Forbes Bay Wall
Dive site
On the quieter southern tip of Mafia Island, Forbes Bay Wall is a rarely dived vertical drop that plunges from 10 m to beyond 40 m. The wall face is colonised by enormous barrel sponges, orange sea fans, and black coral at depth that are decades old and unbothered by anchor damage — there are no moorings here, just a live-drop approach from the operator's RIB. Leopard sharks rest on sandy ledges at 25 to 30 m, and a resident school of some two hundred batfish hangs in mid-water off the wall's northern corner. The isolation means fish are genuinely curious, not habituated.
Conditions
Depth
10 to 40 m
Advanced depths
Current
Often strong
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
8 to 15 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
23 to 30°C
5mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Vis (m) | 20 | 20 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Zebra shark
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Batfish
Photo: Albertini maridom · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Potato grouper
Photo: Ian Shaw · © all rights reserved
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Napoleon wrasse
Photo: David Roche · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Field journal
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Gear
Basic kit
For this site
- Torch · The wall has deep overhangs at 20 to 30 m where barrel sponges and black coral accumulate. A light restores colour and reveals crevice fauna.
- SMB + reel · Live-drop site with no mooring. Ascent is in open water off the wall — an SMB is mandatory.