With resident dolphins, humpback and pilot whales in the southern winter and a dive site named after the beautiful green turtles that have settled there, it is easy to see why Mauritius is a diver’s paradise. On a recent trip, I was happily surprised to discover this island is not only bursting with life. It’s also one of the best dive destinations for wreck diving.
With over 10 wrecks up and down the northeast coast, you are sure to find a wreck to suit your diving experience in Mauritius. The calm diving conditions and near-perfect visibility make this an ideal location to begin your life-long obsession with wrecks.
Here are my top three wrecks:
Emily and Waterlily
Max depth: 25 meters (82 feet)
With such a charming name, you’d be forgiven for thinking this dive site was named after the two resident frogfish that divers regularly see here, rather than the two sunken fishing barges.
Emily and Waterlily were purposely sunk in the early 1980s. The barges are brimming with brilliantly colored soft coral and are home to hundreds of different types of fish – bluestripe snapper, Moorish idols, surgeonfish, nudibranchs and yellow mouth morays, to name a few. The wrecks are right next to each other, and when you’re drifting around, you can’t help but feel you’re in a diver’s playground.
Both wrecks are relatively small, covered in bright coral and easy to explore, making them the perfect place to begin your wreck diving obsession.
Stella Maru
Max depth: 25 meters (82 feet)
Purposely sunk in 1987 by the Mauritius Conservation Society, Stella Maru has had over 30 years to become an artificial reef teeming with life. This old Japanese trawler is a poster girl for wreck diving.
While descending to the 52 meter-long wreck, I felt a sense of drama and awe. As she came into view, she was sitting upright, with her mast still intact, waiting for us to explore her.
As we looked into the rooms and through the portholes, we found the ship occupied with schools of yellow snapper. They must’ve forgotten to put up the ‘do-not-disturb’ sign on the door!
Along with octopus, surgeonfish, lionfish, and moray eels, keep an eye out for the scorpion and stone fish that lurk on the bow.
Djabeda Wreck
Max depth: 30 meters (100 feet)
During our briefing for the Djabeda Wreck dive, Francois (our dive guide and host for the week) proudly told us he was part of the team that sunk Djabeda!
The wreck is located just off the bay at Coin de Mire Island, so we made sure to watch for dolphins as we cruised over. Although unlucky with finding dolphins, it was hard to miss the flocks of white-tailed tropicbirds that were flying around us.
Djabeda Wreck is a perfect dive for more experienced wreck divers who want to go wreck diving in Mauritius. Due to her location, the currents are stronger here, and, despite our negative entry into the water, we still over-shot the ship and spent a little while swimming towards her. This isn’t a dive for the faint-lunged.
With parts of the wreck guarded by giant morays, the huge anchor is not to be missed. Over the last 20 years, this wreck has attracted schools of tropical fish, including yellow snappers, butterfly fish, angelfish and damsels. Don’t forget to keep a keen eye out for the nudibranchs that creep along her hull.
Credits
This article was written by Mayen Colyer.
Many thanks to Francois, Kris and Gideon at Diving World Mauritius and everybody at Victoria Beachcomber for hosting the writer and showing the writer the wonders of the local underwater world.
And, a special thanks to British Airways for sponsoring our non-stop flights from Gatwick London Airport to Mauritius.
Check out Mayen’s Facebook live post on the PADI Travel channel to get more information about diving in Mauritius.
Are you ready to dive into the wrecks of Mauritius? Consider becoming a certified Wreck Diver, then check out our dive and stay options in this paradise!
