Seychelles, 13 April 2006:
Scuba diving and snorkelling around North Island is nothing short of an
adventure. With 22 dive sites on offer, there is enough for any avid scuba
diver to explore for days on end.
With no less than 8 dive sites in the immediate vicinity of North Island, a
short boat ride will take you to visit the resident white tip reef sharks,
rays, trumpet fish, orbicular bat fish, devil fire fish, fusiliers and many
more underwater species. If it is the slightly longer boat ride that you
are after, where two dives can easily be achieved before returning to the
island, North Island has a further 5 sites of this caliber. Or if it is
just a once off visit to one of these sites and a return trip for lunch,
this can be accommodated too. Our guest requirements are what we work
around. We offer advice, suggestions and possible alternatives, but no
dive is pre-set. What about a day trip, with lunch on board and two dives
to plan? This too can be arranged with more than 6 sites to choose from;
perhaps it will be a possible visit to the sunken tanker the Annerdale
wreck, or perhaps a visit to Shark Bank, near Mahe, or the allure of South
Marianne, where the wall type topography and cathedral swim thru's are just
breathtaking, or the possibility of sighting no fewer than 20 grey reef
sharks. The list is endless.
Notwithstanding the variety of dive sites, by way of fish life and
topography, the North Island dive centre teach all sanctioned PADI Dive
courses, from the age of 10 years old and upwards. Specialty courses can
also be taught, with the likes of Wreck Diver, Night Diver, Deep Diver,
Drift Diver or Underwater Naturalist Diver on offer.
On another note and away from scuba diving courses and dive trips, and on
to a subject that every member of the team is passionate about, and that is
research. North Island prides itself on being integrally involved in the
Coral Reef Monitoring programme for Seychelles and the Whale Shark research
programme for Seychelles. The dive team does bi-annual coral monitoring
dives to count fish, measure coral growth and check on the health and
numbers of all marine life. With regards to the whale shark programme,
data is captured on all sightings with focus on the size of the animal,
sex, whether it has been previously tagged or not, direction of movement,
weather and ocean conditions and the behaviour of the animal. The
environmental team on the island is also involved with the dive centre team
on these events. The coral life in Seychelles has grown steadily since El
Nino in 1998. Healthy fish populations provide much entertainment on the
dive sites, the most common sightings being that of Wahoo, Dorado (dolphin
fish), many species of Kingfish, Yellow Fin Tuna and Barracuda.
In a nutshell, we have a lot to offer experienced divers or those that want
to visit the underwater realm for the first time. The main pool has been
built for comfort as well as diver training and boasts a perfect gradual
slope down to 2.1m in the deep end.
This article was written and contributed by Debbie Smith,
Activities Manager and Dive Instructor at North Island. Debbie began
diving in 1986 and has been diving professionally since 1996.
She can be reached via email at
and via phone in the Seychelles at +248 527490 (GSM) or +248 293100 (Office).
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