Diving Blue Corner

Diving in Palau

Strong currents bring in the food, which brings in the fish, which brings in the divers, who have fun in the currents. And the diversity of fish the currents bring in is impressive by anyone’s standards, three or four barracuda species, tuna, four or five species of shark, rays (eagle and manta), wrasse and hard shelled creatures: turtles, lobsters, shrimps, and octopuses and far, far more.

A drift dive, the general idea is to reef hook yourself onto the reef and float, watching the marine life go past as you do. Really an amazing experience in an amazing setting.

North Sulawesi below water

Snorkelling in Indonesia

Manado and more specifically the Bunaken National Marine Park off the coast of Sulawesi is renowned for its biodiversity and hence colour. Many, many inspirational diving photos have been taken here, full of unusually looking creatures. It’s like diving in a Cousteau documentary. Turtles meander above you, white tipped reef sharks below, parrotfish all around. As far a species numbers go there is more variety than the Great Barrier Reef.

Visibility is still pretty good and the area is being well protected and managed, more so than many popular diving destinations. Hard and soft corals flower and anemones go with the flow along the reef then the seafloor drops away dramatically.

Manado Diving

Diving in Manado, Indonesia

Manado and more specifically the Bunaken National Marine Park off the coast of Sulawesi is renowned for its biodiversity and hence colour. Many, many inspirational diving photos have been taken here, full of unusually looking creatures. It’s like diving in a Cousteau documentary. Turtles meander above you, white tipped reef sharks below, parrotfish all around. As far a species numbers go there is more variety than the Great Barrier Reef.

Visibility is still pretty good and the area is being well protected and managed, more so than many popular diving destinations. Hard and soft corals flower and anemones go with the flow along the reef then the seafloor drops away dramatically.

Gizo Island

Diving in Solomon Islands

Reefs, unusual and impressive coral formations, WW2 wrecks, wall dives and lots of life and colour, Gizo Island is another tropical-island-ideal diving destination. Water temperature and visibility make diving here even more pleasant, as does the topside scenery of white sand and palm trees.

Grand Central Station is a great dive site name – in this case ‘cause it’s so busy with fish. Right in the current this is where the fish converge. In the stronger currents and deeper water you can expect to see a shark or two, batfish and trevelly schools, and closer to the walls, laden with thriving corals and sponges, are the smaller fish.

The Toa Maru is one of the best wreck dives off Gizo, a Japanese transport complete with cargo of ammunition, motorbikes a tank and plenty of saki bottles which was hit and sunk, limping into the shallows but not quite making it. The shallowest part of the Toa Maru is only under about 7 metres of water.

Close by, Plum Pudding Island, also known as Kennedy Island, because it’s where JFK brought his crew after his boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, is a really good spot for beginners, the reefs are shallow and colourful and there are a couple of good practice drift dives. Also a good spot for snorkelers.

North Save-a-Tack Passage Dive

Diving in Fiji

Namena is in the migratory path of both whale and dolphin species, is lined with islands where turtles come to lay their eggs and just thrives with life. There are something like 400 different kinds of coral growing on the reef and thousands of different kinds of fish, including very healthy populations of jacks and barracudas.

North Save a Tack begins as a wall dive known for shoals of jacks and yellowtail barracudas then levels out onto a flat plateau sprouting sea grasses and gorgonian fans. Channels, tunnels and a rocky bridge are the other features, but it’s the coral colours that have given this spot its international reputation.

Chimneys is another well known local dive centred around three large coral bommies – it’s a good place to commune with eels – and there is a lot to investigate growing on the bommies, but take care this is an exposed site and the currents, which are what support so much life and colour, can be unfriendly.