The Pelagian cruises the outer reefs and surrounding atolls of the Wakatobi Archipelago.

Below are descriptions of some of the many dive sites visited by the Pelagian. Each cruise is different because seasons, weather conditions, currents, visibility, water temperatures all determine what dive areas and dive sites we visit. We also vary the type of dive sites based on the experience level of the diving group and interest in specific types of marine life. It's all very flexible to allow for the best possible cruise for each group.

If you would like to view all of the dive sites in a matrix/table format without the site descriptions, Click Here!

	Inner Pinnacle Formed by two distinct tops linked by a saddle. Main top as at 6m (18f), the saddle at 18m (50f)and the smaller pinnacle has the top at 11m (33f). This complex has steep wall on one side with big black corals and fan corals, schooling batfish and lots of reef fish, the other side is more slopey, sandy, with huge pink fan corals. There is a large school of Chevron barracudas and 2 smaller schools of Pickhandle and Forster's barracudas. Bottom depth around the pinnacles is about 70m (200f). Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Pinnacle Advanced **** **** 10-25 m map
	Terrace Gardens: This is a sandy circular slope that starts at 5m with a coral garden, ends gently at 20m (60f) on a drop off and is framed on the sides by reef walls. In the center there are some beautiful bommies and large table corals. It harbors schooling fusiliers, sweetlips, lots off anemones and fan corals. The dive can continue along the wall on both sides. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Sandy Slope Beginner * **** 5-20 m map
	North wall: A huge coral reef wall that separates from Hoga island through a lagoon. We are diving on the outside. The reef is steep, deep (100m (300f), very rich in corals, colourful, and has some nice overhangs. It offers schooling red snappers and reef fish, occasionally pygmy seahorses, tuna and sometimes barracudas. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Wall Beginner * **** 5-30+ m map
	Hoga buoy #5 A night or dusk dive that features a short wall from 5-25m (15-75f), which presents a labyrinth of huge overhangs and caves covered on the ceilings with orange cup corals, hanging soft corals, colored fan corals. It is not only interesting for the night critters, such as crustaceans, nudibranchs and fish, but also for the amazing colours it brings out with the torchlight. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Wall Beginner * **** 5-30+ m map
	Batu Turo North (Escape) This dive site is located on the Southeastern tip of Buton island. It is a steep wall, carved in the side at about 15-20m depth by a beautiful long and continuous overhang, 3-4m high bottom to ceiling. On the bottom and the sides there are black corals and whip corals, nudibranchs, jawfish, mantis shrimps and other critters, while looking into the blue on the open side there are occasionally eagle rays, tunas, big groupers, barracudas, jacks and whitetip sharks. The external wall is covered by thousands of juvenile Redtooth Triggerfish (which are blue) and orange Anthias, creating marvelous color games. There is a mild to medium current and we generally dive it with reef on the right hand side. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Wall/Overhangs Intermediate *** **** 5-20 m map
	Gone With The Wind The name is appropriate since current here is almost always quite lively and sweeps the divers for a long drift. This place is just at the end of "Escape", where the wall ends and turns into a coral garden (5-25m/15-75f depth) and continues deeper into a sandy plateau (30-35m/100-120f depth). Along this plateau, when currents are not too strong, it's possible to linger and sight eagle rays, white tips, schooling giant tunas, barracudas and jacks. After leaving the plateau the dive goes on first with the coral garden where lobsters, nudies, sea snakes, scorpionfish and lots more can be found, then with a less colourful wall that features turtles, schooling bumphead parrotfish and other fish. A great action dive. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Wall/Overhangs Intermediate *** **** 5-20 m map
	Cheeky Beach Located in front of a local village, Pasar Wajo, this site is called cheeky beach on account of all the local children who crowd the surface holding onto anything keeping them afloat, as they "cheekily" observe the divers with noisy curiosity. This is a site that you can dive repetitively - each dive is different and critters come out depending on the time of day and lunar calender. It is a shrimp breeding ground with the most rare and special shrimps found here in abundance, all in one area. Harlequin shrimp, Coleman shrimp, halimeda crabs to name a few of the impressive ones. Mostly a steep slope of round weathered stone and rock, moving mats of sea urchins creep steadily over the sand. Any coral outcrop is crawling with critters trying to stay out of site by day. There are frogfish and sea horses, invisible amongst the trash and broken bits of the villagers above water. Wonderpuss hunts warily, aware that while seeking prey it can become someones meal in an instant.Night dives bring out the bizarre - snake eels, spider crabs and goliath mantis shrimp and should never be missed. This is a 10 out of 10 muck dive! Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range sand/rubble slope Beginner *****! * 15-20m map
