Banda Sea Diving

Soangi

Soangi is a little uninhabited island with nothing more than a radio antenna rising high above the thick vegetation and being over-flown by the birds that have made their home there. There is also life below the water's surface in such concentration that it provides a veritable feast for the senses.

Usually you will start the dive on the southern tip of the island where the gentle currents split and run down either side. As you descend down from the Banda Sea surface, a sloping reef rises up with a steep wall dropping off into the abyss. The wall is not particularly spectacular but is a good way to start this dive and is a prime spot for pelagics such as mackerel, dog-toothed tuna and barracuda.

Gradually the wall peters out and becomes a right turn onto another gently sloping reef where the full complement of sea life hits you. There is an uncommon trigger fish here which is present in extraordinary abundance. Literally thousands of black triggerfish, about the same size as the more common red-toothed variety, swarm all over this reef.

They are rivalled in number only by blue dash fusiliers, schools of which cascade endlessly down the slop, their vivid blue flanks darting past in numbers impossible to count. There is such an enormous amount of life at this exceptionally rich spot that no list could include all the many species visible. However, honourable mention must go to midnight snapper, bump-head and blunt head parrotfish, Napoleon wrasse, and jacks that are almost seemingly ever-present. Turtles and sharks are not uncommon too, normally with visits from black tips or, if you are in luck, a passing hammerhead.

The seascape is almost entirely bedecked in healthy corals, both hard and soft, and a variety of sponges. One side of the island shows some bleaching and dead acropora as well as the occasional crown of thorns, but mostly the health of the reef reflects the abundant fish life. Hard coral coverage is dominated by flex coral, laminar coral, blue coral, brown daisy coral, dome coral and crispy coral. Soft corals include wrinkled coral and various hues of dendronephthya.

Soangi Reef Basics: Sloping reef
Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: None - moderate
Surface conditions: Calm
Water temperature: 26 - 29°C
Experience level: Beginner - intermediate
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving season: March, April, and mid-September to mid-December
Distance: ~100 km (7 hours) south southeast of Ambon
Access: Banda Sea liveaboards

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