La Buse Reef

Named after the infamous pirate Olivier Levasseur — known as La Buse, the buzzard — this outer reef plateau runs from the shallows down a gentle slope to 30 metres, then tips off into deep blue. The coral coverage is exceptional by Indian Ocean standards: large stands of elkhorn and brain coral punctuate a garden of soft trees, with schooling barracuda using the reef edge as a hunting ground. Whale sharks make seasonal appearances here between October and December when warm equatorial water pushes south.