Horn of Plenty, Seychelles

By Al Hornsby (Adapted from "passport to diving the world")

Well Known For :

A dive spot where schools of fish can be seen.

Years ago on a National Geographic Aldabra expedition with David Doubilet, we visited remote Cosmoledo. Near Monarch Pass we found an incredible area. Inshore were vast schools of various snappers, pompano, and spadefish. Green turtles and huge black-blotched rays lay in the sand and two-metre giant groupers prowled about. Deeper, large potato cod met us and big tawny nurse sharks lay under coral outcroppings. At 20m we swam through a blurry upwelling of cold water; below, gorgonian fans became profuse and gigantic schools of mahogany snapper, horse-eye jacks, and blackfin barracuda jostled for space. At 28m a soft-coral-covered prominence marked a huge cleaning station surrounded by Oriental sweetlips and marbled groupers, and several schools of fishes came through in thick waves. Doubilet dubbed the spot "Hornsby's Horn" for its discoverer; I decided Horn of Plenty would suffice.

(Ok enough with the stories, I'm itchin' for a dive)