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Adventures
SCUBA/Snorkeling
Best known for its diving, Belize is nestled along
almost 200 miles (322 km) of pristine barrier reef –
second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef –
and offers some of the best wall, reef dives, and
snorkel locations in the
world.
Unlike some of the
northern areas of the reef, the southern section near
River House Lodge has few divers visiting the many dive
sites.
The recently established Southwater Caye Marine reserve
is just about 10 miles from the mouth of the Sittee
River and provides a divers dream of patch reef, drop
offs and wall diving.
This area of the Belize barrier reef was protected for
the diversity of marine habitats and life. From
the rich mangrove roots of the numerous cayes, vast sea
grass beds, shallow coral reefs, coral mounds outside of
the barrier reef to the vertical walled drop off, this
region is home to both large marine life like turtles,
manatee, eagle rays,
king mackerel, moray eels,
southern stingrays, several shark species,
barracuda, turnicates and the most colorful small fish
and coral formations
(including black coral).
Water conditions vary only
slightly throughout the year. In winter, the water
temperature can dip to 79oF (26oC)
while in summer it
peaks at 84oF (29oC). Water visibility varies seasonally
between the windward and leeward sides of the atolls. Visibility is almost always 100-150 feet (30-45 meters) on
the barrier reef and atoll reefs along the windward
side. It may be as low as 25-50 feet (8-24 meters) behind
the atolls when seas are rough, but most often it is
greater than 100 feet (30 meters).
Many people dive and
snorkel these
waters without any form of wetsuit, but a 1/8-inch (3
mm) shortie in the winter season and a lycra suit (skin)
for summer add comfort for single tank dives. If you are
planning to make repetitive dives for a week, you might
want a 1/8-inch (3 mm) farmer john or full wetsuit.
Belize also have three out of
the Western Hemisphere’s four coral atolls – Lighthouse
Reef, Glover’s Reef and Turneffe Atoll. Glover's
Reef is the closest (16 miles east of the barrier reef)
but all are accessible from our location.
Named for pirate John Glover,
Glover's Reef probably best represents
the incredible diversity and pure diving potential that
Belize has to offer and includes a number of great wall
dives and other unique features, including "The
Pinnacles" on the west side of Glovers showcases about
20 standing out from the wall and "Hole In the Wall"
which provides a series of swim-through holes. |
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Second Nature
Divers is just down stream from River House Lodge
and offers good tours, instruction, and equipment at
affordable prices.
For the adventurous we
recommend:
Whale Shark Trip -
Gladden's Spit in the Silk Caye Marine Reserve, where
the largest fish in the sea, the whale sharks, come
during the week of the full moon in April, May and June.
Each year during the full moon Mutton and Cuberra
snapper spawn here. The giant whale sharks come
from far away to feed on the spawn and to mate. It
is common on this dive to see schools of snapper in the
thousands with whale sharks passing through them.
Sharks Cave Trip -
“Sharks Cave” is a deep cavern dive for experienced
divers only, the entrance of the cave is a hole in the
sea bed. Black tip and Caribbean reef sharks are
often seen in the cavern. The floor of the cave is
over 200 feet deep but our maximum depth for this dive
is 110 feet. |
