Djibouti Question

[Pocestnik]

Visibility varied depending upon the location & time of day. There are some strong currents around the Bay of Goubet, which directly impact visibility. For most dives, visibility was about 20 meters, but occasionally dropping to about 15. One earlier dive (day before liveaboard departure) we made on a wreck off Mousha Island had somewhat poor visibility & too many other divers stirring things up.

Marine life was abundant, since most local fishermen are afraid to fish the Bay of Goubet, due to strong currents & local folklore. The one thing overfished in the area are sharks, and the only one we saw was being hoisted by Chinese tourists on the beach at Sable Blanch. Otherwise, there were huge groupers, lots of spotted stingray, and an abundance of octopi. The more colorful fish were out in droves.

A few of the dive sites were fabulously rich with table coral. I am used to diving the Caribbean, so I was somewhat surprised with the lack of big coral. But my wife, who is more used to the Red Sea, said the coral were comparable to sites in Egypt.

As for the cost, it was the only reasonably priced thing was found in all of Djibouti. The price was $570, including equipment rental. The boat had cabin space for 16, but most of us slept up on deck, due to the wonderful weather & calm anchoring spots.

My wife & I also completed a PADI EAN course during our time between dives, but that was extra, of course.

 

[supergaijin]

Generally the sites close to Djiboutiville are poor to average. There are a few wrecks around Mousha- le Ranbo, le Fon and some others and there you can get a few more blue water fishes swimming around. Concentrating on macro can be rewarding with nudis and flabellina. There are some massive groupers at depth on some reefs- really huge goliaths that put the one at SharksYolanda to shame. But we're talking depths of 40-50m so often out of reach for the average tourist. Triggerfish in May get very frisky. Plenty of rays and if you can find out when and where they mate, it's be a great few dives.

Generally the viz is poor on the inside reefs where there is 0 current but this changes in the seasons, as well as with the winds. The Ramsin wind starting in June is fierce and can really churn the water up and potentially stop you from diving.

Coral life is fairly good- the corals have adapted to survive surface temps of over 35 degrees. I needed to go below 25m before it fell to 31 degrees. Mostly hard corals with limited soft coral at depth. The northern side of Tadjoura has dropoffs which resemble Sharm with gorgonians around the headlands but near Djiboutiville itself, there are sandy bottoms pretty much everywhere.

IMO liveaboard is the only way to go as the local sites are disappointing. Le Lagon Bleu has a DC on Moucha and a depot of sorts at the hotel Kempinski. They organise some trips to the northern side of the gulf where there are walls every couple of weeks or so. Also in the season they go up to the 7 Brothers.