2008 Departure Dates
Volunteers can join from 2 weeks to 3 months.

04 February
03 March
07 April
05 May
06 October 

2009 Departure Dates

02 March
13 April 

Volunteers arrive in Inhambane airport. Those who need dive training (OW and AOW) arrive on the first monday (date above), those needing AOW arrive on the Friday (4 days later) and certified divers the subsequent Friday (a week later).

The Project starts (with everyone qualfied to go 'Underseas') on the Saturday.

Additional departure dates for individuals and small groups can be arranged at any time, as can tailor-made trips for dive clubs. For more information call Chris on 01444 474744.

Dive Sites
Dive Training
Not a diver yet
Taster Dive

Marine Life
Mozambique boasts an abundance of marine life including:

Whale sharks
Whale sharks are gentle, non-aggressive plankton feeders that can reach up to 12m in length with average lengths of 8-9m. During November and March, numbers of whale sharks are high with up to 20 individual sharks being spotted during 30 minute boat journeys. The whale sharks cruise along, at or just below the surface so its best to simply snorkel with them. During the winter months there are fewer whale sharks in the area but it is still possible to see them on occasions. Very little is known about the lives and behaviour of these sharks.

Manta Rays
Manta rays are permanent residents of some of the cleaning stations located along the Mozambique coast. These poorly studied creatures can grow to over 6 metres (wingspan) and are incredible underwater. Their graceful movements and apparent indifference to divers make them a spectacular site. These peaceful animals have been fished to extinction locally in the Philippines and are threatened in many coastal waters including Mozambique. Diving alongside them at Manta Reef is almost guaranteed and hence one of the main threat assessments Quest attempts to determine is what level of dive tourism these cleaning stations can sustain.

Humpback Whales
These whales visit the area from June until October each year. The whales spend the preceding months in Antarctic waters feeding on large amounts of krill, before migrating up the east coast of Africa to mate and give birth. After a gestation period of around 12 months, females give birth to one calf which is suckled for a further 11 months. Females then fall pregnant again.
Humbacks often jump fully out of the water (breaching) and slap their tails and fins on the surface which is behaviour thought to be associated with mating. While diving, it is possible to hear them 'singing' to one another - a sound that can be heard from up to 2km away! It is important not to disturb these creatures, especially mothers and calves, so boats are advised to keep a respectable distance of no less than 20m away.

Dolphins
Dolphins can be seen in Mozambican waters most of the year but June, July and August are very good months for sightings. There are various species of dolphins in this area including bottlenose, common and humpback dolphins. Dolphins are rarely seen alone. They generally congregate in groups known as pods - sometimes in very large numbers. Dolphins have been seen riding the waves almost in to shore and playing at the bows of diving and fishing boats.

WE DO NOT TOUCH ANY MARINE LIFE.

Dive Sites

Manta Reef - Max Dive Depth: 28m
This is probably one of the finest dive sites in Africa. The reef offers a huge diversity of marine life including numerous giant mantas (up to 6m in width) giving the reef its name. The reef has north and south walls with adjacent pinnacles of rocks creating gullies at depths of 24m to 28m. The top of the reef is quite flat with beautiful soft corals. The walls provide shelter for large schools of yellow snapper, barracuda, big eyes, fusiliers, hundreds of bright blue, red-tooth trigger fish, tiny goldies, fairy basslets and so on. Large potato and other groupers inhabit overhangs and small caverns, along with large trumpet fish, green turtles, and sweet lips. The list of marine life is endless!
The cracks and crevices are home to scorpion fish, morays (giant, honeycomb, geometric, yellow-edge and white mouth), crocodile fish, Spanish dancers and a whole array of nudibranches and cowries. There are three main cleaning stations where huge manta rays circle and hover to allow small fish to remove parasites from their bodies. Playful devil rays and sometimes eagle rays swim above the reef and it is sometimes possible to see white tip reef sharks.

The Oasis - Max Dive Depth: 24m
The Oasis is another stunning reef at around 24m with numerous overhangs and shallow caverns and excellent hard and soft corals. There are two main cleaning stations here that attract the large mantas and it is often possible to see leopard sharks resting on the sandy bottom. Also in residence are white tip, black tip and silver tip reef sharks. Other large rays such as devil rays, blotched fantail rays and Jenkins whip rays are common. Large giant and honeycomb morays curl up in crevices. Potato groupers are curious enough to get very close to divers. On closer inspection, the corals offer hiding places for spiny lobster, egg cowries, Spanish dancers and large scorpion fish. Shoals of big eyes, yellow snapper, goldies and sometimes barracuda drift over the reef.

Galleria - Max Dive Depth: 28m
This is a long wall where currents often create an exciting drift dive. The bottom of the wall is at 30-35m and the top of the reef is between 26-28m. Giant mantas can also be seen on this site, cruising along the wall which provides shelter for various rays, shoals of red-tooth trigger fish, goldies, lobster, scorpion fish and so on. Fragile green tree corals hide all kinds of morays from large honeycomb to small geometric and white-mouth. The wall provides perfect cover for large, rarely seen frog-fish. Devil rays and small reef sharks can also be seen occasionally.

