Understanding Conservation in Raja Ampat - Part 1 - Mark Erdmann... In just over 20 years Raja Ampat, the "Four Kings" of Indonesia’s remote West Papua province, has evolved from an almost unknown location into one of the world’s most sought-after tropical diving destinations. Back in 2005, when I first visited the area. Diving options were limited to just a few liveaboards and a couple of land-based "eco" resorts - essentially beach camps. Today, at the height of the main diving season, nearly 100 boats operate in the area. And land-based accommodation ranges from basic village homestays to high-end luxury resorts. While much has changed, …
Diving Bikini Atoll – It’s Complicated…
Diving Bikini Atoll... How do you tell 167 men, women, and children that their island home, which had always provided for all their basic needs, is going to be destroyed by a nuclear bomb? In the case of Navy Commodore Ben Wyatt, the US military governor of the Marshall Islands, he turned to the Bible. Comparing their situation to "the children of Israel whom the Lord saved from their enemy and led into the Promised Land." Further promising that their sacrifice was "for the good of mankind and to end all world wars…" So, in March 1946 they left their island - but not for the promised land. Instead, they traveled by landing craft some …
Diving the Solomon Islands WWII Wrecks
Diving the Solomon Islands WWII Wrecks... Located at the eastern tip of the renowned Coral Triangle, the Solomon Islands consists of a long string of beautiful tropical islands, which are surrounded by the deep trenches and basins of the vast Pacific Ocean to the east and the Solomon Sea to the south. The diving comes in two distinct varieties. Excellent reefs nourished by regional and equatorial currents, which deliver eggs and larvae along with rich nutrients from the depths. And numerous WWII wrecks that are poignant reminders of the country's role in WWII. Those wrecks can be divided into two basic categories... Those within …
Diving Baja California
Diving Baja California... Bounded to the north by the US state of California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean. And to the east by the Sea of Cortez, the long and narrow Baja California peninsula is one of Mexico’s most visually spectacular and intriguing locations. Despite its arid climate, Baja California boasts some wonderfully rich biodiversity, with an eclectic mix of unique plant and animal species that have adapted to its desert and coastal environments. Those natural wonders are complemented beautifully by extensive desert and mountain landscapes, rugged coastal cliffs, and pristine beaches, combined with a rich cultural …
Diving the Banda Sea
Diving the Banda Sea... It seems almost beyond belief that some 360 years ago, one of a cluster of ten small and very isolated volcanic islands at the remote eastern end of what was then called the Malay Archipelago, was so valuable that it was exchanged for New York’s Manhattan Island. Those ten islands are the Bandas, and they are now part of the Indonesian province of Maluku. A group of around one thousand islands which, even today, is home to just 2 million of Indonesia’s nearly 278 million people. Often referred to as the “spice islands”. Maluku was the source of the incredibly valuable spices that were in great demand in …
Getting into Blackwater Diving – The Anilao Night Shift…
Getting into Blackwater Diving... The images are what immediately grab your attention - seemingly alien creatures lurking somewhere out there in the dark of night. Long after most people have called it a day! What are these creatures and why are they there? How does it work? Was it all just another clever marketing gimmick to suck you in. Or was this thing something really new and compellingly different? After a lot of discussions with people I trust it seemed clear that I just had to give it a try. And so at the end of January I took my seat on the Qantas flight to Manila in the Philippines, as I made my way to Anilao – Southeast …
Technical Diving Match Fitness
Technical Diving Match Fitness... As the end of 2023 approached, I made a decision to approach technical diving from a different perspective. Instead of merely hoping to engage in occasional tech dives. I decided to commit to dedicated trips where there was no option but to dive technically. I eventually settled on Master Liveaboard’s trips to the Solomons and Bikini Atoll. In that order because while the Solomons trip is a dedicated week for the WWII wrecks, you can dive rec or tech, as the wrecks are not that deep. Or, put another way, my current level of certification was enough for the Solomons. Whereas in Bikini nearly all the …
Diving Misool in Raja Ampat
Misool Scuba Diving… The second king – Misool, the large, remote, and sparsely populated island that is the second biggest of Raja Ampat’s “four kings”. It is said that the name Raja Ampat derives from the local folklore story of a woman who finds seven eggs. Four of which hatched and the hatchlings grew to become the kings of those four islands – Waigeo, Misool, Sulawati and Batanta. Located some 150kms from the main regional city of Sorong. It’s a 5-hour journey by fast boat if you are one of the lucky ones staying on the island. Or an overnight sail if you are one of the lucky ones visiting on a liveaboard. Either way you are …
Diving Rabaul’s Wrecks, Reefs and Jetties
Diving Rabaul Wrecks Reefs and Jetties... In January 1942, just 46 days after their devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese Imperial Forces redirected their attention southward and launched an invasion of Papua New Guinea. Their primary objective was the capture of Rabaul on the north-east tip of the large island of New Britain. Specifically, they wanted Rabaul’s Simpson Harbour. And its sheltered, deep-water anchorages as the base for their South Seas 4th Fleet. The first stage of taking all of PNG and then using it as their launch pad to invade Australia. And seize it they did by completely overwhelming the small …