Bonaire Dive South

[a1parrothead]

Hello from Bonaire!

Just arrived and am having Awesome dives! Great diving both north and south, had a great dive at Jeff Davis on the north end, and a great dive south at a newer dive called Nugs Lair where we saw 2 huge turtles and an eagle ray displaying some pretty cool behavior in the shallows on our swim back to shore! Overall, maybe the prettiest dive we have ever had on Bonaire in 5 years coming here! Stay tuned for more!

A1parrothead

 

[hroark2112]

Jeff Davis was one of the best dives on our trip in May. Where's Nugs Lair?? How do we find it?

 

[a1parrothead]

Nugs Lair is past Margate Bay, but before Red Beryl, so between those 2 sites. Probably the most spectacular dive we have done on Bonaire in many years of diving here. We will do it again before leaving!!

 

[redacted]

Does it have a marker?

 

[drrich2]

I found Sweet Dreams, way down south, particularly lush, but if you take a stab at that, be mindful it's far enough down south that I would imagine there's some risk of current at times. Take a look at the conditions. I believe I've dove it twice, and really liked it both times.

Richard.

 

[Chasin' Tales]

We dove that area trip before last. Good dive indeed! With the exception of Red Slave, currents in that area have been benign every time we've dived that area. Red Slave kicked our ass on one dive, but it's still one of our favorites. Our first eagle ray sighting was there in the shallows.

 

[mbs]

Vista Blue is our new favorite southern site. Easy sandy entry! We did blow it off one afternoon when the waves were crashing and we were tired. But its such a beautiful area to just hand out and watch the kite boarders play. How's the entry at Nugs Lair?

 

[glubglub86]

My wife and I are on Bonaire diving this week... and we dove Nug's Lair twice yesterday. The entry was easy enough - just a short walk across a tidal pool. You have to watch your step at the water's edge as there is a small step-down into the water.

We went south on the first dive. Saw Elkhorn, Staghorn, Brain, and lots of hard coral formations. The reef to the south slopes gently down to about 120 feet. We swam south about 20 minutes when we came to a very cool "forest" of soft corals. On the return swim at 35 feet we spotted four turtles, a giant green moray, and a school of squid.

In the afternoon we did the same dive but swam north. The drop-off was much steeper on the north side, but not quite a true wall. The north reef had far fewer soft corals, but did have very unique looking hard coral formations and "towers". I strongly suggest bringing a flashlight to explore this side of the reef. We found multiple octopus dens... although we didn't find any octopi. On the return swim we found 2 turtles and a giant school of squid.

I have to say that the 20-40 foot depth of this dive is a real treat, and very unique compared to other dives on the island.

 

[nettsbubbles]

A1Parrothead, thank you for posting about Nugs Lair, what an amazing dive! Just dove it his morning and saw two turtles, an eagle ray and a big fish ball, beautiful topography. I love this dive, maybe a new favorite on Bonaire.
With no mooring bouy the dive boats avoid it. I love that fact. Probably will not be long until they put a bouy here once the word gets out.

Keep us updated on your dive trip, as we are here another week and always looking for great dives.

 

[deedeediver]

Gosh, I wanted to go there this am,,, but a blood vessel broke in my eye when i coughed or sneezed before we were leaving......... Not sure if I can dive with this condiion, Sent DAN an email, but will follow up tomorrow fingers crossed......
Glad everyone is have a great dive!!