{"id":469,"date":"2017-03-13T13:10:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T13:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.josephcaruana.co.uk\/diving\/?p=469"},"modified":"2017-03-14T15:50:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T15:50:11","slug":"the-new-dwejra-underwater-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.josephcaruana.co.uk\/diving\/2017\/03\/13\/the-new-dwejra-underwater-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Dwejra Underwater Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Early this morning\u00a0I went down to Dwejra to explore the new underwater landscape following the collapse of the Azure window, and assess the site. \u00a0What I found was even more beautiful than I expected.<\/p>\n

Numerous swim throughs have formed from what remains of the window. \u00a0Such swim\u00a0throughs are ubiquitous around Gozo and are a huge attraction for divers.<\/p>\n

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: : : WARNING : : :<\/strong><\/p>\n

For now, I would recommend that unless divers are experienced and have dived this site numerous times before, they only go supervised by\u00a0personnel from local dive centres who are thoroughly familiar with the site and can guide them properly while avoiding any hazardous areas. \u00a0Furthermore, they should be cautious in their approach and adhere to all safe scuba diving \u00a0practices. \u00a0As is always the case in scuba diving, responsibility for the safe outcome of a dive falls upon the diver.<\/strong><\/p>\n

: : : WARNING : : :<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What was already a first-class dive has – in my opinion – become even better. \u00a0Nature took an arch it had formed over many years, brought it down underwater and from its remains created a beautiful masterpiece in underwater landscaping.<\/p>\n

Divers the world over will be happy to learn that the blue hole has not been affected by the Window’s collapse, and features such as the well-known chimney are still there as well.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I would urge all divers to be prudent in their approach<\/strong>, and as much as possible keep to the part between the blue hole and the pillar<\/strong>, and away from the former\u00a0site of the window itself as there are some rocks on the cliff-side that are still unstable.<\/p>\n

I leave you with some pictures. \u00a0The first image featured below is one of the new swim throughs that have\u00a0formed as a result of the collapse. \u00a0The light reflecting off the bottom illuminating the side walls and ceiling is truly spectacular, and for me\u00a0was one of the highlights of this dive. \u00a0Given time and left to their devices, these fresh rocks will eventually become a reef and start harbouring new life amongst them. \u00a0Whilst footage collected here\u00a0was used to assess the site, swim throughs should be avoided for some time until a couple of storms potentially shift any smaller rocks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the bottom of this page you will find a video that puts some of these new vistas in perspective.<\/p>\n

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One of the spectacular new swim throughs that have formed from the remains of the Azure Window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Some of the new\u00a0shapes that have emerged. \u00a0Here are some jagged examples.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A picture of a fairly solid piece.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Another swim through. \u00a0In the bottom left you can see some of the smaller pieces of crumbled rock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A very friendly fish we encountered.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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