Rodrigues · Mauritius · Reef · Wall
Karlanne
Coral drop-offs at 21 m under a ceiling of fusiliers
Area photo: Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
A reef dive off the island's east coast, worked to about 21 m along coral-covered drop-offs. It is a fish and photography dive rather than a current one: plate corals held by clusters of butterflyfish, triggerfish working between them, and fusiliers filling the water just under the surface.
Where it is and how deep
19.7020° S, 63.4970° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Karlanne is dived off the east coast of the island, with the profile sitting at around 20 to 21 m depending on which part of the drop-off you follow. The ground is a run of coral-covered slopes and short drop-offs, and the dive works along them rather than heading out into open water.
The coral does most of the work. Large plate colonies stack out from the reef, each one jealously guarded by tight clusters of butterflyfish, and triggerfish — clown, picasso and olive — patrol the ground between them. Parrotfish crunch across the harder coral, and just beneath the surface a myriad of fusiliers hangs over the whole site, which is the image most divers keep.
Nothing about the dive is demanding, and the guides that cover Rodrigues list Karlanne for underwater photographers as often as for divers after reef life. Depth figures differ slightly between them — 21 m in the dive-site guides, around 20 m in the travel write-ups — and the drop-off profile lets you stay high on the reef and dive it shallower still.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Karlanne?+
Around 20 to 21 m. Published figures differ slightly — dive guides list 21 m, one account gives 20 m — and the drop-off profile lets you dive it shallower by staying high on the reef.
Sources
- Top 8 des plus beaux sites de plongée de l'île Rodrigues — Tropicalement Vôtre
- Les sites de plongée de Rodrigues — Spots d'Évasion
- Smart Travels: Scuba Diving in Rodrigues — Smart Travels blog
More dive sites in Rodrigues
Reef
Named after a grouper that changes colour on the spot
Pelagic & blue water
A blue descent with no reference onto a shelf at 25 m
Drift
A natural aquarium at 10 m, or a 50-minute tidal drift
Reef
Coral totems and valleys between two reef blocks
Coral garden
A sheltered lagoon pool at 7 m for first dives
Cave & cavern
Chimneys through the barrier reef that flood with daylight
Drift
A kilometre of channel drifted on the outgoing tide
Cave & cavern
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
Similar dives elsewhere
A shore entry in the marine reserve, 4 m to a small drop-off
Shallow plateau with dense fish and varied coral
Walk-in shore diving with a sheer wall and a garden-eel flat
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Hard coral gardens from 6 m to a 20 m drop-off