Turtle Wall
Location: South of Ngemelis Island and southwest of German Channel.
Distance from Koror: 26 miles (42 kilometers) from Koror, 45 minutes by speedboat.
Visibility: 50 to 100 feet (17 to 33 meters) depending on the direction of the tides.
Level of Diving Experience: Novice
Diving Depth Summary: Surface to the top of the reef: 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters). Best dive depth: Between 40 and 60 feet (13 and 20 meters).
Currents: Unpredictable, but usually not strong.
General Information: This reef is often referred to as Ngemelis Wall. Important Notice: Be careful! This is reef is in the path of the main waterway to and from Blue Corner and the Ngemelis Reef system. Take caution when surfacing; use a safety sausage to alert boat drivers of your position.
Reef Formation: Turtle Wall is the central part of a vertical wall that runs along the whole length of Ngemelis Island. The wall starts at German Channel and runs to the southwest as Big Drop Off, then changes its name to Turtle Wall. From Turtle Wall the reef curves and New Drop Off starts. Turtle Wall starts in just a few feet of water; at extreme low tides the entire top of the reef will be exposed. The reef is extremely deep, descending to over 900 feet (300 meters)!
Marine life: Turtles, turtles, turtle and more turtles! This is one of few dive sites that lives up to its name. You will almost always see many turtles either swimming, eating, sleeping and sometimes you can even see them mating. One of the reasons for this abundance of turtles at Turtle Cove is due to the fact that the dive site is located on either side of the two busiest dive sites in Palau waters: New Drop Off and Big Drop Off. To avoid Contact with divers the turtles have migrated to this area of the reef. Clouds of yellow and white Pyramid Butterflyfish, Square Anthias, Moorish Idols, Yellowtail Fusiliers and snappers are found all along the edge and top of the reef. Blueface, Regal, and Emperor Angelfish are also easily spotted.
Diving: The Dive Guide will start the dive, according to the current, from any spot along the wall. This is such a beautiful wall that it should be seen, at least once, in each direction. Drop down to 40-60 feet (13-20 m) and drift with the current. If the current changes direction, simply pick another depth and continue back in the direction you started from. Go slowly,it is easy to miss the sleeping turtles. Sea fans of all sizes jut out from the wall and make excellent backgrounds for spectacular photo/video shots. Soft corals with colors ranging from deep violet to hot pink are seen everywhere. When doing your safety stop, drift along the top edge of the reef and marvel at all the colorful reef fish darting in and out of the coral heads. When you surface, please swim out and away from the reef so the boat driver can pick you up.
Fascinating Facts: The male turtle has a noticeable tail; the female has no visible tail.