Mandarin Valley is a gently sloping coral reef that descends down to 20m. At the bottom of the reef cuttlefish are often seen near an old fishing boat wreck. On the hard coral reef moray eels and scorpionfish can be found plus some small reef fish. Frogfish and leafy scorpionfish can be seen here, both excellently camouflaged amongst coral and sponge. Pipe fish are present as on most Kapalai reefs and seahorses can often be spotted. Nudibranchs are numerous. Occasionally reef sharks come into the reef.

However the main stars of this dive site are the mandarin fish which dance among the coral displaying their vibrant colours. This dive site is one of the most reliable dive sites to spot them, not always easy as they are just a few centimetres long. Mandarin fish mate around dusk time so a nice dive is to jump in just before dusk to witness the mating and then finish the dive as a night dive. At night a myriad of shrimps and other crustaceans can be found.

If you drift slowly southwards from Mandarin Valley you will come to a small dive site called Cleaning Station which is home to lots of colourful nudibranchs and seaslugs as well as hermit crabs and other crustaceans.

All the same critters can be found at Ray Channel, another popular Kapalai dive site. Maximum depth here is 20m and currents are weak. Frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, pipefish and so on are all present but the main draw is a pair of pegasus sea moths (dragonfish) that inhabit the bottom here. These crazy looking specimen are quite rare and a sighting is a real treat for any serious muck diver.

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