Manta Point

このポイントについて

Reef mantas circle a cleaning station in the shallows off Penida's south coast, where wrasse and angelfish work the parasites off their skin. The site is shallow, which is why it suits newly certified divers, but it faces the open Indian Ocean and the swell that arrives there is the whole character of the dive.

Sightings are good year-round rather than seasonal. The animals are resident, not passing through, so a blank day is usually about visibility and surge rather than absence.

見られる生き物

• Reef manta ray
• Bluespotted ribbontail ray
• Cleaner wrasse
• Titan triggerfish
• Occasional mola mola in season

うまく潜るために

• Stay low and still on the sand or reef and let the mantas come to you. Divers who swim at them push the animals off the station and end the encounter for everyone in the water.
• Do not touch, and keep clear of the space directly above a manta — bubbles rising into them is the fastest way to move them off.
• Expect surge in the shallows. Pick a hold before you need one rather than grabbing coral when a set comes through.