Other issues:

1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │

On August 12th 2006, Fish 'n Fins dive guides Alain and Danny were preparing for another day of 2 tank diving in Palau. The plan was to visit Turtle Wall, a reef between New and Big Drop Off on the southwest side of Ngemelis Island (visit the dive sites section for detailed descriptions), a 45 minute boatride from Koror. In order to get to Turtle Wall, boats have to go through German Channel, as any diver familiar with the dive sites in Palau will know.

At German Channel, Danny decided to jump in and look for manta rays. "We had incoming tide, good viz and the channel is on the way to Turtle Wall anyway, so why not jump in and check?", Danny says. Incoming tide or not, the devilfish preferred to be somewhere else so it was decided to visit the dive site as initially planned. Once at Turtle Wall, conditions on the west side of Ngemelis Island turned out to be much better than expected and Alain and boat operator Malsol then suggested visiting Blue Corner instead.

Alain: "The days before had been too rough for diving Blue Corner, so when I saw the conditions had improved, I talked to our guests and boat operator and we all agreed we should take advantage of it and dive The Corner. Ten minutes later, when Malsol slowly maneuvered the boat to the outgoing side of Blue Corner and the divers prepared themselves to enter the water, someone yelled: "Olek, whale shark!". Before people realised what had just been said, Danny was already gone."

"When I heard Malsol yell "whale shark!", I jumped in like a rocket", Danny explains. "I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful baby whale shark swimming towards me, just below the surface. It was 2 to 2,5 metres long, not afraid of me at all and started swimming around me only 2 inches away from me. The surge, which was a result of the previous windy days, caused the whale shark to nearly bump into me. With its tiny little eyes it observed me curiously for two minutes and then swam slowly away. At that time, Alain had also jumped in, too far away though, so by the time he reached me, the whale shark had already left."

"At least, that's what we thought", Alain continues. "Danny got back into the boat, we returned to the outgoing side of Blue Corner and back rolled into the water. I lead my group to the hooking area, we stayed there for 40 minutes, then unhooked and explored the plateau. After 50 minutes of dive time we had seen grey and white tip reef sharks, turtles, napoleon wrasses and schools of fusilier, black snapper, yellow fin and blackbar barracuda. Up until that moment the dive had been your average Blue Corner dive. But during our final ascent and safety stop the baby whale shark showed itself one more time. I guess we would have also liked to meet his mother but that said, hanging with a baby whale shark on a safety stop after diving one of the best dive sites in the world can only go down as one of the most memorable dives in anyone's log book." Photo by Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch
www.sharktrust.org Fish 'n Video

Black Tip
Reef Shark
(WMP/3.2Mb)





Leopard or Zebra Shark (WMP/3.8Mb)

Guestbook

Previously dived in Egypt, the Maldives, Malta, Turkey, Croatia, Kenia and Austria, dive instructors Matthias and Kathrin Richter from Lennestadt, Germany, stayed in Palau from August 16th to September 2nd and dived with Fish 'n Fins. Over a period of 16 days, they did 33 dives each and told us in the end that they were impressed by the diversity of dive sites and marine life.

"From nudibranches to grey reef sharks, from corals to schools of fish, from caves to airplane wrecks, everything's there", Matthias says. "We didn't see the tiger shark I was hoping for, but Palau did offer us the variety of marine creatures and reefs we expected to see." Kathrin: "The dive sites are tremendously diverse but I must say that my level of experience enabled me to fully appreciate and enjoy that. I'm also glad we visited Palau outside the busy season because we didn't have to share the dive sites with many other people. On most occasions, our boat was the only one on the dive site. Reefs I liked very much are Ulong Channel and Barnum's Wall. Ulong because of the current and Barnum's because of the beautiful reef and the large number of different creatures we saw on ONE dive. I know it's been said by others before but the boat ride to and from the dive sites driving through the maze of beautiful Rock Islands is truly astonishing! Don't come to Palau if you're looking for a good night life or large public beaches", Kathrin warns. "Koror has many good and inexpensive restaurants and I can really recommend the massage parlours Crowning Glory and Klamiokl. So cheap but so good!" Photo by Peter Lange

"My favourite reefs in Palau", Matthias continues, "are New Drop Off, Blue Corner and Ulong Channel. I believe the first two are always good, regardless of the current and visibility, but we got the chance to see those sites a few times under ideal conditions. Ulong Channel was done on incoming tide and I can see why: what a sensation it is to fly through that channel with good visibility, seeing so many sharks, schools of fish and beautiful soft and hard corals. All three dive sites were simply unforgettable. I would also like to mention Mark Thorpe, the videographer at Fish 'n Fins. He not only possesses excellent filming abilities, but he films exactly those things you really want. The boats that took us out every day are comfortable, fast and spacious and everyone, from guide to boat driver, was always very helpful and kind to us. They've got a good team. If adventure is what you're looking for, dive with Shane "The Insane". We won't forget him! Last thing I'd like to say is, if you do decide to dive this magnificent part of the Pacific, do it with a dive computer."

Mark has recently introduced the latest in High Definition underwater filming options to Palau. "It took a while and I had been hoping to do this earlier but it's here now and the filming begins", explains Mark. "The images from the Sony HVR-Z1U are just astonishing and the clear waters of Palau are ideal to get the best from the camera. Although the camera does weigh in at 47lbs on land, it's neutral underwater and a pleasure to swim with. As of now all of the daily films will be shot on HD and transferred to standard definition until the HD format becomes more available as a viewing standard. The most exciting thing is that Fish 'n Films is now the only HD underwater filming service in Palau and I'm hoping that this will also pave the way for an increase in our already strong relationships with international production and broadcast concerns."


Palau-Yap
with Ocean Hunter II

A special 12 day trip from Palau to Yap

The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 607 islands extending 1,800 miles (2,900 km) across the archipelago of the Caroline Islands east of the Philippines. The four constituent island groups are Yap, Chuuk (called Truk until January 1990), Pohnpei (called Ponape until November 1984), and Kosrae. Yap is the most intriguing island in Micronesia. It is a land steeped in ancient traditions, fascinating legends, and peopled by one of the most distinctive cultures in the Pacific.

In January 2008, Ocean Hunter II will be offering a special Best Dive trip visiting Koror, Kayangel, Velasco, Ngulu, Ulithi, Fais, Sorol and Yap. Download the itinerary (PDF/1.2Mb) and find out what you can expect to be seeing.

Feel free to contact navot@oceanhunter.com for details. The exact dates are soon to be announced.

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 airplanes. A government ship visits once every three to four months. This makes the islands inaccessible to tourists and divers. None of the other liveaboards in Palau travel to this dive des- tination, which offers pristine diving and great exploration.

Ocean Hunter II will be conduct- ing two expeditions to this remote location in February and April 2007. Both expeditions are sold out.