Djibouti - New Year 2006/2007
by Brian Broadbridge

There were so many of them! I didn’t know where to look!
And so there were. Whale sharks that is, and that’s the reason for going to Djibouti, or the main one.
Dji – where? Alan Larsen and I travelled south to the horn of Africa. Tucked at the foot of the Red Sea where it meets the Indian Ocean, Djibouti was a former French colony known as French Somaliland. Next door to the North is Eritrea, to the West is Ethiopia and to the South is Somalia. Do not worry however as you have the largest French permanent overseas military base there which they share with the Americans. So you are well protected in this strategically positioned country.
We were on a week’s liveaboard boat, the M. V. Mila, over the New Year period leaving on a direct flight from London, Gatwick. You travel from the Gulf of Tadjoura, where Djibouti town is, to the North. After a tryout dive at Maskali Island in the Gulf of Tadjoura, we motored North to the Sept Frere (Seven Brothers) Islands where the Indian Ocean meets the Red Sea.

The Sept Frere group of islands was our main base for the next three days and there was plenty to do. We were greeted by dolphins swimming around the boat at Les jardins Chinois, always a good start! The diving revealed turtles, blue spotted sting rays, a honeycomb moray eel and the usual fish life of groupers, batfish, damsels, trevally and potato cod. These Indian Ocean reef fish, amongst others, were with us throughout the trip.
Rhonda Island showed us mobula (small mantas) swimming in formation, as well as a free swimming moray eels, one a huge honeycomb again. The La Siesta night dive involved a large porcupine fish. Next day at the Japanese Gardens, named after the resplendent corals, we saw large morays, a large sting ray and smaller blue spotted sting rays. There was a large leopard shark sleeping under a ridge.
The arch at Tolka Island involved a fast current, fine for UK divers trained to put up our DSMBs with practised nonchalance! Back to La Siesta next morning for a drift dive ending with an exploratory shallow cave inhabited by cleaner shrimp. A large leopard moray completed this dive. We ended our Sept Frere stay at Isle Boeng and Isle Est amongst coral gardens and the usual reef fish.

Motoring back to the Gulf of Tadjoura for New Year, we dived the site at Ras Eiro, greeted by a large Napoleon wrass as well as a school of chevron barracuda. There were many moray eels, a couple free swimming, the most morays that I have ever seen free swimming! Then on to the bay of Arta.
This was a relatively shallow bay off a beach and here you donned your snorkel, for our “dive” did not involve scuba gear. A quick search aboard the dive motor boat soon resulted in a large fin, then more appearing above the water. Here they were, whale sharks that is.
Most if not all were young adults or juveniles who come here for what? Mating, just feeding, who knows? The world’s largest fish is just a planktonic feeder and ours were from 4 – 6 metres long (12 to 20 feet). First one thrilled us, then it was joined by another swimming slowly around us. Then another, until you could not work out how many there were! Buzzing us out of nowhere, they passed so close you wondered how these gentle giants avoided banging into us. They were certainly not shy of humans!
As if that were not enough, we were joined by a young manta ray, curious to the hilt. After eyeing us, as mantas do, it had an exploratory swim around us to decide that we were not dangerous and then played with us by circling and doing under water somersaults! Who says fish are not intelligent? This manta was having fun! And so were we!
We naturally had several snorkel dives around the whale sharks and solitary manta in this amazing place.

We motored further into the gulf to finish the trip by diving Ras Eiro reef, with the ever present moray eels in abundance and the largest table coral that I have ever seen , and then Les Isle des Requins (sharks) with yet more whale sharks. The last dives were at Ras Eiro West where the photographer Alan almost had a collision with a turtle who not a bit shy of divers! Extraordinarily, an anemone “nemo” fish not much bigger than a thumbnail attacked this turtle invading its patch by bashing its sell! Then a wreck (une epave) on Maskali Island finished the trip as far as diving was concerned.

The last day before diving allowed us a brief look at Djibouti town, whose main claim to fame, besides the military, is as the seaport for Ethiopia so much marine cargo activity was to be seen. We had one tour to Lake Karum, the lowest geographic point of Africa, where one could wonder at a large salt lake with weird crystalline structures at the shore.

If whale sharks are your scene, then Djibouti is your destination from the UK, close and accessible enough to be affordable, unlike say the Ningaloo Reef of Western Australia. We are told that from October to the end of January is the time to see them almost guaranteed! At least, Regal Dive with whom we went, confirmed that of all their trips during that period, 100% saw and snorkelled with whale sharks and so what more can one ask?

FOR: Whale sharks, the best coral that I have seen, abundant coral fish life. December & January water temperature 28 – 30 degrees centigrade.
AGAINST: Lack of any other sharks! Long flight. Food unexciting, odd for a former French colony.
Note: It helps a lot if you can speak French.