For some divers, the only thing scarier than sharing the water with sharks is the idea diving at night. AKR offered 2 night dives while we were there and both were well attended by another group of divers: those who find a special fascination with exploring in the dark.

To be fair, we were not entirely in the dark. Each diver carries a powerful dive light and you are under the leadership of a knowledgeable divemaster (thankfully ours wore a high-viz wetsuit). It is also easier to keep track of your dive buddy’s whereabouts because of the beam emitted from his/her light.

Night diving presents a unique view of the deep. Different creatures inhabit the reef at night, the pace is slower and a divers visual perception is more focused due to the width of a beam of light. The experience has a more exotic feel, like you were part of a movie, methodically exploring for hidden treasure.

The treasures of the night for us were octopuses and squids, both rarely seen during the day. Night diving can be a little spooky, like when your light picks up a pair of shiny eyes, as in the spiny lobster video below; but if you are lucky enough to observe an octopus it makes the whole endeavor worthwhile.

At the conclusion of each night dive we turned our lights off for 5 minutes before surfacing. This allowed us to see a different kind of light show, bio-luminescence. Picture looking down on a city from an airplane at night and you might imaging what we were seeing. Small many-colored lights that some divers describe as strings of pearls. When we made our way back to the boats we know we had experienced something special each night.

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