	Asphalt Pier This site is located at the base of an old asphalt production plant. The surface is a mangle of rusting shacks and sacks of junk. It's not pretty, but as you descend the rewards lie in wait. A sandy slope descends form four concrete pylons of the jetty and it is littered with large tyres, barrels and abandoned fishing traps between 9 and 15m. Tucked in the nooks and crannies are ornate ghost pipe fish, garden eels, nudibranchs and pegasus moth fish. Blue ribbon eels, and frogfish are frequently seen here. Other special photo opportunities here are the gold-specs jawfish incubating large egg masses in their mouths, and if you are lucky you can observe them briefly spit them out to aerate them and then quickly suck them back to safety. If not busy reproducing, the jawfish must keep house, darting in and out of their burrows with mouthfuls of sand. Other rare sightings include the wonderpuss and a burrow with four yellow-nose shrimp gobies and a single shrimp! Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Pier/Manmade Structure Beginner *****! * 0-40 m map
	Desert A shallow muck dive, the sand and sea grass slopes very gently from 5m to 15m. As always a few bits of rubbish here and there shelter critters and any small coral or rock was a concentration of small fish. The sea grass is shallow and the hunt is on for nudibranchs and sea horses. A bright yellow frog fish was found clinging to the green blades. Anemones jut out from the sand with aggressive clown fish guarding the open water above them. But most interesting, were the squid hunting the shallows in groups, jetting away from every turn of the camera. An interesting dive, but conditions can be tricky as it is very close to the beach. If the tide is low, the sea grass can be too shallow at 2-3m and surge is impossible if the wind is blowing onshore reducing visibility to 3-5m at most. Usually if conditions are poor, Pelagian will choose another location in its stead. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Sand/Grassy Slope Beginner ***** * 5-15 m map
	Magic Pier This is an amazing night dive place. A concrete block jetty has been built upon a shallow coral plateau (5m/15ft) ending at 8m/25ft on a gentle slope that goes down to 25m/75ft. The best is in the shallows. At dusk you can watch here families of Mandarin fish performing their beautiful courting dance which peaks in the mating. Among the residents there are several types of moray eels, ghost pipefish, hermit crabs, sponge crabs, freckled frog fish, cuttlefish and occasionally the rare blue ring octopus. This night dive is a must during the Pelagian trips. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Pier/manmade structure Intermediate ***** * 3-10m/10-30ft map
	Wanji Sea Mount Located almost in front of the local town of Wanji, Wangi Wangi West coast, this sea mount has its top at 4m/12ft, and continues along a ridge to 18m/55ft and up again to a second hill with the top at 10m/30ft. The whole sea mount is very rich in fan corals, soft corals, lush bushes of halimeda algae and lots of crevices. Diving along in drift you can see schooling fish such as big eye jacks, black and red snappers, tunas and some turtles. On the reef there are chances to find pygmy seahorse, mantis shrimps, orang utan crab, nudibranchs, and other critters. The dive ends on the shallow top (4m/12ft) where precious juvenile wrasses, leaf scorpion fish and false stone fish can be found. Best dived with some current. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range pinnacle advanced *** *** 34-30+ m map
	Alice in Wonderland (Wangi Wangi W coast) This dives offers a bit of all, coral garden, sand slope, wall. The central part is a very pretty garden that starts at 5m/15ft, slopes down to 20m/60ft and continues deeper as sand slope. Eagle rays, mobula rays and schooling bumphead parrotfish are occasionally passing by on the slope. On the sides the garden is getting steeper, ending on two steep points - with a top around 8m/25ft and bottom more than 50m/150ft. The points are usually swept by current and their walls are full of fan corals, soft corals and lots of fish. Bargibanti pygmys seahorse are not uncommon and Coleman's pygmys have been spotted as well. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range Wall/coral garden intermediate *** *** 5-30+ m map
	Metropolis - also called Taboo (SE of Wangi Wangi) This dive is carried out on a stunning reef plateau with a great variety of hard and soft corals, bommies and endless staghorn coral hills. The main reef reaches the surface and the plateau stretches out from it at 15m/45ft depth, slopes gently down to 25m/75ft, where it edges on a deeper wall that drops down to a sandy bottom at about 70m/200ft. Being frequently swept by currents, large schools of surgeon fish, barracudas, and oceanic triggerfish are roaming around, mixing up with colorful anthias and redtooth triggerfish, while jacks and big tunas are darting in to hunt on the fusiliers. Good chances to spot here also whitetips, blacktips and mobula and eagle rays. The dive can only be done with optimal weather conditions, and the current can be sometimes quite challenging. Type Skill Level Critter Rating Scenery Rating Depth Range reef plateau Advanced ** ***** 7-30 m map

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