|
Southwest Islands
with Ocean Hunter II
  A
12 day trip to the Southwest Islands of Palau
The Southwest Islands of
Palau stretch for almost 400 miles south of
Koror, the capitol of Palau. The island chain consists of Sonsorol,
Merir, Pula Anna, Helen's Reef and Tobi. Few people live on these
islands. There is no 
scheduled transport to and from the islands and there are no airstrips
for air- planes. A govern- ment ship visits once every three to four
months. This makes the islands virtually inaccessible to tourists and divers.
None of the other liveaboards in Palau travel to this dive destination,
which offers pristine diving and great exploration. 
Ocean Hunter II offers two expeditions in 2007 to this remote location:
February 8-20/2007 organized by
TAUCHREISEN ROSCHER (visit www.tauchreisen-roscher.de
for details)
and April 4-16/2007 (for availability and more
information contact Navot@oceanhunter.com or info@oceanhunter.com).
Itinerary for expedition:
Day 1 - Arrival in Palau and
board Ocean Hunter II
Check out dive in the lagoon on WWII wreck
Dive on Ngemelis Island
Night dive at German Channel
Day 2 - Diving Peleliu and Angaur
11AM Departure to Sonsorol (Angaur to Sonsorol 150 Nautical Miles)
 Day
3 - Arrival at Sonsorol at 7AM
Diving Sonsorol
Day 4 - Diving Sonsorol
Departure from Sonsorol to Merir at 9PM
(Sonsorol to Merir 70 Nautical Miles)
Day 5 - Arriving Merir at 6AM
Diving Merir
 Departure
from Merir at 7PM to Helen’s Reef (Merir to
Helen’s Reef 120 Nautical
Miles)
Day 6 - Arrival at Helen’s
Reef at 9AM
Diving Helen’s Reef
Day 7 - Diving Helen’s Reef
 Day
8 - Departure at 1AM to Tobi
(Helen’s Reef to Tobi 40 Nautical Miles)
Arrival at Tobi at 6AM
Diving Tobi
Departure from Tobi at 7PM to Pula Anna (Helen’s Reef to Pula
Anna 120 Nautical
Miles)
Day 9 - Arrival at Pula Anna at 10AM
Diving Pula Anna
Day 10 - Diving Pula Anna
Day 11 - Departure from Pula Anna at 5AM
(Pula Anna to Koror 240 Nautical miles)
Day 12 - Arrival at Koror at 4PM
Prices:
Cabins 1-5: US$5,775.00 per person
Cabin 6: US$6,630.00 per person
Dive of the Month
"This was probably
the best diving day of my life", says dive instructor Kenneth
Johnny on a sunny Saturday afternoon on February 25th after he came
back from Devilfish City, a dive site 50 minutes by boat north of
Koror.
Kenneth and his group of Korean divers decided to leave the harbour at
Fish 'n Fins at around 8 in the morning, do two dives, have a surface
interval of one to one and a half hours and then return to the dive
shop. Upon arrival at the dive site, Kenneth went through the standard
procedure of checking the current, giving the briefing and having the
divers perform the back roll entry. The main attraction of, let's put
it this way, the ONLY reason you want to visit Devilfish City is the
presence of a number of cleaning stations for devilfish, a.k.a. manta
rays. The site is basically formed by two slightly sloping reefs and a
sandy channel between them. The northern reef with three cleaning
stations on top of it and the channel with two cleaning stations on its
sandy bottom, have an average depth of 15m/45ft and 20m/60ft
respectively. Kenneth and his divers started their first dive in the
channel.
"On our way to the two cleaning stations we
experienced a mild incoming current", Kenneth explains. "When
we arrived at the first cleaning station we saw two manta rays, medium
size, hovering above it. We stayed there for 10 minutes after which the
two manta's left and I realised there had to be more at the other three
cleaning stations on top of the reef on the north side of the channel.
So we swam for 10 minutes, got on top of the reef and when we got
within visual range of the three rocks I immediately recognised the
shape of six manta rays. While the cleaner wrasses were doing a
wonderful job to the six manta's, I looked up and saw another group of
seven manta's just below the surface, feeding on the plankton. Imagine,
six on the three rocks, seven at the surface! We saw the thirteen manta
rays during the entire dive and surfaced after 50 minutes."
 "On
our second dive", Kenneth continues, "we
decided to start close to the three rocks on top of the reef. We hit
the water, descended and five or six seconds into the dive I already
counted four manta's on top of the three rocks. We carefully positioned
ourselves around the cleaning stations and watched the manta's closely.
After ten minutes, I kid you not, came in another group of sixteen(!)
manta rays, in formation, circling around the four that were still
hovering above the three rocks. Unbelievable. I was dazzled. As I was
busy counting their numbers I noticed a different manta ray showing up:
it was a small one, completely black and eager to join the crowd.
Twenty one manta rays in total! After 52 minutes some divers showed
they were low on air so we ascended, performed our safety stop and
surfaced. All devilfish were still there when we left the city."
When asked if he expected to see so many manta rays, Kenneth replies: "Not
in these numbers, but I know the manta season always shifts from German
Channel in the southwest, to the north. And two or three days before
full and new moon is a good time to see them anyway."
Guestbook
"Here we are
again, back in Paradise! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let
me introduce Connie M. Kaiser, who is all the way from frigid Alaska.
Not the most extreme part of Alaska, but “Winter
Land” enough to make her long for those hot summer days and
the wonderful diving that can only be found in Palau! Connie is a
Registered Nurse who works most of the year at Providence Hospital in
Anchorage, Alaska. She started her diving about 10 years ago by chance
in Australia. Since her introduction to the wonderful world of diving,
she has made dives from the fresh waters of Florida, to two trips to
Cayman Island (5 weeks one year, and 6 weeks the next), and a bit of
paddling around in Hawaii. And you might ask where does she like best?
Well, there isn’t much thought needed to answer that one!
Palau, of course! Connie is no stranger to Palau, as this was her third
trip here. The first two trips were for 6 weeks each, but this year
time was short and she could only come for four weeks. Hummmmm... is
that enough time to truly enjoy this place? I don’t think so!
When asked about different diving areas that she has been to, she is
happy to share this idea: “Places like Cayman Island are like
the Toy Store, Palau is more like the Mega-Warehouse!" Her favorite
dive site is... well, she doesn’t have just one. An easier
question would be which one isn’t her favorite. But there
might not be one of those either, as all of the dive sites have their
charm. When she comes up from a dive you will often here her say:
“I WANT A DO-OVER!" This is her last dive day this year and
tomorrow she will be winging her way back to work and real life. Will
she be back next year? That is a real possibility, but a bit longer
stay next time. There seems to be no such thing as too much Palau. But
in one sense, she really never leaves. At least one small part of her
will always be here. Come and join Connie next year between mid January
to mid February. She is here just about the same time every year and
just loves the company."
- Dennis Murphy, Alaska
|
