Manta Point
The traditional spot to see Thresher Sharks and Manta Rays at the north of the shoal never fails to offer a great dive no matter what depth you dive at. A nice ledge at 45m is full of sea fans and home to a giant school of vertical swimming shrimp fish, we often get surprised by a shark or a ray sneaking up on us while we enjoy this area. If you drop over the ledge you will find 2 small caves about 100m apart on the wall, one between 58-65m, and a deeper one between 70-80m. Not much penetration in them, but fun places to look around and find shrimp, crabs, and rare deep water gobies. Keep going down the wall to as much as 120m if you want a fantastic trimix wall dive. As you end your dive and ascend, expect to see large Pelagics during deco.
Bannerfish Point
As the name implies this central dive site is home to a large school of Bannerfish that color the reef with their yellow, white and black stripes. Now also commonly dived to see Thresher Sharks, the deep boulders between 30-80m make an amazing topography for exploring, and whitetip sharks are common in this area.
If you’re lucky you can also have close up encounter with the resident school of jacks which probably numbers up to 1000 individuals and generally hangs out at around 60m.
West Cavern
The west side of Monad Shoal remains virtually undived by anyone other than Evolution, and we’d still like to explore there more. Our favorite site brings you to a large open cavern which opens at 45m and beckons you in. Although not going too far into the wall of Monad shoal the large opening can reveal sleeping whitetip sharks, and a host of other fish hiding in the darkened area. This side of Monad shoal is also a great spot to see eagle rays and marble rays, so don’t miss out when you make your trip here!
Macklin’s Mound
Named after one of our regular visitors and friends, Macklin’s Mound is a deep water pinnacle with it’s top at 45m descending down to 65m. Covered in undisturbed corals and marine life it is a beautiful site, which also happens to be a cleaning station for sharks and rays. Dive it at 5am and expect to be ducking from the multiple sharks as they approach at speed from all sides and above and below you. As you leave this site you can ascend past another cleaning station at 35m and then find your way to the main wall to finish up your deco on the top of the shoal at 12m and shallower.