Join us for 90-minute dives around Gozo, Comino & Malta condensed into 90-second videos and quick reads.
We’ll be adding dives regularly over the coming months so check back for updates.
North Coast – Billinghurst Cave to Reqqa Point
In our humble opinion, Gozo’s North Coast is a winner in the dive site competition and Billinghurst Cave takes the crown. With newly installed dive ladders ready for the season, we decided to pay a visit for the first time this year.
We parked up between the 2 sites and checked the conditions. Billinghurst was choppy but fine for entry while Reqqa was completely sheltered from the Westerly winds and would make the perfect exit.
Up on the cliff, surrounded by weird shapes sculpted in the limestone by the wind, it feels like kitting up on the surface of the moon. The entrance to Billinghurst is a short walk to a lower plateau and down a ladder to the water. Luckily there’s a railing to help as the way down is ‘Gozo-style’ – slippery and slightly treacherous with rudimentary steps. Since the entrance was a bit choppy we decided to don the left cylinder at the top of the ladder and carry the right cylinder down to the water.
Once ready, we set off into the cave. We decided to stick at a constant depth, following the wall to the back without ascending to the shallow plateaus and the air pocket. We took our time exploring the big boulder rocks and enjoying the dark. The visibility was poor in the cave but we stopped caring about that once we looped back towards the cave entrance. As we followed the curve of the wall a mesmerising pyramid of electric blue light started to form. The rainbows of light on the undulating sandy bottom, mixed with layers of shadow from the walls created an amazing show.
The currents can be strong at Reqqa Point but today it was very chilled. There was so much life enjoying the gentle current that we spent another 30 minutes watching the show. We did our safety stop admiring the gorgeous Mauve Stinger jellies bobbing around in the sunbeams.
After 90 minutes we surfaced to pond-like conditions at Reqqa and spent time relaxing on the surface before exiting up the small ladder, back to the surface of the moon.
Final Thoughts
We loved the contrast of darkness and shadow in the cave vs light and life on the point. While the ladder/ rock climbing combo entrances and exits are not the easiest in Sidemount, they are well worth it. The dive itself can be as complex or simple as you want. Plenty more time can be spent exploring Billinghurst Cave by venturing further beyond the light zone and ascending in the air pocket (if certified). Otherwise, even the entrance with its colourful rocks and silhouettes is enjoyable before a relaxing dive along the wall.