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Johnny Singh has written 5 reviews in 4 countries.
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Diving in Solomon Islands
You will not be disappointed when you dive in Solomon’s. The reason I went diving in Solomons was because my friends told me that it was great and actually they were right. I dove from Vepi Island and Gizo Island but the time I dove, the water visibility was only 50ft and the dive staff told me that it gets a lot better. Nonetheless, I saw a great diversity of marine life. Well if you are still unsure, read this article, entitled: Coral Diversity, written by Veron, J.E.N (a world renowned coral taxonomist) and E. Turak (a coral biologist) on the coral species diversity in Solomon that got published by the Nature Conservancy. According to them, Solomons has the second highest species diversity in the world, second only to the region of the Raja Ampat Islands of eastern Indonesia and they attributed this is to the wide range of habitats encountered during the survey. |
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Coral Reefs in Papua New Guinea
I had read a lot of reviews on diving about this place in dive journals and over the internet and they all described it as spectacular so I had to see it for myself. I stayed at the cheapest accommodation I could find in Madang (Flag Hotel) and did some land base diving. Magic passage (drift dive) and Planet Rock (pinnacle dive) were my favourites. At magic rock I saw large schools of sweetlips, barracudas, trevallies, white tip reef sharks, huge sea fans and colourful soft corals. Planet Rock schooling place for hammerhead sharks but I saw them from a distance. The coral pinnacle rises from very deep to about 10m below surface. The changing currents attract huge predators and divers alike! Definitely would recommend dive enthusiasts to dive here not only because of my diving experience here but also its location in the Coral Triangle. For those of you who are not aware of the Coral Triangle, it is globe epicenter of marine species diversity and is one of the top priorities for marine conservation. |
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Coral Reefs in Fiji
Well, most people know Fiji as the “soft coral capital of the world” and I totally agree with them, simply not for the fact that I was born and bred in Fiji but as a marine biologist I have seen it all.By far the best in Fiji and my most preferred diving is the Namena Marine Reserve which offers world class diving. According to Jean Michel Cousteau of Ocean Futures Society, Dr Gerald Steene of Conservation International and personally from my side, Namena offers the most diverse and beautiful dive experience. This partially has to do with islands strategic location (miles away from the nearest developed town or city) and largely has to do with the reef habitat diversity which is set in a wide ranges of depth and current regimes. Nearby coastlines have very extensive mangrove forests and seagrass beds (nursery areas) which feed the main reef with new recruitments. There are also vertical walls exposed to currents and dominated by sea fans, sponges and crinoids. When combined, this array of habitats creates a range of environments seldom seen in other regions of comparable size thus supporting a wide range of marine species. Namena is home to over 1000 species of invertebrates, 400 known corals and 445 documented marine plants (World Conservation Society, 2005). Namena is a migratory pathway for cetaceans including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, minke whales, pilot whales, sperm whales and humpback whales which are often during the months of June through August. During these months the whales migrate to the warm Fijian waters to breed and nurse their young. For turtle lovers, Namena provides one of the few nesting beaches for the green turtles as well as hawksbill turtle. In fact, Fiji has 4 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species, all of which are endangered. Sea turtles in Fiji breed in months of November through March. Occasionally when diving you may encounter very curious black banded sea snakes. I simply adore them. If you are into birds then you would be glad to know that the island itself is a bird sanctuary protecting over 12 species of shore birds including the endangered red-footed boobies. Grand Central Station (wall) and Chineys (pinnacles) are the two best sites at Namena. Grand Central Station is well know for pelagic fish encounters including tunas, Barracudas, sharks, jacks, snappers, manta rays, marble rays. This was the spot where I had a close encounters with a 15ft long hammerhead. Its was an AMAZING and by far the most SPECTACULAR encounters I had!!! I have seen hammerheads at this spot before but never at a distance where I could literally touch it. Chimneys are more of a coral, macro- and invertebrate dive. The best part of the Chimneys is right on the top where you get to see a serenade by the colourful anthias and the garden of anemonfish. You can literally spend the whole dive by just staying at one spot! A must dive for divers visiting Savusavu. During the wet season (November to April) visibility can be 50-60ft and during the dry, cool season (Mid May through mid August) visibility can be 80 -100ft. I prefer to dive these spots during incoming tide as it brings in clean and clear salt water. Colours of soft corals stand out more when there is a bit of current. |
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Coral Reefs in Queensland, Australia
My first and most spectacular wreck dive was on S.S Yongala., a historic steel passenger and freight steamer that sunk in 1958 but now homes to so many invertebrates, corals and fishes. I saw so many sharks here and not to mention my first school of hammerheads. |
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Coral Reefs in Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Diving for me is a magical experience and diving the Great Barrier Reef was the one of the finest and exotic dives that I’ll never forget. Not only it’s the largest reef on this planet, it’s also a home to countless species of corals and fish life which can be found nowhere else. Not to mention the centre of coral diversity – great for coral lovers. While I was pursuing my master’s degree I dived extensively on various dive spots around Townsville (Wheelers reef, Davis reef, Broad Hurst Reef, Bowden Reef, just to name a few) and witnessed the very wonders of the magnificent reef. Personally I preferred diving outside the main Barrier Reef since water visibility is much better compared to the inside. A must see for everyone is coral spawning and this well documented for the Great Barrier Reef. Corals are animals and they reproduce once every year for a few couple of nights during which all corals simultaneously let go of their eggs and sperms packaged in a bundle. Millions of bundles are released. It’s like being in a situation where the snow is falling upside down. Personally I prefer to dive the Great Barrier Reef, whether its outer or inner reefs, is during the dry, cool months since the water visibility is much better during this season. As for getting to the reef, live-aboard is much better if you prone to sea sickness. A lot of dive centres can predict the day and time corals will spawn and often base their drive trips around this event. Again there no guarantees in nature, it may happen or it may not – plan well and take a chance. |
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