Dominica Dive Fest Diaries: Scuba diving in the south
Our recent trip to Dominica saw us diving with three different dive centres as part of the Dive Fest celebrations. Two of these dive centres are situated in the south of the island, with Dive Dominica situated just south of the capital, Roseau and Nature Island dive further south in Soufriere. Most of our diving in the south was based in the Soufriere Scotts Head Marine Reserve, the oldest Reserve on the island, and just a few minutes both ride from either dive shop.
The underwater topography mirrors the unbelievable scenery you see above the waves, with dramatic walls dropping to the depths and pinnacles rising up. All are covered in healthy and colourful corals, which are some of the best we have seen in the Caribbean.
Schools of small fish swarm around the coral reef heads. Lobsters fill every crevice and smaller crustaceans hide inside sponges. As you get your eye in, you start to see even smaller critters hiding on the reef, with blennies, frogfish and nudibranchs some of our favourites to watch out for.
One of the most famous dive sites in the south is Champagne Reef. Champagne Reef gets its name from the bubbles produced from the underwater hot springs in the area and is popular with divers and snorkelers alike. Our dive saw us tour the reef at the start of the dive, where we found a lone Nurse Shark, resting on the volcanic sand under a ledge in the reef wall. It seemed complete unperturbed by our presence.
The dive ended with us delighting in the main attraction of the hot springs, which create a curtain of warm jacuzzi like bubbles.
To see the full feature about our trip to Dominica in the new Autumn 2019 Dive Travel Adventures magazine click here.
For more information about the island and the dive centres we dived with follow these links:
