plongée de l'île Rodrigues — Tropicalement Vôtre
- Le meilleur spot de plongée de Rodrigues — ile-rodrigues.fr
More dive sites in Rodrigues
Pelagic & blue water
A blue descent with no reference onto a shelf at 25 m
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
Coral garden
A sheltered lagoon pool at 7 m for first dives
Reef
Coral drop-offs at 21 m under a ceiling of fusiliers
Drift
A kilometre of channel drifted on the outgoing tide
Cave & cavern
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
Similar dives elsewhere
Sudden drop-offs below a boulder-strewn island shore
Grey reef sharks and silvertips resting on the slope at 15–25 m
A canyon cut diagonally through the middle of a channel reef
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180 m of reef with a pinnacle at each end, 10 m to 30 m