Top Snorkeling and Scuba Diving in Ha'apai

This is the grand canyon of Ha'apai. This site is unique for its topography, which consists of huge overhangs, some stretching for over 50m. For the majority of the dive the overhangs sit either side of you as they adorn both sides of a long sandy channel. Underneath you will find Lobsters, an incredible array of whip coral shrimps, a number of Lionfish, Sea fans, Sweetlips and Nudibranchs. Cruising along the sandy channel you will often see Eagle Rays, Large skools of Unicorn Fish, large Groupers, Napoleon wrasse and the occasional Leopard Shark.

Stretching to the edge of Ha'ano itself, the corner offers a little bit of everything. The dive starts shallow, but quickly drops of around the end of the reef usually to a depth of around 30m. Often at this point huge skools of Tuna greet you. These graceful fish look like they are flying in squadrons, with the largest of the skool taking the front position and often measuring 2m in length. The dive then continues back towards the island along a sloping reef that drops to 50m+, often looking out into the blue you can spot more Tunas, Giant Barracudas and the occasional Grey Reef Shark. The slope itself has a huge variety of Butterfly fish, Coral trouts, Wrasse, Fusiliers and Angel Fish. Hidden between the rocks you can find Moray Eels, Nudibranchs and Lion Fish At the end of the slope you cross the sandy channel to a shallower depth of around 16m, where you can enjoy a number of Swim throughs, which adorn large Gorgonian fans and some beautiful hard corals. In 2008 we had some great Whale encounters here - including one on Scuba!

A leisurely dive around a large number of coral bommies which attract Nudibranchs, Pipefish, large numbers of Goatfish and Eagle rays along with the usual reef fish you expect to find gracing a tropical reef in the Pacific. Inga'a also boasts some beautiful shallow swim throughs, where you can spot bull rays and Lionfish. There are also some fascinating garden eels, which number in there thousands all along the sand that lye between each coral bommie and an incredible array of beautiful caverns!

Exciting swim throughs, massive overhangs, winding tunnels and huge coral bommies set the scene for a really satisfying dive. Beginning on the inside of the reef system we literally make our way through the reef to the outer face and the darkening depths before winding back to the shallows amid throngs of reef fish and amazing coral. Eagle rays and white tips can sometimes be seen but keep an eye out for the critters on this one. Whip coral shrimps and Bubble Coral Orangutan Crabs are just two of the many special subjects for the Macro photographer here.

Named for the two medium-sized pinnacles that grace this spot, the sister can hod any number of surprises. On the landward side, the dive site is relatively shallow (around 15m), but drops dramatically to 80m+ on the seaward side. Large skools of Fusiliers swim in the blue and a large variety of Basslets grace the top reef in big numbers. The drop off on each seaward side of the two seamounts can be home to pelagic life as well as Trigger fish, Trumpet Fish, Sweetlips, Coral trouts, Banded sea snakes, Moray eels, Giant Clams and a large number of Damsels. The top of both pinnacles is where critter hunters can find Leaf Scorpion fish, Scribbled pipefish, Crabs and a large number Nudibranchs.