Watamu & Malindi · Kenya · Reef
Black Coral
Black coral and metre-wide basket sponges at 30 to 40 m
Area photo: phil from uk · CC BY 2.0
The deep site on the Watamu centre's list, dived at 30 to 40 m for black coral, an animal most divers have never seen in the water. The same depth holds basket sponges of 1 to 1.5 m and rare blue and yellow sea cucumbers that stay put and filter feed in the open. Short bottom times and a deep certification are the price of entry.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Watamu & Malindi and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
Everything on this site sits between 30 and 40 m, so the dive is planned around bottom time rather than route: a direct descent, a set turn point, and a slow return up the profile. The run out is about 15 minutes, and the operator dives the site with experienced divers only, so the depth and the turn are agreed before anyone gets in the water.
What is down there is black coral, whose appearance is unfamiliar to most divers, along with huge basket sponges reaching 1 to 1.5 m across. The third thing to look for is a pair of rare sea cucumbers, blue and yellow, that do not move from their spot and can often be seen open, filtering food out of the plankton-rich water. A torch matters at this depth: colour is gone, and these are animals worth actually seeing rather than passing over.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Watamu & Malindi: Oct–Mar is the season, with whale sharks Nov–Feb; the kusi monsoon and long rains shut most centres from April to June.
Know before you go
- The site's features are all in the 30-40 m band, so narcosis and gas consumption set the dive, not the terrain: fix a turn pressure and a maximum depth on the boat and hold to both.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Black Coral site?+
The black coral, the large basket sponges and the sea cucumbers all sit between 30 and 40 m, which makes this the deepest dive on the Watamu centre's list.
Sources
- Dive Sites - Turtle Dive Watamu — Turtle Dive Watamu
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