Summary of Diving in Anse Amyot, Toau

For divers with their own equipment and compressor, Anse Amyot is a diving paradise. The current in the 'pass' is minimal, there are very few sharks, and the anchorage area is in the lee of an atoll with a beautiful wall that runs for a couple of miles in either direction.

Gaston has installed 2 dinghy mooring balls for divers, and it is also very easy to drift the wall with dinghy in tow with a 75' 'leash'.

Sherry in the Yellow Dog Canyon
Mantas Feeding in the Lagoon

Lion Fish in the Grottoes
Our favorite dive spots are as follows:

Yellow Dog 15-47.468S 146-08.698W
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Dive bouy with deep sand canyons 50m east of bouy. Best dive at Anse Amyot. Start at 9m and go over the wall to as deep as you dare.

Snapper Hole 15-47.608W 146-08.832W
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A sand crevasse full of snappers. No bouy, but anchor your dinghy in 25-30 feet, or start here and do as a drift down the wall toward the SW.

Amyot Pass 15-48.040 146-09.360
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Dive bouy just outside the pass in 10m, close to the wall. Dive the wall, or slow drift into the pass on incoming tide.

Caves and Grottos
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15-48.674S / 146-09.906W
15-48.806S / 146-10.066W
15-48.938S / 146-10.206W

This is a series of large grottos along the wall SW of the anchorage. Each one is very nice, and there's a lot of nice wall to explore in between. Possible to do as one long dive or a series of shorter dives. 20-40 feet deep in and around the grottoes, and the wall to as deep as you dare to go. If you only have time to do one spot, the middle one is the best.

All these spots are along the wall just outside Anse Amyot. Diving is best in E to S winds.

For snorkelers, inside the reef close to the anchorage is a beautiful snorkeling area in 5-20' of crystal clear water. It is best to wait until 2-3 hrs after low tide for the incoming tide to bring in the clearest water. In a 15 minute snorkel you will see hundreds of fish, large and small, moray eels, lion fish, if you look carefully, and only an occasional shark. If you are adventurous, drift snorkeling outside the reef is also very nice in 10-30 feet of water.

For safety when going outside the reef, we try to always go in pairs, and always take a hand-held VHF-this would not be the place to have a motor problem! It's a long drift to Papeete.
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At 6/17/2010 5:03 PM (utc) our position was 15°48.21'S 146°09.14'W

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