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
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
| 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.
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
- Dive Sites - Turtle Dive Watamu — Turtle Dive Watamu
More dive sites in Watamu & Malindi
Reef
A flower-like anemone full of shrimps and pipefish
Wreck
Glassfish and sweepers over a sponge-crusted trawler
Reef
A reef dropping from 10 m to 27 m, with nudibranchs in a range of colours
Reef
Octopus on the northern reef, where turtles are very common
Coral garden
A brain coral and a rare red anemone at 12 to 20 m
Wall
A sandy channel between two reef walls, with an arch full of glassfish
Reef
Watamu's inner reef at 8-10 m, with green and hawksbill turtles
Reef
Black coral and metre-wide basket sponges at 30 to 40 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Large sponges and red romans at 22 to 25 m off Cape St. Blaize
Air-trap overhangs and swim-throughs on a granite boulder reef
Three sponge-covered pinnacles off the Rooi-els shore
.jpg){kind=link}
Noble coral on every pinnacle, above sheer walls to the sand