Dive the Banda Sea

Koon Island

After back-rolling in you will drop down into warm, clear and shallow waters where the reef flat rises to 5 metres below the surface and from here, begin your descent down the wall. The ever-present current will guide you gently along the reef to your right as the wall comes to a point. On the wall you can expect the larger life to include dog-toothed tuna, schooling barracuda and jacks.

In the nooks and crannies of the wall you should look out for robust ghostpipefish quietly going about their business like a torn piece of vegetation, whose movements are seemingly at the whim of the ebb and flow of the water. Also here are the much-sought-after orangutan crab, most often at home in bubble coral. The little beast seems to have hairy orange limbs much like the great ape after which it is named.

Countless red-toothed triggerfish flutter their electric blue fins all around you and the occasional palette surgeonfish swims around on the wall, as spotted and giant morays gape from their holes.

The wall and the slope that comes to the point of the reef are heavily covered in corals, both hard and soft, including the ubiquitous orange dendronepthya and a lot of healthy cabbage corals, many of which are home to cleaner shrimps. Sea squirts, whip corals and several colours of crinoid all add to the healthy vibrance of the seascape. At the point is where the current is most keenly felt and it is here that many large and impressive reef fish can be seen. An enormous Queensland grouper is often sighted here together with white tip reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse. There is also the chance to spot possibly the biggest trevally you are ever likely to see.

At the point, you will probably have found some way of anchoring yourself to observe the big fish. To not do so will mean a drift into the obscurity of the blue. After drinking in the big fish action, you will need to slowly make your way up against the current and around the corner to a quieter section of the reef. Here you can run down your remaining air having fun with the field of spotted garden eels, craning high from their sandy burrows.

Koon Island Reef Basics: Wall and sloping reef
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: Moderate - strong (sometimes down)
Surface conditions: Can be choppy
Water temperature: 26 - 29°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 10 km (1 hours) east of Seram
Access: Banda Sea liveaboards

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