The Maltese Islands
Wied iz-Zurrieq is located in a creek at the Southern side of the island near the famous Blue Grotto. A shore dive and much frequented dive site notably during a North West swell because it is sheltered. It offers a variety of dive profiles and underwater terrain. Access is easiest from the concrete quay within the inlet. You must be very aware of the small fishing boats which are used to ferry the tourists on sight-seeing trips to the Blue Grotto from here. There are also fishermen angling off the quay to negotiate. Exit is from a slipway with a short ladder further in at the end of the quay. Attention is important when surfacing in the creek. The noise of the props reminds you just how close they are above in the V -shaped inlet. Its best to surface very close to the walls of the valley. To be honestseparated, its an accident waiting to happen and the divers and tourist boats would best separated.
Swimming with the rock face on your right hand side, the mouth of the creek open and drops gently to a depth of around 25 meters. The bottom is sandy with rock outcrops. About 200 meters away from the entry point, a cavern is easily found because the entry is distinct at the flat sea bed although the gap is only wide enough to take one diver. Beyond the cavern, the seabed rises and many boulders are home to varied marine life. On the way back make sure you don't miss the mouth of the creek by keeping the wall face always at your left until you can see across to the other side of the creek. Sticking to the left side of the creek the cliff wall is full of interesting crevices and outcrops as well as an interesting sea bed. Shoals of various fish including many cardinal fish swarmed around us on our dive.
As we headed back to the creek, a number of our party lower on air exited at the ladder. Those of us remaining with plenty of air headed up the creek where the valley narrows and the depth decreased slowly to 5m's. Ralph, my buddy on this dive spotted something peering out of a gap underneath a huge rock. Shining the trusty torch in revealed the eve and suckers of a very large octopus having his mid-day snooze. The suckers on the end of its tentacles must have been the 3-4cm in diameter, he was huge.
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Page last updated 13 Jan 99. Material Copyright © 1999