Watamu & Malindi, the area around Red Fire Place

Watamu & Malindi · Kenya · Reef

Red Fire Place

A wide variety of lionfish and leaf fish on mixed coral

Area photo: phil from uk · CC BY 2.0

A middle-reef site on the same 20-minute run as Canyon South and Dolphin Corner, dived for its lionfish and leaf fish. The reef runs from 10 m down to about 28 m over mixed coral holding a wide range of fish species, and the operator counts it among the sites beginners can dive.

Also known as Red Fire.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Red Fire Place: typical dive 10–28 m (33–92 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10 m28 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Watamu & Malindi and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

This is one of three sites the centre runs on the same stretch of middle reef, about 20 minutes out, and the reef here drops from 10 m to roughly 28 m. Most of the dive is worked along the reef rather than out over open water, so the profile can be kept shallow for a first or second dive of the morning or taken down to the base of the drop.

What the site is named for is the fish rather than the terrain: a wide variety of lionfish, and leaf fish that take a slower eye to pick out of the coral. The coral itself is mixed, and there are many different fish species over it, which makes this a site to swim slowly on rather than one to cover ground on.

Marine life and season

  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Red Fire Place
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimeGoodOff-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonFairGoodGoodGoodPrimePrime

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.

Questions divers ask

What do you see at Red Fire Place?+

A wide variety of lionfish and leaf fish over mixed coral, along with many other reef fish species. The reef runs between about 10 and 28 m.

Sources

  1. Dive Sites - Turtle Dive Watamu — Turtle Dive Watamu

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