reef

Log This Dive

Sand Bar

Sand Bar is one of those easy-going Palau dives we always recommend for an afternoon, especially if you’ve had a couple of ripping current dives earlier in the day. It’s pretty shallow, maybe 12-15 metres at its deepest point, mostly a sprawling sand flat with scattered coral heads. What we love about Sand Bar isn’t the big pelagics – you won’t find mantas here – it’s the sheer number of small, colourful reef fish going about their business. We’re talking about dozens of iridescent rainbow wrasse darting between the staghorn corals, and the way the blunt-head parrotfish graze, leaving little puffs of sand behind them. Keep your eyes peeled for the Moorea pygmygoby – they’re tiny, maybe a centimetre long, but their bright colours really pop against the sand. We’ve spent entire dives just tracking a single Martin's cowrie inching across a coral patch, or watching rock cod patiently waiting for a meal. It’s a site for slowing down. If you’re a photographer, particularly into macro, this is a goldmine. The light is fantastic for most of the day, but we find late morning, when the sun is high, really makes the colours sing. There’s usually little to no current here, making it perfect for lingering.