Table Top - Max Dive Depth: 30m
Table Top is a deeper site with a curving wall - down to 40m at the bottom and 30m on the top of the reef. Beautiful green tree corals are home to hundreds of goldies and fairy basslets, many kinds of morays and so on. The ever-present potato groupers are just as curious on this site. The wall gives shelter to schools of Moorish idols and banner fish and the occasional manta ray will also cruise past.

Crocodile Rock - Max Dive Depth: 16m
This site is named for the many large crocodile fish that lie on the bottom on flat rocks and sandy areas. The top of the reef is at around 14m with large craters going down to around 16m. The craters provide excellent shelter to all manner of marine life - schools of snappers and big eyes hang almost motionless, various types of angel fish, butterfly fish, large bright yellow trumpet fish, clown trigger fish, large common lionfish and so on. There are many types of box fish and puffer fish. Overhangs and crevices provide shelter for lobster and banded coral shrimp. Blue spotted Kuhl's stingrays and scorpion fish lie still on the bottom next to egg and tiger cowries

Praia da Rocha - Max Dive Depth: 18m
Praia da Rocha (Beach of Rocks) is a fringing reef with excellent hard and soft corals. The reef slopes up to the surface and the corals at 5m are beautiful, but this area can only be dived when there is little surge. The outer edge of the reef is at about 18m. The pinnacles of rocks form excellent gullies and swim-throughs with overhangs, caverns and large crevices. There are beautiful Spanish dancers, nudibranches and cowries. Honeycomb and zebra morays hide in the cracks and very large spiny lobster can be found sheltering under shelves of rock. White tip reef sharks, turtles and eagle rays can sometimes be found here, plus many other reef fish, schools of barracuda, snappers and sweet lips. Praia da Rocha is a good site for encountering whale sharks during peak season.

The Arena - Max Dive Depth: 20m
The Arena is very similar in topography and marine life to Crocodile Rock but the craters are deeper with higher walls. The deepest areas are around 20m with the top of the reef between 14m and 12m. The large craters make ideal sheltered homes for many different reef fish and the walls are covered with hard and soft corals. Excellent swim-throughs!

Clown Fish Reef - Max Dive Depth: 11m
Clown Fish Reef is right in the bay at Tofo and the shallowest of our reefs. The reef is protected in the bay and makes for an ideal nursery and there are many juveniles - iridescent juvenile emperor angelfish, tiny lion fish, baby octopus, small scorpion fish and so on - many fish, perfect miniatures of the adults. There are many different species of anemone and clown fish.

The Amazon - Max Dive Depth: 28m
Amazon Reef is the furthest from our site, but is one of the most spectacular dive locations, making a visit well worth the extra effort! Amazon is a stunning horseshoe shaped reef with a maximum depth of 28m on the sandy/rocky bottom inside the horseshoe, and the reef top depth varying between 22m and 24m. The site is an excellent one for spotting white tip reef sharks and leopard sharks, of which there are several residents. Also in residence is a large loggerhead turtle and also sometimes a green turtle or two. Schooling barracuda circle above and huge, table-sized fantail rays guard the borders of the reef. Other visitors include devil rays and the occasional giant manta. There is a stunning array of beautiful reef fish in staggering numbers, plus hunting blue-fin trevally and yellow-fin tuna on occasion, and many colourful nudibranches and cowrie shells.

Krakatoa - Max Dive Depth: 18m
Krakatoa is close both in proximity and topography to Praia da Rocha but can be dived more frequently as it is not affected by surge. Maximum depth is 18m and our drop point is right in the middle of this site. High walls and rock formations with colourful hard and soft corals form an arena and are home to huge honeycomb moray eels, large spiny lobster, strange and beautiful cuttlefish and octopus and fascinating nudibranches. Krakatoa has interesting swim-throughs and reef sharks can sometimes be found resting under the overhangs. This is a very relaxing dive with all of the stunning reef fish from the area in abundance.

Dive Training
For this project we require all our volunteers to be PADI Advanced Open Water (or an equivalent qualification from other recognised scuba diving bodies) scuba divers.
Due to the nature of the research you will be carrying out and the close proximity you will have to both Whale Sharks and Manta Rays it is essential that all divers have full control of their buoyancy and are confident in the water.

Not a diver yet?
That's fine! If you're not currently a qualified scuba diver you can still join the team. We offer set departure dates, so all non-divers will fly out 2 weeks before the rest of the team to get their PADI Open Water and/or Advanced Open Water qualification.
To do this option and learn to dive in the beautiful Indian Ocean just check our courses page or call Chris.

Alternatively Quest Underseas can offer advice on gaining part or full dive training in advance of the project at a suitable location in the UK. Just contact us for details on 01444 474744.

Taster Dive
If you have never dived before then we ask all volunteers to try a 'taster dive' before they join the project. Call Chris to find out where your nearest pool is and book your taster dive! 01444 474744 or email chris@questunderseas.com